SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) – Most nonferrous metals rose and closed higher on Monday May 14. SHFE nickel surged 2.4%, lead gained 1.3% and tin and copper inched up. SHFE aluminium and zinc edged down.The ferrous complex rose across the board with coke leading the gains with an increase of 2.3%. Iron ore jumped 2.2%, coking coal rose 0.7% with rebar and hot-rolled coil inched up.Copper: As longs...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) – Most nonferrous metals rose and closed higher on Monday May 14. SHFE nickel surged 2.4%, lead gained 1.3% and tin and copper inched up. SHFE aluminium and zinc edged down.The ferrous complex rose across the board with coke leading the gains with an increase of 2.3%. Iron ore jumped 2.2%, coking coal rose 0.7% with rebar and hot-rolled coil inched up.Copper: As longs...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) – Most nonferrous metals rose and closed higher on Monday May 14. SHFE nickel surged 2.4%, lead gained 1.3% and tin and copper inched up. SHFE aluminium and zinc edged down.The ferrous complex rose across the board with coke leading the gains with an increase of 2.3%. Iron ore jumped 2.2%, coking coal rose 0.7% with rebar and hot-rolled coil inched up.Copper: As longs...Read More
Both the European spot and Chinese export ammonium paratungstate markets continued to move higher last week amid concerns of supply disruptions due to continued environmental inspections in China. Concerns over disruptions at ammonium paratungstate smelters in Jiangxi province, a major production hub, continue More inquiries were seen in the European spot and Chinese export markets for ammo...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) –Copper: Copper prices saw steady gains last Friday night on a weakened US dollar. LME copper stood above all moving averages with strong support, and it is expected to trade at $6,900-6,960/mt today. The SHFE 1807 copper contract stood above the 20-day moving average with pressure from the 60-day moving average. We see it trading at 51,400-51,800 yuan/mt during the da...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) – SMM takes a bearish outlook on nickel prices in May and June as optimism from nickel sulphate for the battery industry weakened. Whether pressure will emerge from the nickel pig iron (NPI) side in the stainless steel industry remains to be seen.The price gap between China's battery-grade nickel sulphate in nickel content and nickel cathode will continue to n...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) – China’s zinc social inventories inched up slightly over the weekend with the inflow of imported materials, SMM found.The overall zinc inventories in warehouses across Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong rose 3,300 mt to 139,400 mt as of Monday May 14, SMM data showed. This is up from 136,100 on Friday May 11.The inventories in Guangdong and Tianjin declined ab...Read More
Afarak has confirmed a first-quarter loss of ?,?700,000 ($836,000) due to lower ferro-chrome prices, higher costs and a stronger South African rand.The London and Helsinki-listed mining and metallurgical group, which owns the Mogale ferro-alloys plant in South Africa, reported negative earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of ?,?700,000 compared with positive Ebitda...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.Last weekendThe US dollar index fell after rising to a four-month high last week, gaining 0.01% week on week to stand at 92.84 last Friday due to a moderate US consumer price index (CPI).Base metals mostly strengthened last Friday as a result. Both LME and SHFE copper went up sligh...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) –Copper: Copper prices saw steady gains last Friday night on a weakened US dollar. LME copper stood above all moving averages with strong support, and it is expected to trade at $6,900-6,960/mt today. The SHFE 1807 copper contract stood above the 20-day moving average with pressure from the 60-day moving average. We see it trading at 51,400-51,800 yuan/mt during the da...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) –Copper: Copper prices saw steady gains last Friday night on a weakened US dollar. LME copper stood above all moving averages with strong support, and it is expected to trade at $6,900-6,960/mt today. The SHFE 1807 copper contract stood above the 20-day moving average with pressure from the 60-day moving average. We see it trading at 51,400-51,800 yuan/mt during the da...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.Last weekendThe US dollar index fell after rising to a four-month high last week, gaining 0.01% week on week to stand at 92.84 last Friday due to a moderate US consumer price index (CPI).Base metals mostly strengthened last Friday as a result. Both LME and SHFE copper went up sligh...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.Last weekendThe US dollar index fell after rising to a four-month high last week, gaining 0.01% week on week to stand at 92.84 last Friday due to a moderate US consumer price index (CPI).Base metals mostly strengthened last Friday as a result. Both LME and SHFE copper went up sligh...Read More
Italian steelmaker Acciaierie Venete has suspended production at its Padova plant in Northern Italy after four employees were injured by molten steel from a defective ladle carrying the material on May 13.Long steel production at the plant has stopped while an investigation into the accident, which also caused a fire at the plant, takes place.The company hopes to restart its rolling mill by Tuesda...Read More
Prices in the Black Sea billet export market picked up by $9 per tonne over the week ended Monday May 14 with customers accepting higher prices from CIS-region suppliers, Metal Bulletin has learnt.The fact that the US threatened last week to reimpose international trading sanctions on Iran, which may result in reduced billet export volumes from the Middle Eastern country, gave additional support t...Read More
Steel billet prices in the global markets showed mixed dynamics during the working week from Monday May 7 to Friday May 11.The decision by the United States to withdraw from the international nuclear-power deal with Iran was expected to decrease the supply of the semi-finished material in the Gulf region, while CIS-region suppliers could see this as an opportunity.Turkish market remained quiet due...Read More
The Russian market for hot-rolled (HR) and cold-rolled (CR) steel sheet was quiet during the week ended Monday May 14 due to public holidays, sources have told Metal Bulletin."Demand is normal for this period of the year, but in the first half of May trading activity slowed down for the Labor Day and Victory Day holidays," a trader said on Monday May 14.Metal Bulletin's weekly assessment of the pr...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly mixed at the close of trading on Monday May 14, with nickel's three-month price climbing 3% during the afternoon. Breaking through previous resistance at $14,200 per tonne this morning, nickel reached a high of $14,520 per tonne during the afternoon once momentum took an upward shift. Staggered mine output across New Caledonia and Indonesia...Read More
Export prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) from the Commonwealth of Independent States have decreased again because of low demand in key markets, with buyers fearing further price declines, sources have told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for CIS-origin HRC exports was $550-570 per tonne fob Black Sea on Monday May 14, down by $20-30 per tonne from...Read More
Cobalt prices continued to drift lower last week due to a lull in demand and increase in availability of offers for spot metal units. Metal Bulletin's price assessments for low-grade and high-grade metal were unchanged on Friday May 11, after falling midweek. Low-grade cobalt prices fell 30 cents on the low end of the range, and 20 cents on the high end of the range on Wednesday May 9, to set...Read More