Comex copper prices rebounded in morning trading on Friday March 8 in the United States after the publication of a jobs report that exceeded expectations.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange recovered 3.4 cents or 1.1% to trade recently at $3.1130 per lb. Yesterday, the contract slid to the lowest point since February 12.This morning, the US non-farm...Read More
Unionized workers at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres mine in Chile have voted to strike, rejecting the latest offer for a collective labor agreement from the miner."Around 99% of the voting workers voted in favor of a legal strike," Federacion Minera de Chile treasurer Dino Saltori said in a statement on the organization's website.Antofagasta had offered improvements for miner benefits and a "salary r...Read More
Key data from Metal Bulletin's Wednesday March 7 pricing session in China.Molybdenum concentrate Metal Bulletin Chinese free market, 45% Mo, in-warehouse China, RMB per mtu Key drivers- Supply is tight on earlier plant turnarounds conducted by major miners.- Recent surge in Chinese exports for January 2018 further underpins supply tightness.-...Read More
Key data from Metal Bulletin's Wednesday March 7 pricing session in China.Molybdenum concentrate Metal Bulletin Chinese free market, 45% Mo, in-warehouse China, RMB per mtu Key drivers- Supply is tight on earlier plant turnarounds conducted by major miners.- Recent surge in Chinese exports for January 2018 further underpins supply tightness.-...Read More
Domestic stainless steel prices in China have fallen further over the past week following losses in the nickel market. Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless CRC in the major market of Wuxi was 14,600-15,300 yuan ($2,304-2,415) per tonne including VAT for the week ended Thursday March 8, against 14,700-15,300 yuan per tonne from a week earlier. Nickel prices on the Londo...Read More
Prices for ferrous scrap in the major global markets kept rising over the past seven days despite questions over how the new US import tariffs on steel could affect the scrap markets.Good scrap demand has led to higher prices in the import markets of Turkey, India and Taiwan, while US export prices have stayed stable.Turkey importsTurkish steel mills continued to book scrap at higher prices this w...Read More
The UK inter-merchant price range for austenitic alloy steel scrap has been largely unchanged over the past week while market participants wait for nickel prices to settle, sources said on Friday March 9.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?950-980 ($1,317-1,359) per tonne delivered on Friday, compared with ?950-990 per tonne delivered last...Read More
A steady increase in ferrous scrap demand to key destinations such as Turkey and the Indian subcontinent from Europe has pulled up prices for light iron, grade-5C steel scrap in the United Kingdom this week, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 9.The UK light iron scrap market has now moved up for four weeks in a row.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inte...Read More
Comex copper prices rebounded in morning trading on Friday March 8 in the United States after the publication of a jobs report that exceeded expectations.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange recovered 3.4 cents or 1.1% to trade recently at $3.1130 per lb. Yesterday, the contract slid to the lowest point since February 12.This morning, the US non-farm...Read More
Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange are for the most part weaker this morning, Friday March 9. The exception is nickel, where prices are up by 0.2%, while the rest are lower: Zinc (-1%), tin (-0.9%), aluminium (-0.5%), lead (-0.3%) and copper prices are off by 0.5% at $6,792 per tonne.Volume has been high with 13,023 lots traded as of 07.10am London time - high volume and weak prices d...Read More
Argentina's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) rose this month because of the increased prices in the global steel markets, sources have told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's monthly assessment of Argentina's domestic HRC prices went up to $740-745 per tonne ex-works on Friday March 9, from $720-735 per tonne ex-works a month earlier.The price assessment for CRC in...Read More
Prices for flat steel goods in Brazil were unchanged in early March, with stable conditions also predicted for next month.Metal Bulletin's monthly price assessment for Brazilian hot-rolled coil (HRC) was steady month on month on Friday March 9 at 2,500-2,600 Reais ($768-799) per tonne ex-works.In the same comparison, Metal Bulletin's monthly price assessment for Brazilian cold-rolled coil...Read More
Import prices for flat steel goods in the South American market edged up this week, driven by higher hot-rolled coil (HRC) values."HRC is always the first [product] to feel the effects of higher slab costs," a trader said.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for HRC imports into South America was $660-670 per tonne on Friday March 9, up from last week's $650-660 per tonne cfr.China-origin...Read More
The Chilean government has started an anti-dumping case against rebar imports from Mexico, according to a document made public on Friday March 9. The country's anti-price distortion commission will analyze imports of rebar from Mexico from January to December 2017.In 2015, Chile launched an anti-dumping probe into rebar imports from Mexico, resulting in anti-dumping duties of...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.All eyes this week were on US President Donald Trump's decision to confirm his previously announced tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminium imports into the US.Metal Bulletin's team has extensively analyzed the likely effects on the global steel market of the trade action signed off under t...Read More
Argentina's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) rose this month because of the increased prices in the global steel markets, sources have told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's monthly assessment of Argentina's domestic HRC prices went up to $740-745 per tonne ex-works on Friday March 9, from $720-735 per tonne ex-works a month earlier.The price assessment for CRC in...Read More
Prices for ferrous scrap in the major global markets kept rising over the past seven days despite questions over how the new US import tariffs on steel could affect the scrap markets.Good scrap demand has led to higher prices in the import markets of Turkey, India and Taiwan, while US export prices have stayed stable.Turkey importsTurkish steel mills continued to book scrap at higher prices this w...Read More
The UK inter-merchant price range for austenitic alloy steel scrap has been largely unchanged over the past week while market participants wait for nickel prices to settle, sources said on Friday March 9.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?950-980 ($1,317-1,359) per tonne delivered on Friday, compared with ?950-990 per tonne delivered last...Read More
A steady increase in ferrous scrap demand to key destinations such as Turkey and the Indian subcontinent from Europe has pulled up prices for light iron, grade-5C steel scrap in the United Kingdom this week, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 9.The UK light iron scrap market has now moved up for four weeks in a row.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inte...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin steel slab rose this week while market participants were estimating the consequences of the 25% tariff imposed by the United States following its Section 232 investigation into national security issues on steel imports.Metal Bulletin's weekly assessment of Brazil slab export prices was $560-570 per tonne fob on Friday March 9, up from $540-545 per tonne fob a week e...Read More