China's ferrous futures rose slightly during the morning trading session on Monday February 5.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,949 ($626) per tonne, up 13 yuan per tonne May hot-rolled coil: 4,027 yuan per tonne, up 17 yuan per tonne Dalian Commodity Exchange May iron ore: 519.50 yuan per tonne, up 3.50 yuan per tonneMay coking coal: 1,350 yuan per to...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices remain firm amid concerns about possible weather-related disruptions in Australia and tight supply in China's domestic market. "There has been a lingering tightness in the mid-vol premium Australian hard coking coal segment, with the cyclone season making buyers more nervous now," a trader source said on Monday February 5. The Queensland Bureau of Meteorology has issued...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were largely consolidating during morning trading on Monday February 5 after a broadly negative performance at the end of last week. Copper's three-month price has gained $55 so far this morning to move above $7,100 per tonne. "Copper is the best performer so far today on the back of a decent onshore bid which has managed to keep LME copper well abov...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices rose slightly on Monday February 5 amid a strengthening of the billet market.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,860-3,920 yuan ($612-622) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,920-3,960 yuan per tonne, widened upward by 10 yuan per tonneThe price of billet increased by 20 yuan per tonne over weekend, which gave the spot rebar market a boost.But...Read More
China's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil rose slightly on Monday February 5 on early gains in the paper market. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,110-4,140 yuan ($652-657) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 4,000-4,030 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneHRC futures recovered a bulk of the losses experienced during last Friday night's trading session, which improved sent...Read More
Cobalt log based on trades, bids and offers confirmed to Metal Bulletin. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Click here for Metal Bulletin's cobalt pricing specifications. Metal Bulletin prices Click here for cobalt low-grade MB free market price. Click here for cobalt high-grade MB free market price. Click...Read More
Cobalt prices continued their steady ascent last week, while opportunities to pick up more cheaply-priced units ran thin. But slower spot activity ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday and buyers' reluctance to overstock at high prices served to limit the pace of the rally, market sources noted. Metal Bulletin assessed low-grade cobalt prices at $37.25-38.50 per lb, in-warehouse, on Friday Fe...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Monday February 5.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were largely consolidating during morning trading today after a broadly negative performance at the end of last week.Here is how the LME...Read More
Chinese silicon export prices rose again in the pricing session last week due to continuing dollar weakness and tightening spot availability. The weakening dollar has forced Chinese silicon exporters to frequently refresh their quotations in the past week to keep their order book balanced. The dollar index was recently at 89.07, down on Friday but up slightly from a low of 88.43 on January 25. Met...Read More
European antimony prices rose on Friday February 2 amid continued tightness in availability ahead of Lunar New Year while prices in China remained stable in a quiet market. Metal Bulletin assessed MMTA standard grade II antimony in-warehouse Rotterdam prices at $8,300-8,500 per tonne on Friday, up from the midweek assessment of $8,250-8,500 per tonne. Trioxide grade antimony prices in-wa...Read More
Ascoval, a joint venture between the recently sold Ascometal and French tube & pipe producer Vallourec in northern France, is to continue production while a buyer is sought for the company, according to reports in the French press over the weekend.The future of Ascoval was put in doubt when majority shareowner Ascometal was taken over by Swiss special and stainless steel producer Schmolz + Bickenb...Read More
A new integrated stainless steel mill in India is likely to target its output to that country and the rest of Asia to meet growing demand there, market participants told Metal BulletinChina's Tsingshan Holding Group started the construction of the cold-rolling line at what will be one one of the largest stainless steel projects in India when completed, it said late last month.Tsingshan has formed...Read More
(Repeats with no changes to text. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)* China's steel exports: * China steel and real estate: By Andy HomeLONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Global production of crude steel rose by 5.3 percent last year, according to the World Steel Association (WSA). As remarkable as the pace of growth was the geographical spread. Only two of the...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold will be keeping January’s gains throughout the first half of 2018, according to BNP Paribas, but will face downward pressure in the second part of the year as the Federal Reserve proceeds with normalization of monetary policy.“Rising inflation expectations and a weak dollar, as long as they last, provide the support for gold’s current trading levels,” Ha...Read More
(Adds context on deal, prior bids)Feb 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Mitsui & Co won a three-way bidding war to take over Australia's AWE Ltd , after rival bidder Mineral Resources failed to match Mitsui's offer.The Australian gas producer said in a statement that it had entered into a bid implementation deed with Mitsui for its proposed $480 million dollar takeover. AWE on Monday recommended that sh...Read More
(Refiles to make clear interview with minister was in person, not on the phone, fixes typo in second reference to Koroma)FREETOWN, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's finance minister on Friday played down a decision by the IMF to delay a disbursement because of the West African country's failure to improve revenue collection, saying the fund would return in May to discuss the programme.The IMF said...Read More
US Equities In A Virtual Meltdown, Bonds & Dollar Higher, Gold Dramatically LowerAt its low today the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading off by 642 points, and as of this writing at 3:15 PM Eastern standard time the Dow is off by a little over 550 points which is a net decline of 2.11% on the day. In fact, all of the major US indices are trading dramatically lower with the Standard & Poor's...Read More
* TSX down 254.89 points, or 1.61 percent, at 15,606.03* All of the TSX's 10 main groups were trading lower (Updates share prices)TORONTO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index slumped to a four-month low on Friday, with natural resource shares leading broad based declines as commodity prices dropped and higher bond yields pressured global equity markets.U.S. crude prices were down 1.1 perce...Read More
(Kitco News) - Sorry folks, Punxsutawney Phil, the famous weather pontificating groundhog, saw his shadow, which means there is still six more weeks of winter left. And on the topic of looming shadows, gold prices are looking to end the week in negative territory with analysts saying that gold could be entering a consolidation phase, faced with an uncertain outlook. The price action is a sud...Read More
(Kitco News) - As the saying goes: “to the victor go the spoils.”And there is a lot on the line as the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots meet in Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII, on the field and off.The competition for football dominance is not just played in the stadium, but in jewelry and precious metals as Super Bowl rings get more intricate and include more attitude....Read More