European antimony prices rose on a weekly comparison on Friday January 26 amid tightening supply while Chinese prices were unchanged. Metal Bulletin assessed MMTA standard grade II antimony in-warehouse Rotterdam prices at $8,200-8,500 per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the midweek assessment but higher week on week from $8,100-8,400 per tonne. Trioxide grade antimony prices in-warehous...Read More
Turkish steel producers extended their silence in the deep-sea scrap markets at the start of this week, but they still expected to book more cargoes for February, sources said on Monday January 29.Turkish mills were expected by several market sources to book five or six more cargoes for shipping in February, but they were postponing their scrap purchases due to low demand for...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have fallen over the past week, in line with weakening imported scrap values, sources said on Monday January 29.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic auto bundle scrap (DKP grade) was TRY1,210-1,400 ($322-373) per tonne delivered, down from last week's $1,300-1,440 per tonne.The fall in the weekly assessment came after steel mills lowered their...Read More
Commodity markets were mixed on the morning of Monday January 29, with Comex copper picking up a little buying in start-of-week trading.Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 0.3 cents or 0.1% to trade recently at $3.2020 per lb. Prices have been volatile over the past week, with the weaker dollar - it remains around its lowest in more than...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are stronger by an average of 1% this morning, Monday January 29. Nickel and zinc prices lead the way with gains of around 2%, followed by lead prices that are up by 1% and copper prices ($7,147 per tonne) that are up by 0.8%, while aluminium and tin lag with gains of 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.Volume has been strong with 13,382 lots traded as of 07....Read More
Trading activity in the market for CIS-origin hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) has remained low over the past seven days because there have been few offers of March-rolled material."Mills have sold out their February-rolled material and now they are cautious, because there is a threat that the market will turn around," a trader told Metal Bulletin on Monday January 29.He added that...Read More
India's JSW has launched a bid to purchase steelmaker Monnet Ispat Steel, representatives of both companies confirmed to Metal Bulletin on Monday January 29.If successful, the acquisition would give JSW a stronger presence in the Indian domestic plate and bar sectors, where it currently trails competitors including Essar Steel and Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL). Monnet Ispat owns an integrated stee...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices remained largely steady on Monday January 29 amid inactivity, which kept the export market quiet with most participants taking a wait-and-see approach. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,090-4,130 yuan ($647-654) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonne Northern China (Tianjin): 3,940-3,970 yuan per tonne, unchanged HRC futures surged in the first 15 minutes of the...Read More
India's JSW has launched a bid to purchase steelmaker Monnet Ispat Steel, representatives of both companies confirmed to Metal Bulletin on Monday January 29.If successful, the acquisition would give JSW a stronger presence in the Indian domestic plate and bar sectors, where it currently trails competitors including Essar Steel and Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL). Monnet Ispat owns an integrated stee...Read More
CIS export rebar and wire rod prices lost $10-15 per tonne over the past week, with a lack of buying activity compounded by a downturn in sentiment in the billet and scrap markets. Prices fell despite reduced availability in the export market after Russia's NLMK focused on selling to the domestic market and fellow Russian steelmaker Abinsk Steel Mill remained out...Read More
Oman's Jindal Shadeed, part of India's Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL), produced.420,000 tonnes of crude steel in October-December 2017, the company said on Thursday January 25.This was up quarter-on-quarter by 34.48% from 310,000 tonnes produced in the third quarter of the year, it added.Its rebar production reached 240,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2017, and...Read More
Turkish steel producers extended their silence in the deep-sea scrap markets at the start of this week, but they still expected to book more cargoes for February, sources said on Monday January 29.Turkish mills were expected by several market sources to book five or six more cargoes for shipping in February, but they were postponing their scrap purchases due to low demand for...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have fallen over the past week, in line with weakening imported scrap values, sources said on Monday January 29.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic auto bundle scrap (DKP grade) was TRY1,210-1,400 ($322-373) per tonne delivered, down from last week's $1,300-1,440 per tonne.The fall in the weekly assessment came after steel mills lowered their...Read More
Iron ore prices softened but remained at the $74-per-tonne-cfr-China mark on Monday January 29 amid declining futures and a subdued steel market in ChinaMetal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $74.33 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: down by $0.07 per tonne Month-to-date average: $76.12 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $60.70 per tonne...Read More
CIS export billet prices continued to trend downward in the Black Sea market in the week ended Monday January 29, with buying activity remaining low and customers expecting more price cuts in the near term.Traders were also said to have built up high levels of stock at ports in recent weeks, which also served to restrict buying activity.Metal Bulletin's weekly export CIS Billet Index dropped to $4...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued to fall on Monday January 29 on thin demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,890 yuan ($604-616) per tonne, down 10-30 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,900-3,940 yuan per tonne, narrowed downward by 10 yuan per tonne Most construction projects have stopped work due to bad weather as well as because the Chinese New Year is just a little o...Read More
European alloy surcharges for January deliveries of grade-316 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheet have risen sharply month on month amid higher nickel and molybdenum costs.The February assessment for molybdenum-containing 2 mm grade-316 CR sheet - compiled by Metal Bulletin based on data released by Outokumpu, Acerinox and Aperam - rose ?,?99-155 ($123.03-192.62) per tonne to ?,?1,923-1,963 per...Read More
Chinese ferro-silicon prices have been steady in the past week, stabilizing losses made through the month when idled production was restarted; meanwhile, the European price set another record high, and US prices climbed after a period of inactivity due to strong overseas prices. Consumer demand shores up Chinese market Chinese market awaits new steel mill tenders Europe hits record hi...Read More
Swiss special and stainless steel producer Schmolz + Bickenbach (S+B) has been chosen by a French court to take over French speciality steelmaker Asco Industries (Ascometal), it said on Monday January 29.S+B will take over Ascometal's assets on Thursday February 1, with the exception of Ascoval, a joint venture between Ascometal and French tube & pipe producer Vallourec in Saint-Saulve i...Read More
Zinc was the best performer on the London Metal Exchange at the close on Monday January 29, while the other metals diverged.Zinc's three-month price was up $72, or 2%, to $3,550 per tonne, mostly on the back of supply-side factors. Tighter stocks on the LME and adverse weather in zinc-producing provinces of Northwestern China, which makes it difficult to transport zinc out of the region, have...Read More