Domestic prices for hollow steel sections in Southern Europe are likely to rise over the next month, with producers facing a shortage of hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the region, sources have told Metal Bulletin.HRC prices have enjoyed a strong start to 2018 in Southern Europe thanks to a lack of available imported material at workable prices and problems with output at Italian steelmaker Ilva."[Steelm...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Wednesday January 24.Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange have recovered 1.3% during morning trading despite another large delivery into LME warehouses.The three-month copper price plummeted to a 2018 low of $6,885 per tonne yesterday after inventories increased a net 36,300 tonnes to 248,075 tonnes. A further 2...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai, as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday January 24.Base metals prices were down across the board during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, with copper leading the losses following a sharp increase in red metal stocks on the London Metal Exchange overnight.LME copper inventories increased a net 36,300 tonnes to 248,075...Read More
Lithium fans, take note. The metal's crown as the leading raw material in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) is facing increasing competition from other products such as cobalt and nickel. Lithium has hogged the top spot in EV batteries for some time, largely due to its early adoption in technology developed by Tesla. For more than a decade, the US-based company has been using lithium-ion batte...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 24 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures traded lower this afternoon, only nickel and tin edging up slightly. Copper led the loss among base metals with a 1.7% drop, while zinc lost 1%. Aluminium and lead slightly dropped.The ferrous complex saw mixed trading today. While iron ore dropped 1%, coking coal, hot-rolled coil and rebar rose around 1%. Coke also gained 0.5%.Copper: Chinese...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 24 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures traded lower this afternoon, only nickel and tin edging up slightly. Copper led the loss among base metals with a 1.7% drop, while zinc lost 1%. Aluminium and lead slightly dropped.The ferrous complex saw mixed trading today. While iron ore dropped 1%, coking coal, hot-rolled coil and rebar rose around 1%. Coke also gained 0.5%.Copper: Chinese...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 24 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures traded lower this afternoon, only nickel and tin edging up slightly. Copper led the loss among base metals with a 1.7% drop, while zinc lost 1%. Aluminium and lead slightly dropped.The ferrous complex saw mixed trading today. While iron ore dropped 1%, coking coal, hot-rolled coil and rebar rose around 1%. Coke also gained 0.5%.Copper: Chinese...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 6 points in pre-opening trade. Futures are responding to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin's comments that prompted weakness in the U.S. Dollar Index.Gold gained $16.50 per ounce in response to Mnuchin's comments.Fourth quarter reports continue to pour in. Reports released since yesterday's close included Capital On, United C...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 24 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Three nickel pig iron (NPI) plants in Inner Mongolia were set to be suspended for maintenance this month due to aging facilities, SMM learned.We estimate about 1,250 mt of nickel ouput will be lost, accounting for 4% of China’s high-grade NPI output.SMM forecast China’s high-grade NPI output to drop 8% to 35,000 in January from the previous month as a numbe...Read More
China Copper Group has generated 706 million yuan of profits in 2017, setting a new record high since its establishment. The article is edited by SMM and is provided for information purpose only. It does not mean SMM agrees with its views and SMM assumes no liability for accuracy of information contained or quoted in the article. Read More
Tin stocks at London Metal Exchange warehouses have fallen further since the start of 2018, with a 34% reduction in on-warrant stocks pushing tin prices to a three-month high.Total tin stock levels are at 1,780 tonnes as of Wednesday January 24 - their lowest since the 1980s - after a series of cancelations and deliveries out since January 10. This is in comparison with the start of 2017, when Jan...Read More
Technical action by S&P 500 stocks to 11:15: Quiet. Breakouts: $MAC $WY. No breakdownsEditor's Note: After 11:15 AM EST, breakouts included CB, PAYX, ORCL, BMY and BIIB. CGI Group $GIB, a TSX 60 stock moved above $54.99 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.Imperial Oil $IMO.CA, a TSX 60 stock moved above $39.98 setting intermediate uptrend.'Tis the season for Imperial Oil to m...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 24 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper: Surging inventory has seen LME copper prices wander around the $7,000/mt level for a few days. Inventory levels and changes in spot premiums would set the tone for future LME copper movement in the short term. On the SHFE, open interest has increased to 708,000 lots with many of them speculative bets. We see increased volatility in the near term.Aluminium: LME...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 24 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper: Surging inventory has seen LME copper prices wander around the $7,000/mt level for a few days. Inventory levels and changes in spot premiums would set the tone for future LME copper movement in the short term. On the SHFE, open interest has increased to 708,000 lots with many of them speculative bets. We see increased volatility in the near term.Aluminium: LME...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 24 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper: Surging inventory has seen LME copper prices wander around the $7,000/mt level for a few days. Inventory levels and changes in spot premiums would set the tone for future LME copper movement in the short term. On the SHFE, open interest has increased to 708,000 lots with many of them speculative bets. We see increased volatility in the near term.Aluminium: LME...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange put in a strong performance on the afternoon of Wednesday January 24, supported by the weaker dollar, to close in positive territory across the board.The three-month nickel price ended more than 5% higher than Tuesday's closing price after hitting its highest since June 2015. Volumes were also high today, with more than 18,000 lots traded by 17:15 Lo...Read More
Tin stocks at London Metal Exchange warehouses have fallen further since the start of 2018, with a 34% reduction in on-warrant stocks pushing tin prices to a three-month high.Total tin stock levels are at 1,780 tonnes as of Wednesday January 24 - their lowest since the 1980s - after a series of cancelations and deliveries out since January 10. This is in comparison with the start of 2017, when Jan...Read More
Iron ore prices remained steady around $74 per tonne cfr China on Wednesday January 24 amid mixed signals from China's steel and futures markets.Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $74.53 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: up by $0.24 per tonne Month-to-date average: $76.38 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe...Read More
European domestic prices for steel beams have remained unchanged this week, with solid demand and well-booked mill rolling schedules supporting the market, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday January 24."There is no problem at all in the beam market. Demand is good," one stockholder said."As far as we are seeing, there is no weakening in prices," one producer source told Metal Bulletin."Mill...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange put in a strong performance on the afternoon of Wednesday January 24, supported by the weaker dollar, to close in positive territory across the board.The three-month nickel price ended more than 5% higher than Tuesday's closing price after hitting its highest since June 2015. Volumes were also high today, with more than 18,000 lots traded by 17:15 Lo...Read More