ArcelorMittal Brasil is currently designing a long-term strategic plan until 2030 with a possibility that it would include an expansion to its flat-rolling capacity in Tubar??o, local chief executive officer Benjamin Baptista said on Friday January 18.The company owns roughly 13.5 square kilometers of land in Tubar??o, the name of the unit located in Serra, a city in the southeast Brazilian state...Read More

Some steel coil prices in Turkey fell this week on continued slow demand because buyers are waiting for prices to reach a bottom, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 18.Demand has been poor in the country since August 2018, when relations between Turkey and the United States deteriorated, when Turkish lira lost value against the US dollar after US president Donald Trump's administratio...Read More

Coated steel prices in Turkey were stable in the week to Friday January 18, with demand expected to improve because of low stock levels.Buying has been slow for some time, so buyers will have to place bookings soon, sources told Fastmarkets.Domestic pricesOne producer in northern Turkey was offering 0.5mm hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) at $640 per tonne ex-works, while a...Read More

Pig iron exporters from the south of Brazil cut prices lower to sell a cargo to the United States, Fastmarkets learned on Friday January 18.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exports from the southeastern Minas Gerais region was $310-312 per tonne fob on January 18, narrowing downward from $310-320 per tonne fob a week before.Some 27,000 tonnes of pig iron with 0.15% phosp...Read More

UK ferrous scrap prices for deliveries in January have dropped by ?15-20 ($19-26) per tonne, depending on grade, due to persistent weakness in export prices to the key destination of Turkey, trade sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 18.The move followed a uniform price drop of ?20 per tonne in December settlements, after a rollover for two consecutive months.European export prices to trad...Read More

Alloy steel scrap prices were influenced a range of factors in the week ended Friday January 18, including divergent pricing trends for key alloy components, poor demand and changing currency values.The result of this was that scrap price developments have shown mixed fortunes.Demand from mills remained poor and buying mills held the advantage in price negotiations, and this put downward pressure...Read More

The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India was stable this week, with deals done at prices similar to last week, market participants said on Friday January 18.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $318.73 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on January 18, little changed from $319.24 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on January 11.There were five deals for...Read More

The Turkish steel mills have continued to book deep-sea scrap but at a slow pace, with prices largely stable, sources said on Friday January 18.A steel producer in the Izmir region booked a US cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $283 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $288 per tonne cfr."The mills are trying...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices went up on Friday January 18 with Chinese steel mills stockpiling material ahead of the upcoming Chinese new year holiday.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $75.70 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.15 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $76.54 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.34 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $76.88 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.96 per to...Read More

Copper, zinc and lead stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up week on week on Friday January 18 in a quiet trading week in China, while aluminum, nickel and tin stocks fell. Deliverable zinc stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses rose by 9.25% or 2,492 tonnes to 29,434 tonnes in the week to Friday. Shanggang Logistic had 3,495 tonnes of zinc delivered into its warehouse, an increase of 300% or...Read More

Growing optimism for a US-China trade agreement has prompted London Metal Exchange base metals prices to consolidate higher across the board in morning trading on Friday January 18, with zinc's 1.3% increase leading the charge. Zinc's three-month price recently traded at $2581.50 per tonne, up 1.3% from Thursday's close. The climb in the metal's futures price comes after volatile price action last...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were up on Friday January 18, with supply concerns emerging during the day on news of disruption to operations at Abbot Point port in Queensland, Australia, market sources said. Safety-related incidents had led to suspension of operations at two berths at the Abbot Point coal terminal, sources said. The port operator, however, could not be reached for comment at the tim...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices picked up more strength on Friday January 18 on improved sentiment.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,650-3,670 yuan ($539-542) per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,640-3,650 yuan per tonne, narrowing upward 50 yuan per tonneAlthough prices rose in Shanghai while those in Tianjin narrowed upward, a Hangzhou-based trader said these were large...Read More

Key data from the Friday January 18 pricing session in Europe.Key driversBenchmark cobalt prices continue to slide, with some market participants eager to sell units not committed to 2019 contracts. Wide premium for standard-grade over alloy-grade material narrows as...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday January 18:Minor metalsBismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 49,000-51,000 yuan per tonne from 49,500-51,000 yuanChromium MB free market alumino-thermic, $/tonne: $9,600-9,950 per tonne from $9,800-10,200Cobalt MB free market alloy grade, $/lb: $20.50-22.50...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday January 18. China  The domestic ferro-chrome spot price was unmoved amid thin trading activity. Many market participants await February's tender prices, which mills are expected to release next week.  Higher trade prices and increased liquidity pushed up the UG2...Read More

Import prices for stainless steel in Asia appear to have stabilized after a six-month slump thanks to an uptick in demand, a recovery in the nickel market and a potential drop in Indonesian supply. These seem to have put an end to the region's heated price war, sources told Fastmarkets MB on Wednesday January 16.Prices for 304 stainless cold-rolled coil and hot-rolled coil began to decline in earl...Read More

The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday January 18:Aluminium ingotDuty paid delivered works...Read More

Bayhorse Silver (TSXV: BHS; US-OTC: KXPLF) has tabled 23 new silver channel samples from its Bayhorse silver mine in Oregon. The company is trying to find the mine's higher grade zones; it will then designate the barren zones as support pillars in its mine design.The company sampled from two new raises and stopes built 15 metres apart. It took samples measuring 1 metre by 0.2 metre on 0.9 metre ce...Read More