Afarak has confirmed a first-quarter loss of ?,?700,000 ($836,000) due to lower ferro-chrome prices, higher costs and a stronger South African rand.The London and Helsinki-listed mining and metallurgical group, which owns the Mogale ferro-alloys plant in South Africa, reported negative earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of ?,?700,000 compared with positive Ebitda...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.Last weekendThe US dollar index fell after rising to a four-month high last week, gaining 0.01% week on week to stand at 92.84 last Friday due to a moderate US consumer price index (CPI).Base metals mostly strengthened last Friday as a result. Both LME and SHFE copper went up sligh...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) –Copper: Copper prices saw steady gains last Friday night on a weakened US dollar. LME copper stood above all moving averages with strong support, and it is expected to trade at $6,900-6,960/mt today. The SHFE 1807 copper contract stood above the 20-day moving average with pressure from the 60-day moving average. We see it trading at 51,400-51,800 yuan/mt during the da...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) –Copper: Copper prices saw steady gains last Friday night on a weakened US dollar. LME copper stood above all moving averages with strong support, and it is expected to trade at $6,900-6,960/mt today. The SHFE 1807 copper contract stood above the 20-day moving average with pressure from the 60-day moving average. We see it trading at 51,400-51,800 yuan/mt during the da...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.Last weekendThe US dollar index fell after rising to a four-month high last week, gaining 0.01% week on week to stand at 92.84 last Friday due to a moderate US consumer price index (CPI).Base metals mostly strengthened last Friday as a result. Both LME and SHFE copper went up sligh...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 14 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.Last weekendThe US dollar index fell after rising to a four-month high last week, gaining 0.01% week on week to stand at 92.84 last Friday due to a moderate US consumer price index (CPI).Base metals mostly strengthened last Friday as a result. Both LME and SHFE copper went up sligh...Read More
A Colorado School of Mines professor was recently honored for his contributions to industry at the Association for Iron and Steel Technology's annual conference and exposition, held May 7-10 in Philadelphia.John Speer, John Henry Moore Distinguished Professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, was presented the Benjamin F. Fairless Award, which recognizes distinguished achievement in iron...Read More
The Kabanga licence had been due to expire in 2019 and was one of 11 retention licences cancelled by the Mining Commission as part of the enforcement of the country's new mining regime, Reuters reported on the weekend.Tanzanian president John Magufuli had appointed commissioners to the new body last month.Commission chairman Professor Idris Kikula said former retention licence holders should reapp...Read More
Italian steelmaker Acciaierie Venete has suspended production at its Padova plant in Northern Italy after four employees were injured by molten steel from a defective ladle carrying the material on May 13.Long steel production at the plant has stopped while an investigation into the accident, which also caused a fire at the plant, takes place.The company hopes to restart its rolling mill by Tuesda...Read More
Prices in the Black Sea billet export market picked up by $9 per tonne over the week ended Monday May 14 with customers accepting higher prices from CIS-region suppliers, Metal Bulletin has learnt.The fact that the US threatened last week to reimpose international trading sanctions on Iran, which may result in reduced billet export volumes from the Middle Eastern country, gave additional support t...Read More
Delivering the opening keynote address at the new conference, attended by more than 400 delegates, McIntosh said Rio Tinto and its peers were heading into a very different future for the industry than the one envisaged a decade ago."If you'd asked me 10 years ago if I ever thought we'd be hosting a Hackathon, I'd have just said, ‘what on earth is that?'. And perhaps, ‘we're here to do...Read More
Steel billet prices in the global markets showed mixed dynamics during the working week from Monday May 7 to Friday May 11.The decision by the United States to withdraw from the international nuclear-power deal with Iran was expected to decrease the supply of the semi-finished material in the Gulf region, while CIS-region suppliers could see this as an opportunity.Turkish market remained quiet due...Read More
The Russian market for hot-rolled (HR) and cold-rolled (CR) steel sheet was quiet during the week ended Monday May 14 due to public holidays, sources have told Metal Bulletin."Demand is normal for this period of the year, but in the first half of May trading activity slowed down for the Labor Day and Victory Day holidays," a trader said on Monday May 14.Metal Bulletin's weekly assessment of the pr...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly mixed at the close of trading on Monday May 14, with nickel's three-month price climbing 3% during the afternoon. Breaking through previous resistance at $14,200 per tonne this morning, nickel reached a high of $14,520 per tonne during the afternoon once momentum took an upward shift. Staggered mine output across New Caledonia and Indonesia...Read More
Export prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) from the Commonwealth of Independent States have decreased again because of low demand in key markets, with buyers fearing further price declines, sources have told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for CIS-origin HRC exports was $550-570 per tonne fob Black Sea on Monday May 14, down by $20-30 per tonne from...Read More
Cobalt prices continued to drift lower last week due to a lull in demand and increase in availability of offers for spot metal units. Metal Bulletin's price assessments for low-grade and high-grade metal were unchanged on Friday May 11, after falling midweek. Low-grade cobalt prices fell 30 cents on the low end of the range, and 20 cents on the high end of the range on Wednesday May 9, to set...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Monday May 14. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange edged mostly lower during morning trading, with nickel and lead the only metals to record gains across the complex.Here is how the LME base metals complex looked at 12.09pm London time:For a snapshot of exchange news, check out our live futures report.Afarak has...Read More
Facebook has thus far suspended about 200 apps in the first phase of its review into apps that had access to great quantities of user dataContinue...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Monday May 14. Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly higher during Asian morning trading on Monday, with the exception of aluminium and zinc, amid easing trade tensions between the United States and China, and a weaker dollar. Check Metal Bulletin's live futures repo...Read More
Chilean President Sebasti??n Pi??era has appointed Hern??n de Solminihac and Ignacio Briones as new board members of state-owned copper producer Codelco, the company said late on Friday May 11. De Solminihac, who is an ex-minister of Mining and Public Works, and Briones, the dean of the Adolfo Ib????ez University, were both appointed for four-year terms. They replace Laura Albornoz and Dante...Read More