Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week. Base metalsGeoffrey Gao will become chief executive officer of Australian-Chinese miner MMG from this August.Minera Escondida has ended early talks with its unionized workers aimed at agreeing a new labor deal, the Chilean copper producer said.Anglo American recorded a 13% year-on-year decline...Read More

Oleg Deripaska has agreed, in principle, to reduce his shareholding in the EN+ Group to below 50% and resign from the company's board, the company announced today. EN+ Group holds a 48.1% stake in UC Rusal - both companies have been hit by United States' sanctions imposed on Deripaska earlier this month. VTB Capital, the investment bank, owns 4.35% of EN+ and Deripaska and his family own the...Read More

Comex copper prices fell to a multi-week low to close the week on April 27 morning in the US, with a rising dollar and geopolitical uncertainty weighing on the red metal.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange collapsed 7.40 cents or 2.4% to $3.0400 per lb. Earlier, the contract weakened to $3.0305, the lowest point since April 6."Next week is going to b...Read More

Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.Iron ore prices ended the week above the $65-per-tonne mark, with most market participants staying away on Friday April 27 to cut their risk ahead of a four-day trading break in China due to a public holiday over the first two days of next week.Meanwhile, India's largest iron ore miner, NMDC, lowered it...Read More

Import prices for flat steel in South America have increased this week, due to high-priced offers from China, Metal Bulletin has heard."[Chinese] export offers rose due to rising domestic values," a trader said on Friday April 27.China-origin offers of cold-rolled coil (CRC) were recorded at $680 per tonne cfr in Brazil and at $670-675 per tonne cfr along the region's Pacific coast.Meanwhile, Chin...Read More

UK long steel producer British Steel remains confident about its wire rod export business despite growing protectionism in international steel markets, Richard Sims, the company's managing director for wire rod, told Metal Bulletin last week.This protectionist trend saw the European Commission (EC) start a safeguard investigation into imports of 26 steel products on March 26.This had the intention...Read More

Coated coil prices in Turkey fell this week because of lackluster demand in both the local and export markets, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday April 27.Domestic pricesOne Northern Turkish producer was offering 0.50mm hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) at $780 per tonne ex-works this week.Southern Turkish producers were offering the product at $810 per tonne ex-works this week, down from $820-8...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transactions: HRC, CRC, HDG, PPGIHot-rolled coilTurkey, domestic, hot-rolled coil, offered at $625-630 per tonne ex-works, June production.Turkey, domestic, hot-rolled coil, traded at $...Read More

Shahnawaz Islam, director of metals research and product development at CME Group, is leaving the exchange after nearly three years, a representative confirmed on Friday April 27.Shan, who was promoted from manager to director in March, will stay in London but will return to a...Read More

Spot, battery-grade lithium carbonate prices continued to fall in China this week on thin buying activity, with buyers in no rush to buy ahead of the Labour Day holiday (April 29-May 1) and cautious given recent price declines.Chinese lithium carbonate battery-grade spot prices fall due to softer demand  Consumers of lithium carbonate battery-grade hold back on procuring material ahead of hol...Read More

The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys, bulk alloys and ores prices changed on Friday April 27:Noble alloys Molybdenum US canned molybdic oxide, $/Ib $12.30-12.50 per Ib from $12.00-12.30 Tungsten European free market APT, $/mtu: $327-336 per mtu from $325-328 Ferro-tungsten basis 75% W Rotterdam duty unpaid, $/kg: $39.30-40.50 per kg from $39.50-40.50 Ferro-vanadium basis 78% min, free deliver...Read More

Peruvian iron ore producer Shougang Hierro Per?? saw its net profit fall by 41.29% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2018, due to lower sales prices.The company's net profit totaled 180.63 million nuevos soles ($55.62 million), compared with 307.65 million nuevos soles a year earlier, it said in a note to Peruvian securities regulator SMV on...Read More

UAE long steel producer Emirates Steel has developed a light steel scrap shredder with capacity for 350,000 tonnes per year so it can use local scrap as an alternative feedstock during periods of high price volatility.Emirates Steel, which predominantly produces steel products via the direct-reduction iron (DRI) route, has gradually increased the volume of scrap it purchases to 225,000 tpy in 2017...Read More

Global ferrous scrap prices were mostly going down during the working week ended Friday April 27 due to thinner trading and weaker demand.A public holiday in Turkey reduced the demand for bulk cargoes, while a slight pickup in daily prices toward the end of the week did not boost week-on-week price changes. The weak bulk export sales in the United States added downward pressure to bulk prices, com...Read More

Prices for containerized shredded scrap imported into India were stable this week with buyers returning to the market following a lull in activity, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday April 27.Metal Bulletin's weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was largely unchanged this week at $385.15 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on April 25, down by $0.29 week-on-week, compared w...Read More

Brazilian pig iron export prices were unchanged for the third week in a row on Friday April 27, due to the lack of activity in the final trading days of April.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for Caraj??s-origin pig iron exports was $405-410 per tonne fob on Friday, stable on a weekly basis.Over the same period, Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for Minas Gerais-origin pig iron expo...Read More

The UK inter-merchant price range for austenitic alloy steel scrap fell by ?30-60 per tonne this week, after the price of nickel weakened sharply, sources said on Friday April 27.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?950-980 ($1,324-1,366) per tonne delivered on Thursday, compared with ?980-1,040 per tonne on April 20, which was its highest...Read More

The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday April 27.Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were lower during morning trading, except for zinc, which remained unchanged despite another delivery into Antwerp taking zinc's total stocks up to 60,050 tonnes.Here's how base metals prices looked at 12:15 London time:Read our live futures report here."Volatil...Read More

Most iron ore market participants stayed away on Friday April 27 to cut their risk ahead of a 4-day trading break in China due to a public holiday over the first two days of next week.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $65.68 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.60 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $55.48 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.42 per tonneMetal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Inde...Read More

Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market remained robust on Friday April 27 with traders procuring several cargoes ahead of a long weekend in China, sources said.A cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal was traded at $184 per tonne cfr China while a top Australian brand changed hands against an index at a 3% premium, they said. Several sources also told Metal Bulletin late on Friday...Read More