Global scrap prices remained generally stable except in Taiwan during the working week from Monday March 12 to Friday March 16, amid the uncertainty created by the implementation of Section 232 tariffs in the United States and widespread weak demand for finished steel products.Turkish steel mills have stepped back from the deep-sea scrap markets since the end of the last week and have made no sign...Read More
Trades of ferrous scrap in containers to India have declined sharply this week, amid worries about the knock-on effect of the steel import tariffs being imposed in the United States, sources said on Friday March 16.Buying activity for shredded scrap in containers was steady at the beginning of the week, and at high prices. Toward the end of the week, activity cooled off dramatically although price...Read More
Colorado School of Mines has been awarded $3 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop a first-of-its-kind hybrid power generation system that could provide electricity to supermarkets, big-box retailers and other commercial buildings at high efficiency and low cost. Rob Braun, associate professor of mechanical engineering...Read More
The base price assessments for flat and long stainless steel products in Europe widened upward this week despite continued import pressure, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 16.Metal Bulletin's weekly base price assessment on Friday for 2mm, grade-304 CR stainless steel sheet was ?,?1,050-1,130 ($1,296-1,395) per tonne delivered in Northern Europe, marginally up from ?,?1,050-1,100 per t...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday March 16.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher during morning trading - with tin being the only metal in negative territory.Here's how base metals prices looked at 12:11pm London time:Read our live futures report here."Overall, we see base metals prices consolidating as they wait to...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday March 16.The base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower during Asian morning trading on Friday. Zinc and sister metal lead bucked the general weakness, however, albeit with marginal gains.Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here.LME snapshot at 02.0...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment charges and refining charges (TCs/RCs) have shown little variation over the past two weeks despite an explosion in the numbers of direct trades while the market settled on second-quarter pricing.Smelters in China and elsewhere returned to the spot market for large tonnages, lowering their bids from more than $80 per tonne/$0.08 per lb to settle deals in the mid-$70/$0....Read More
New long steel capacity in the pipeline in the Philippines may well disrupt trade flows in Asia once they come on stream, market sources told Metal Bulletin this week.This is because the Philippines could reduce its reliance on imports, which would result in seaborne cargoes being diverted elsewhere in the region. Major Philippine rebar producer SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp plans to increase its c...Read More
Zinc was the only base metal on the London Metal Exchange to close in positive territory on Friday March 16, while the majority of the market lacked significant drivers to push higher.The three-month zinc price closed $25 per tonne higher on support from a 15,425 tonne cancellation in New Orleans today. Aluminium's three-month price was unchanged at $2,085 per tonne while the market continues to s...Read More
Iron ore prices tumbled on Friday March 16 following a decline in the futures market amid doubts whether downstream demand for steel in China has truly started to recover after the Chinese New Year.Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $69.84 per tonne cfr QingdaoDaily change: down $2.27 per tonneMonth-to-date average: $73.61 per tonneMetal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $56.91 per...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market took a breather on Friday March 16, though buyers outside of China are still anticipating prices to experience a downward correction.A cargo of mid-vol premium hard coking coal was traded at $215 per tonne fob Australia while a lower-ranked second-tier product changed hands at $182 per tonne fob Australia, sources told Metal Bulletin during the day. "The market is s...Read More
Zinc was the only base metal on the London Metal Exchange to close in positive territory on Friday March 16, while the majority of the market lacked significant drivers to push higher.The three-month zinc price closed $25 per tonne higher on support from a 15,425 tonne cancellation in New Orleans today. Aluminium's three-month price was unchanged at $2,085 per tonne while the market continues to s...Read More
The light iron scrap market in the UK has been steady this week, consolidating the gains made in a four-week bull run built on strengthening demand to key export markets such as Turkey and the Indian subcontinent.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inter-merchant basis was ?105-135 ($147-188) per tonne on Friday March 16. This compared with a price of ?90-115 pe...Read More
A roundup of changes to aluminium billet premiums, as assessed by Metal Bulletin, in the past month. Read More
Henry Bath opened a new bonded warehouse in the free trade zone (FTZ) of Shanghai's Yangshan district on Friday March 16 at a time of growing domestic copper production and a jump in Shanghai Futures Exchange stocks.The new bonded warehouse has 20,000 square meters of capacity, can store 120,000 tonnes of metals indoors and has the same standards as an LME-listed warehouse, Henry Bath said.Chinese...Read More
Comex copper prices fell again in morning trading on Friday March 16, with a stronger dollar and lack of marker activity combining to weigh on the metal.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 1.65 cents or 0.5% to $3.1110 per lb recently. The contract has been varied this week, swinging between positive and negative closes.Trade is expected to be.....Read More
China's refined copper output rose 7.4% year on year for the first two months of 2018, despite the Lunar New Year lull and the shutdown of a major refinery.The combined output stood at 1,481,000 tonnes in 2018, compared to 1,371,000 tonnes produced during the same period last year, the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday March 16. China typically combines January and...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment charges and refining charges (TCs/RCs) have shown little variation over the past two weeks despite an explosion in the numbers of direct trades while the market settled on second-quarter pricing.Smelters in China and elsewhere returned to the spot market for large tonnages, lowering their bids from more than $80 per tonne/$0.08 per lb to settle deals in the mid-$70/$0....Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday March 16.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher during morning trading - with tin being the only metal in negative territory.Here's how base metals prices looked at 12:11pm London time:Read our live futures report here."Overall, we see base metals prices consolidating as they wait to...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher during morning trading on Friday March 16 - with tin being the only metal in negative territory. Copper prices recovered $33 per tonne this morning but remain below the $7,000 per tonne support level while volumes are thin. The three-month nickel price regained some of Thursday's losses but remains unsteady, while zinc prices were...Read More