The German metals sector is being hit with a number of day-long strikes this week while negotiations over pay between employers and trade union IG Metall continue, Metal Bulletin heard on Wednesday January 31.German metals companies could incur a significant loss of revenue, due to production and delivery shortfalls as a result of the strikes, along with additional costs for catching up on outages...Read More

TSX VENTURE: PGMwww.puregoldmining.ca Mr. Darin Labrenz reports:VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 31, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pure Gold Mining Inc. (TSX-V:PGM) ("Pure Gold" or the "Company") announced today the discovery of multiple new zones of high grade gold mineralization located approximately three kilometres by road south of the Madsen milling infrastructure. This important new discovery, r...Read More

Comex copper prices bounced back on Wednesday January 31 after a multi-session downturn with a softening dollar lifting the metals complex. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 2.90 cents or 0.9% to $3.2180 per lb. The contract had been on a four-day losing streak. "Judging by the limited pullback and decent dip-buying interest, bulls are sti...Read More

ArcelorMittal's global earnings increased by 28.92% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2017 due to increased steel shipment volumes and higher prices, the company said on Wednesday January 31.Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) at the world's largest steelmaker reached $2.14 billion in October-December last year, compared with $1.66 billion in the correspondi...Read More

Saudi Arabian flat steel re-roller and coater Unicoil is now able to produce pre-painted galvanized steel (PPGI), or color-coated coils, in thicknesses up to 1.50mm, the company told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday January 31.Its previous limit was 1.20mm, but increased demand for building cladding, side-walling and kitchen appliances made the company focus on higher gauges, Unicoil said.The company c...Read More

Earnings at ArcelorMittal's Brazilian division rose by 59.9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2017, due to increased volumes and prices.Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) totaled $341 million in the October-December period, up from $213 million a year before, ArcelorMittal announced on Wednesday January 31.The company shipped 3.05 million tonnes of steel p...Read More

Iranian export billet prices dropped $5-10 per tonne over the week ended Wednesday January 31, with deals reported at lower prices than last week amid the global downtrend in the long steel market.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for Iranian export billet was $489-505 per tonne fob on January 31, against $508-510 per tonne fob a week earlier.Several bookings were heard done at $496-505 per...Read More

Domestic prices for steel wire rod widened upward by ?,?10 per tonne in Northern Europe this week with mills in the region pushing through further price rises, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday January 31.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe widened upward week-on-week to ?,?550-570 ($682-706) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, its hi...Read More

Finnish stainless steelmaker Outokumpu expects to encounter continued cost pressure from high prices for graphite electrodes and ferro-silicon in 2018, it said on Wednesday January 31."We're seeing increases in graphite electrode [contract] prices into the early part of 2018 of more than 300% [year-on-year from the average cost in 2017]," chief financial officer Christoph de la Camp said during a...Read More

The appreciation of the South African rand since mid-November 2017 should preclude near-term price drops for the country's ores and alloys and will probably lead to further increases, according to producers. Metal Bulletin's indices for South African manganese ore, chrome ore and charge chrome have all been rising since early in December amid strong demand from China. Of those three commodities, t...Read More

Key data from the January 31 pricing session in Europe.Ferro-titanium 70% (max 4.5% Al) $ per kg, delivered duty-paid in Europe  TodayPreviousChange to midpoint of rangeMidpoint % change5.00-5.505.50-5.6000Titanium scrap turnings, unprocessed (max 0.5% Sn) $ per lb, cif European ports ...Read More

The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys and ores prices changed on Wednesday January 31:Noble alloys Molybdenum Europe drummed molybdic oxide, $/lb: $29.50-30.00 per lb from $29.75-31.00 Ferro-molybdenum basis 65% min, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $/kg Mo: $11.80-12.00 per kg from...Read More

Jupiter Mines this week opened a $42 million share buyback, partly funded by a 1.1 billion South African rand ($91.9 million) distribution to shareholders by South African manganese miner Tshipi, of which it owns 49.9%. The board of Tshipi resolved to distribute the cash to shareholders due to soaring production and higher manganese ore prices, Jupiter said. Metal Bulletin's 37% manganese ore...Read More

ArcelorMittal has predicted that its global iron ore shipments will rise by 10% year-on-year in 2018 following an increase in production at its mines in Liberia, the firm said on Wednesday January 31.Iron ore production will rise to 5 million tonnes from ArcelorMittal's Liberian mines in 2018, compared with around 2 million tonnes in 2017, the company said.Global shipments of iron ore shipped at m...Read More

Russia's Metalloinvest, one of the largest pig iron suppliers in the world, reduced its pig iron shipments in 2017 because of the effects of maintenance and repair works, the company said on Wednesday January 31.In 2017, the company reduced its pig iron output by 9.3% to 2.7 million tonnes. Shipments to third parties went down by 12% to 2.077 million tonnes.Traditionally, Metalloinvest exports...Read More

Billet import volumes into Turkey have fallen over the past three years, with the producers opting to buy scrap because the price margin between these two products has widened since the second half of 2016, making scrap imports more profitable.In 2015, Turkey imported 7.85 million tonnes of steel billet, while scrap imports totaled 16.25 million tonnes in the same year, according to the Turkish St...Read More

Turkish steel producers went quiet again on Wednesday January 31 but still expected to book more cargoes for March, according to sources.Market participants expected the Turkish buyers to show some buying interest through to the end of the week."The Turks need to buy more scrap for March. I think they will be back in the...Read More

Iron ore prices continued to hover around $73 per tonne cfr China on Wednesday January 31 amid an inactive physical market. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $72.92 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: down by $0.05 per tonne Month-to-date average: $75.83 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $59.96...Read More

The seaborne iron ore market continued to soften on Wednesday January 31 amid a subdued steel market in China. Key drivers Trading activity in China's steel market remained thin amid snow and freezing temperatures in many parts of the country, which have shaken market confidence.Many sources said that Hebei province could extend its restrictions on steel production - implemented for the winter hea...Read More

Buying activity in the seaborne coking coal market continued to pick up with the transaction price of a premium category fob Australia cargo moving up this week. The cargo was heard traded on an online trading platform at $215 per tonne fob Australia late on Tuesday January 30. The deal followed a transaction involving a higher-ranked cargo last week at $213 per tonne fob Australia.Market particip...Read More