Global tin premiums were flat across the board in the week ending Tuesday June 11, with market volatility and continued fresh inflows absorbing broadly weak demand ahead of the seasonally subdued summer months, while nearby spread tightness deters spot business. European market participants question possible tin concentrate shortage US merchants report oversupplied market Weak demand caps Asian ti...Read More

London-based commodities broker Sucden Financial has appointed Rafael Caporale as head of its new LME Options Market Making divison, the company announced in a Wednesday June 12 press release.Mr Caporale will be responsible for both the establishment and running of a dedicated options trading team within Sucden Financial, the London...Read More

Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco significantly improved its rate of production during April, with copper output falling by just 6.4% compared with the same month of last year, data from the country's copper commission, Cochilco, showed on Monday June 10.Codelco produced 129,700 tonnes of copper in April, compared with 138,600 tonnes in the same month a year earlier. In March, the compan...Read More

PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI) will start work on the construction of a copper smelter in Indonesia in mid-2020, a spokesperson for the company said on Wednesday June 12. The project forms part of an agreement between Freeport-McMoRan and the Indonesian government signed last December committing PT-FI to build a new smelter in Indonesia within...Read More

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, is developing a transformation plan for its Belval and Differdange long steel sites in Luxembourg, a company spokeswoman told Fastmarkets in the week beginning Monday June 10.The plan will affect the sales and maintenance departments, Luxembourg labor minister Dan Kersch told a parliamentary committee in the country last week."The project does not inv...Read More

Domestic prices for hollow steel sections in both Northern and Southern Europe moved up this week on higher feedstock costs and increased offer prices at mills, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 12.Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe was ?,?620-640 ($702-724) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, up from ?,?600-6...Read More

Prices for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe remained unchanged on Wednesday June 12 amid limited trading activity, market participants told Fastmarkets."Nothing has changed and steel producers don't want to sell at a cheaper price," a trader in Italy said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe was ?,?495-515 ($560-583) per tonne delivered on...Read More

Steel H-beam prices in Northern Europe moved downward this week in soft trading, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 12.Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic S235-grade, 200x200mm, category-2 H-beam in Northern Europe was ?,?575-605 ($651-685) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, down from ?,?585-615 per tonne delivered on June 5.One market participant reported that buyers were hesitant a...Read More

Turkish pipe export prices have gone down slightly because of imminent seasonal holiday absences and the start of a new import quota period in Europe, sources said on Wednesday June 12.Fastmarkets' monthly export price assessment for Turkey-origin EN10219-standard, grade-S235 tube, with 2mm wall thickness, fell to $560-580 per tonne fob on June 12, from $570-590 per tonne on May 8.Pipe mills in Tu...Read More

The price of rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe narrowed upwards week on week despite the prospect of a big jump in imports of Turkish rebar next month, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 12.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Northern Europe was ?,?510-525 ($577-594) per tonne delivered on June 12, compared to ?,?505-525 per June 5."We...Read More

The price range for mesh-quality wire rod in Europe has narrowed by ?,?5 per tonne at both ends over the past week, in a largely stable market, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 12.Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessment for mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe was ?,?505-515 ($572-583) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, compared with ?,?500-520 per tonne delivered on June 5."It'...Read More

Turkish steel mills booked more cargoes as they looked to take advantage of falling prices, sources said on Wednesday June 12.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Canada-origin cargo, comprising 10,000 tonnes of shredded or HMS 1&2 (95:5), 8,000 tonnes of rail and 12,000 tonnes of plate and structural (P&S) at an average price of $305...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices were generally rangebound on Wednesday June 12, while buying interest remained for Australian Pilbara Blend products.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $106.60 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.01 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $105.40 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.01 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $111.10 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.89 per tonne....Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials.Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreVale, Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex), 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Brazilian Blend fines, traded at...Read More

Prices of seaborne coking coal bound for China continued to weaken on Wednesday June 12 with buyers still holding back from purchasing amid a pessimistic outlook for the market.A June-loading cargo of a top Australian brand was sold to an end user in eastern China at the June average of an index at a premium of around 4% during the day, sources told Fastmarkets.A cargo of second-tier hard coking c...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices withdrew on Wednesday June 12 on lower list prices and declining futures.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,920 yuan ($561-567) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,790-3,840 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneA few major rebar producers lowered their ex-works prices over the past two days, which put pressure on the spot market, s...Read More

Eastern China's hot-rolled coil prices retreated on Wednesday June 12 after trading thinned following a short-lived rebound a day earlier.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,830-3,840 yuan ($554-555) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,780-3,800 yuan per tonne, unchangedTrading activity fell after prices bounced back on Tuesday, tracking an overall retreat in the country's...Read More

Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange were largely suppressed during morning trading on Wednesday June 12 amid fresh US-Sino trade tension, uninspiring Chinese economic data and a dive in the United States' equities market.The increasing unlikelihood of a meeting between Chinese President Xi and United States President Donald Trump is the overwhelming factor renewing trade tensions and e...Read More

Key data from the Wednesday June 12 pricing session in London.Key drivers- Stagnant demand forced some traders to reduce their offers to offload material. The increase on the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange, which boosted Chinese prices, was not enough to positively affect the European market.- Sources do not expect rebounds in the European market before...Read More

Minor metals could become the next commodities to be caught up in the trade war between the United States and China, market sources have warned. But the effects on the prices for gallium and antimony have so far been minimal.The government in Beijing has made a number of gestures suggesting that it could restrict the export of rare earths to the US.These threats have met with some skepticism among...Read More