Comex copper prices failed to maintain the previous day's gains amid a surging dollar on Thursday April 25, which is putting downward pressure on most of the base metals prices. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled 3.8 cents to $2.8720 per lb. The red metal has been unable to set a clear price direction over the past few weeks, with...Read More

A summary of Nornickel's production results for the first quarter of 2019 between January and March.IN BRIEF: First-quarter copper production for 2019 was up 13% year on year to 127,000 tonnes as a result of a production ramp-up at the Bystrinsky (Chita Copper) Project in Chita, Sibera.2019 first-quarter nickel production exceeded that of 2018...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Thursday April 25, with buying appetite dampened by continued strength in the US dollar index, which reached its highest level since 2017 this morning.Despite a fresh cancelation of more than 8,000 tonnes in various locations across Asia, Europe and North America this morning, copper's three-month price fai...Read More

LME Asia Week 2019, the annual gathering of thousands of global metals and mining professionals in Hong Kong, kicks off in the second week of May this year.The London Metal Exchange, its parent Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, as well as industry participants are hosting various events, seminars and the annual black tie dinner. Fastmarkets has compiled a list of panels and events for the week. Plea...Read More

Domestic long steel prices in Turkey have increased despite sluggish demand with the country's lira weakening against the US dollar, sources said on Thursday April 25.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,240-3,340 ($552-569) per tonne ex-works on Thursday, up from the TRY3,220-3,290 per tonne of last week.The mills in the Izmir region were offering rebar to th...Read More

Domestic and export billet prices in Turkey remained stable over the past week due to weak demand, while import billet prices fell in lower offers from the CIS region, sources said on Thursday April 25.The suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region lowered their offers slightly to attract buyers in their major export markets.The CIS mills lowered their offers for Turkey to $4...Read More

Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have remained stable over the past week with demand limited by trade blockages in the major markets, sources said on Thursday April 25.Turkish steel producers were offering rebar for export at $480-485 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis, while a few customers were bidding less than $475 per tonne.Fastmarkets' weekly price...Read More

Swedish steelmaker SSAB has forecast that demand for heavy steel plate will remain strong in the United States in the second quarter of 2019, while in Europe "demand is expected to be somewhat weaker," it said in its quarterly results on Thursday April 25.The company, which has operations in Sweden, Finland and the US, expected steel prices to be "somewhat lower during the second quarter" for both...Read More

Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market were down slightly on Thursday April 25 after a major mill in the Commonwealth of Independent States reduced its asking prices for billet to attract buyers in the region. Fastmarkets MB's daily import price for billet in Southeast Asia was $465-470 per tonne cfr Manila on Thursday, down $5 per tonne on the high end from the previous day. Bil...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil exporters lowered their prices on Thursday April 25 despite domestic prices remaining largely unchanged, partly due to limited trading activity.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,990-4,000 yuan ($594-595) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,900-3,920 yuan per tonne, unchangedAlthough prices were stable nationwide, trading was limited, with market part...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 transaction: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic,...Read More

Physical iron ore prices were rangebound on Thursday April 25 while futures transactions rose early in the day and fell later, to end moderately lower overall.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $93.50 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.05 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $92.28 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.05 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $95.98 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up...Read More

Major Chinese steelmaker Maanshan Iron & Steel (Magang) hopes to lead the overhaul of the Chinese ferrous scrap market by pioneering a domestic pilot project, group vice president Chen Zhaoqi said at the 12th China International Metal Recycling Conference 2019 in Zhuhai, China on April 25.Magang is planning 10 million tonnes per year of new ferrous scrap capacity across 10 ferrous scrap processing...Read More

The seaborne coking coal spot market was largely stable on Thursday April 25 amid little change in offers and bids as participants awaited the conclusion of a miner's tender later this week.A cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal, scheduled for loading June 1-10, changed hands at $203 per tonne fob Australia, according to various sources. Meanwhile, a top Australian brand was offered at $207 p...Read More

Japan has increased its ferrous scrap exports to non-traditional markets on expectations of an oversupply of ferrous scrap from 2020 after the current wave of demand from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games ends, Genkichi Ando, chairman of the international network committee from the Japan Iron & Steel Recycling Institute, said this week.Japan started ferrous scrap exports to countries such as Bangladesh...Read More

Lead prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange outperformed with an increase of 1.2% during morning trading on Thursday April 25 amid optimism over US-China trade talks next week and the metal's solid fundamentals.US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to China on April 30 to resume trade negotiations, according to a statement issued by the White...Read More

Alloy-grade cobalt prices maintained their premium over standard-grade during the first half of this week amid a limited supply of cut cathode for spot market inquiries. Fastmarkets assessed the standard-grade cobalt price at $15.90-16.95 per lb, in-warehouse, on Wednesday April 24, up 1.5% from the previous week's assessment. Alloy-grade metal continued to trade at a premium but saw sli...Read More

China National Corporation for Overseas Economic Cooperation (CCOEC) won 34.64 tonnes of indium in Fanya Metal Exchange's second auction - ended at 10am Beijing time on Thursday April 25 - Fastmarkets understands from the official auction result posted on the Alibaba judicial online platform.As the only bidder at the auction, CCOEC took the indium at a price of 37.4112 million yuan ($5.57 million)...Read More

Fastmarkets has amended the minimum tonnage of its Chinese domestic indium price assessment to 100 kilograms to better reflect the dynamics of the market. The adjustment, effective Wednesday April 24, was made based on both market feedback and the internal data analysis during the consultation period.The goal of a minimum tonnage is to exclude any deal that, because of its small size or high price...Read More

Chinese cobalt sulfate prices were unchanged mid-week after their retreat on Friday April 19, but waning buyer interest and concerns over the surplus dynamics of key raw material cobalt hydroxide will continue to weigh on cobalt sulfate prices, market participants told Fastmarkets MB.Fastmarkets MB assessed the Chinese cobalt sulfate price at 51,000-54,000 yuan ($7,587- 8,033) per tonne on April 2...Read More