The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products. Latest transaction: rebarRebar Egypt, domestic (Beshay Steel), rebar, offered at...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. ...Read More
The Turkish rebar and wire rod export markets have remained quiet over the past week on sluggish demand, sources said on Thursday March 15.Turkish steel mills continued to offer rebar for exports at $610-620 per tonne fob actual weight, but buyers were not interested in paying any more than $600 per tonne.There have been no significant transactions heard so far this week,...Read More
Norwegian ferro-silicon producer Finnfjord Smelteverk will cut about 5,000 tonnes of production between April and June of this year because of planned maintenance to its furnaces, according to an industry source.The company, which has its plant in the north of the country, operates three furnaces, one with capacity for 20,000 tonnes per year and two with capacities for 40,000 tpy."Maintenance shou...Read More
Spot prices for European molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum have eased in Metal Bulletin's midweek assessment, with dealers booking profits after a market rally for much of the year to date.Market participants expect the move to persist in the near term, with lower spot prices already being offered and expected to be booked soon, they said.Oxide prices have dropped on around 140 tonnes of reporte...Read More
China led upward momentum in the global ferro-silicon price in December last year, disproving opinions that China had lost its foothold on the global ferro-silicon market because its export volumes only account for about 20% of total output.December 2017 saw much activity in the global ferro-silicon market. Chinese domestic spot prices for ferro-silicon, basis 75% Si, hit nine-year highs at 10,000...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is modifying its technology to allow it to launch multiple contracts at once, something it plans to do at the end of the year, according to the exchange's chief executive officer. Matthew Chamberlain said that the move, designed to add a level of dynamism to the LME's systems, would delink the launch of new contracts from the release of new technology. The exchange is the...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday March 15.Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly weaker during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with heavy losses seen in nickel and zinc prices, while lead was the only metal to push higher. Disappointing US data overnight and dovish speech from European...Read More
Iron ore output in Peru increased by 32.99% year-on-year in January, according to figures released by the country's mining ministry, MEM, late on Wednesday March 14.Production for the month came to 985,955 tonnes, against 741,373 tonnes a year before.This growth was due to increased output at Shougang Hierro Per??, a subsidiary of China-based Shougang Group, as well...Read More
Iron ore prices edged up on Thursday March 15 amid improved sentiment following the release of data showing a drop in steel inventories in the Chinese market. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $72.11 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: up by $0.47 per tonne Month-to-date average: $73.95 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $57.71...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 transaction: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto,...Read More
A flurry of transactions took place in the seaborne coking coal spot market on Thursday March 15, which gave some support to prices for premium products. A cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal with an early-April laycan was heard to have been sold against index with a discount of under 1% to an end-user while another shipment of the same brand was traded at $215 per tonne fob Australia. A pre...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market maintained its stability on Thursday March 15 amid a slight drop in steel inventories in China, with premiums for index-linked cargoes of 62% Fe Australian fines failing to rise as much as expected.Key drivers The slight drop in steel inventories gave the market some optimism about demand from downstream industries beginning its recovery. According to a local informati...Read More
China's ferrous futures ended the morning trading session little changed from their opening prices on Thursday March 15 amid an announcement that steelmakers in some parts of the country are to stop all blast furnace operations until the end of this month.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,748 yuan ($593.20) per tonne, up 8 yuan per tonne May hot-rolled...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Thursday March 15, while the market awaited key US data released later today."Just when it looked like the markets were going to make a sustained move yesterday we reverted back to the same discontinuous and choppy price action... All eyes are on the slew of US data to come later," Matt France, Marex Spectr...Read More
Chinese cobalt producer GEM has signed a long-term strategic procurement contract with Glencore, securing more than 50,000 tonnes of cobalt intermediates for the following three years - part of a growing trend of producers looking to lock in supply amid growing global tightness.Shenzhen-listed GEM will purchase 13,800 tonnes of crude hydroxide from Glencore in 2018 and a further 18,000 tonnes and...Read More
The large price gap between European and Asian prices for stainless steel is making it difficult to raise EU base prices, according to Spanish stainless producer Acerinox."Higher European domestic prices would only attract more imports from Asia right now," Acerinox chief executive officer Bernardo Vel??zquez said late last month.Asian stainless steel prices have remained largely stable so far dur...Read More
Japan's Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation will expand its global presence in special steels markets by acquiring Swedish special steels maker Ovako and making Japanese steel maker Sanyo Special Steel its subsidiary.The major Japanese steel producer intends to acquire Ovako from private equity fund Triton in the first half of the 2018 fiscal year subject to approval from the competition a...Read More
Global crude stainless steel production totaled 48.08 million tonnes in 2017, according to figures released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) on Thursday March 15.This was up 5.79% from the revised figure of 45.45 million tonnes produced in 2016.Production in China was 25.77 million tonnes in 2017, up 4.74% from 24.61 million tonnes in 2016.Output in Asia -...Read More
Metal Bulletin has corrected its March 2 and March 9 price assessments for EU export grade-304 stainless steel cold rolled (CR) sheet (2mm).Metal Bulletin has corrected its price assessment for EU export grade-304 stainless steel cold rolled (CR) sheet (2mm), which was published incorrectly on Friday March 2 and Friday March 9, due to a calculation error.The export grade-304 CR sheet price was pub...Read More