Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week. Base metals Two trading companies have accepted Nornickel's $300 per tonne nickel premium for 2018, while the majority of Nornickel's long-term contract premium negotiations cif China are still in the air. Striking workers at Empresa Nacional de Mineria's (Enami's) copper smelter in Chile...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.Iron ore prices started 2018 on a rise, gaining further ground on Friday January 5 to $76.80 per tonne cfr Qingdao despite the Chinese steel market retreating again.There was barely any movement in the seaborne coking coal market amid a lack of indicative and firm bids, with buyers still trying to figur...Read More
Steel exports from the Middle East, CIS and India are expected to be the main price setters in Asia in 2018, as production cuts in China over most of the first quarter leave a gaping hole for them to continue to wrestle their way in.Steelmakers in India, Turkey and the Middle East will likely find it easier to raise their offers this year due to Chinese steel products losing their competitiveness,...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed mostly lower on Friday January 5 although tin bucked the trend.The three-month copper price ended $67.50 lower back below $7,200 per tonne at a one-week low. "The complex may have reached slightly overbought levels, however, and most of the positive catalysts may have been priced in," Metal Bulletin analyst Andy Farida said. "It would not surp...Read More
The massive waves recorded in London Metal Exchange copper stocks could subside in 2018, with the big bull buying up tonnage to meet the coming year's commitments and deliveries from the bears to the exchange expected to return to their normal pace seen before 2016. The battle between two major trading houses that played out in the LME copper warehouses began in 2016, causing prices to rise and fa...Read More
Iron ore prices edged up and remained above $76 per tonne cfr China on Friday January 5 despite a further retreat in Chinese steel prices.Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $76.80 per tonne cfr QingdaoDaily change: up by $0.26 per tonneMonth-to-date average: $75.76 per tonneMetal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $62.32...Read More
Global plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales hit 1 million units in 2017, according to a report from Navigant Research.Sales revenues of such vehicles have increased by over 40% every year since the launch in 2011 and it is expected maintain a 38% growth rate in 2020, the reported noted.“Battery costs have dropped dramatically over the past five years and they will continue to go down with th...Read More
Global plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales hit 1 million units in 2017, according to a report from Navigant Research.Sales revenues of such vehicles have increased by over 40% every year since the launch in 2011 and it is expected maintain a 38% growth rate in 2020, the reported noted.“Battery costs have dropped dramatically over the past five years and they will continue to go down with th...Read More
Global plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales hit 1 million units in 2017, according to a report from Navigant Research.Sales revenues of such vehicles have increased by over 40% every year since the launch in 2011 and it is expected maintain a 38% growth rate in 2020, the reported noted.“Battery costs have dropped dramatically over the past five years and they will continue to go down with th...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 8 points in pre-opening trade.U.S. equity index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for December Non-farm Payrolls was 190,000 versus revised 211,000 in November. Actual was148,000. Consensus for December Unemployment Rate was unchanged at 4.1% from November. Ac...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 5 (SMM)? 1/4 ? Copper concentrate treatment charges (TCs) have come down to $76-85/mt over the past week, below the floor price at $87/mt set by China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) for the first quarter of this year.SMM understood that most transactions were done by small to medium-sized smelters with sellers giving pressure to buyers. In fact, such market condition is likely to last...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 5 (SMM)? 1/4 ? A similar product to nickel pig iron (NPI) produced in Indonesia, FeNi Luppen, is set to change the global nickel supply pattern if Chinese stainless steel mills are receptive, SMM learned.Backed by Russian investors, Blackspace in Indonesia launched the nickel intermediate product in 2017 and claimed the production could hit 200,000 nickel mt in 2019. A source add tha...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 5 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper: LME copper prices remained rather firm with a support at the 10-day moving average. It is possible that prices would resume the upward movement and we expect the contract to trade at $7,160-7,210/mt today. The SHFE 1803 copper, on the other hand, is forecast to trade at 54,600-55,100 yuan/mt today while we see decent physical restocking demand.Aluminium: LME alu...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 5 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper: LME copper prices remained rather firm with a support at the 10-day moving average. It is possible that prices would resume the upward movement and we expect the contract to trade at $7,160-7,210/mt today. The SHFE 1803 copper, on the other hand, is forecast to trade at 54,600-55,100 yuan/mt today while we see decent physical restocking demand.Aluminium: LME alu...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 5 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper: LME copper prices remained rather firm with a support at the 10-day moving average. It is possible that prices would resume the upward movement and we expect the contract to trade at $7,160-7,210/mt today. The SHFE 1803 copper, on the other hand, is forecast to trade at 54,600-55,100 yuan/mt today while we see decent physical restocking demand.Aluminium: LME alu...Read More
Base metals prices trading on the London Metal Exchange are generally higher this morning, Friday January 5, with copper and aluminium both up by 0.1% at $7,193 per tonne and $2,248 per tonne, respectively, and the rest up by between 0.2% and 0.4%. The exception is nickel, which is down by 0.9% at $12,530 per tonne.Volume has been average, with 6,133 lots traded as of 06:43am London time. This fol...Read More
European stainless steel base prices have remained unchanged over the past week, with market activity quiet early in 2018, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday January 5.Metal Bulletin's weekly base price assessment for 2mm, grade-304 CR stainless steel sheet was ?,?1,060-1,130 ($1,277-1,361) per tonne delivered in Northern Europe on Friday."The market is still very quiet, with many countries sti...Read More
The UK inter-merchant price range for austenitic alloy steel scrap rose by ?50-60 per tonne this week on higher nickel prices when the market returned from seasonal holidays, sources said on Friday January 5.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?950-980 ($1,286-1,326) per tonne delivered on Friday, compared with ?900-920 per tonne on Decemb...Read More
Correspondent Dalton Barker reviews the week in the non-ferrous metals markets....Read More
Michael Farmer's Red Kite fund has entered into a "restructuring review," it has said in filings at Companies House so far this month.Changes at London-based RK Capital Management "may impact the activity of the LLP in future years," the fund said in a report for the financial year ended March 31, 2017 that was signed by Farmer,...Read More