Turkish steel producers continued to remain out of the deep-sea ferrous scrap markets while suppliers kept their offers firm, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 19.Market participants said that suppliers in the United States kept their offers at $330 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), but the steel producers in Turkey were only willing to pay $315 per tonne for the same material."US supplie...Read More

Two workers died in an accident at Glencore's Zambian operation Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) on Tuesday, prompting it to suspend production pending investigations, the company said."All operations at the South Ore Body (shaft) have been suspended until further notice," the company said in a statement without providing details of the accident.Mopani is one the biggest mining companies in Zambia - Afri...Read More

Ecuador has tethered its economic fortunes to a burgeoning mining industry. Now it just needs to get bureaucrats and community leaders on board.Local opposition and red tape are hindering plans to become a mining superpower that can rival other South American nations. Less than two years ago the government hoped mining would become 4 percent of Ecuador's gross domestic product by the end of Presid...Read More

The biggest trading volume in copper call options on record signals supply troubles brewing in the market.A spread trade worth $6.5 million was posted just after 7 a.m. on Comex in New York in a bet that the price of the metal used in wires and pipes will surge past $3.05 in a few months, from Monday's settlement price of $2.909.Copper production will trail consumption by 116,000 metric tons this...Read More

Gold settled with a loss on Monday, giving up earlier modest gains as traders looked ahead to the outcome of the Federal Reserve's meeting later this week. Traders also kept an eye on geopolitical developments, including the U.K.'s efforts to reach a deal on leaving the European Union, and the direction of the U.S. dollar. Gold for April delivery GCJ9, -0.19% on Comex fell $1.40, or 0.1%, to set...Read More

Chile's Codelco, the world's No. 1 copper producer, is set to ink a long-awaited deal with Ecuador-controlled miner Enami EP to develop a jointly-owned copper project in the Andean country.The 982-million-tonne Llurimagua copper project, located in the Imbabura Province, about 80 km northeast of Ecuador's capital, Quito, is in the advanced exploration stage and could become the first mine Codelco...Read More

Chilean miner Antofagasta Plc. (LON: ANTO) expects the anticipated global copper deficit to hit between 100,000 and 300,000 tonnes this year as consumption growth remains positive, but production increases are minimal.Releasing the company's annual results, chief executive Iv??n Arriagada also revealed that the first phase of a planned expansion at its flagship Los Pelambres copper mine had been a...Read More

Price assessments for steel rebar and billet in the United Arab Emirates were stable this week while demand remained only moderate, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 19.Local rebar producers rolled over their domestic prices for rebar last week.Rebar importsOman was offering rebar for import into its neighboring state at $530-535 per tonne cpt UAE and a few deals were heard within that ran...Read More

A report published by Deloitte Access Economics reveals that Australian mining companies paid A$30.6 billion in company tax and royalties in 2017-18 - the equivalent of all Federal Government spending on Australian schools, universities and vocational training.According to the report, the dollar amount paid in company taxes over the past couple of years surpasses that of 2011-12, which was the pea...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 19 that are worth another look.A cyber attack on Norwegian aluminium group Norsk Hydro has temporarily halted its rolling and extrusion operations, chief financial officer Eivind Kallevik said on Tuesday March 19. The Chinese government has launched a round of safety inspections targeting 20 cities, including Gan...Read More

The price for used beverage cans (UBCs) soared higher this week due to seasonally slower flows in the United States and numerous reports of delayed and late shipments."It seems like the flows are slowing down, and we're seeing a lot of delayed and late shipments of UBCs. It has been very tough building inventories," one US consumer said, noting that the volume of late and missed shipments has been...Read More

A cyber attack on Norwegian aluminium group Norsk Hydro caused temporary halts on its rolling and extrusion operations, chief financial officer Eivind Kallevik said on Tuesday March 19.Output reductions, however, are minimal for now. The producer is working to comply with customers' orders during the day and deliveries have not yet been affected, he noted.Every unit was isolated from the company's...Read More

A report published by Deloitte Access Economics reveals that Australian mining companies paid A$30.6 billion in company tax and royalties in 2017-18 - the equivalent of all Federal Government spending on Australian schools, universities and vocational training.According to the report, the dollar amount paid in company taxes over the past couple of years surpasses that of 2011-12, which was the pea...Read More

Major Norwegian aluminium producer Hydro has switched to manual operations at some of its facilities due to a cyber attack, the company said on Tuesday March 19. "Hydro became victim of an extensive cyber attack in the early hours of Tuesday, impacting operations in several of the company's business areas," Hydro said. "IT systems in most business areas are impacted and Hydro is switching to manua...Read More

Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange consolidated higher during morning trading on Tuesday March 19, with price action largely unaffected by a rewarranting of just under 100,000 tonnes in Malaysia, accounting for around 10% of total LME stocks. Volumes traded for aluminium on the exchange continue to lead the complex, with just over 7,500 lots changing hands as of 9:50am Lond...Read More

Brazilian flat steel sales increased by 19.3% year on year in February, according to local flat steel association Inda.Sales amounted to 309,800 tonnes last month, compared with 259,800 in the same period a year earlier, Inda said on Tuesday March 19.Flat steel shipments also increased by 16.8% from January's revised figure of 265,300 tonnes.The increase was a result of better performance from the...Read More

Brazilian flat steel producers have announced price increases to distributors for late March and early April, as a result of higher international prices and changes to the currency exchange rate for the country's Real, according to local flat steel association Inda."Domestically produced flat steel is currently around 7-8% cheaper than imported material," Inda president Carlos Loureiro said on Tue...Read More

Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) rose for the sixth consecutive week on Tuesday March 19. Mills increased their offers again on steady domestic demand in China amid the ongoing winter production cuts, and costlier hot-rolled coil feedstock also helped to push up the prices, sources said. Fastmarkets' daily fob China HRC Index stood at...Read More

RAPAPORT... India's polished-diamond exports dropped 4% to $2.34 billionin February, as market weakness continued. A slide in the volume of shipmentsoutweighed a higher average price, according to data the Gem & JewelleryExport Promotion Council (GJEPC) released this week. Rough imports also decreased,indicating a slowdown in the manufacturing sector.India Trade Data for February 2019 $...Read More

Chinese hot-rolled coil sellers kept prices steady on Tuesday March 19 on robust domestic demand ahead of a decrease of the country's value-added tax.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,870 yuan ($573-576) per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,810-3,830 yuan per tonne, unchangedPrices were largely stable in both eastern and northern China, with buyers s...Read More