Veteran aluminium trader Holger Ellmann has left HDP, sources told Metal Bulletin. Ellmann was a senior trader at Switzerland-registered HDP for a little bit over...Read More

The steel industries in Europe and Turkey will continue to grapple with elevated costs for graphite electrodes in 2018 despite some easing of prices in recent months.Graphite electrode prices reached $22,000-40,000 per tonne cfr Turkey in 2017, compared with $2,000 per tonne cfr Turkey in 2016, according to market sources.This massive price rise has had significant consequences for the steel indus...Read More

Dutch wire products supplier Van Merksteijn is to build a mesh-quality wire rod mill with capacity for 800,000 tonnes per year at the seaport of Eemshaven in the north of the Netherlands, the company confirmed to Metal Bulletin on Tuesday January 9.The company hopes to start production at the mill in 2020, and is expected to use scrap-based electric-arc furnace (EAF) technology."The capacity we're...Read More

Flat steel buyers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia preferred to delay their purchasing and see how the imposition of new 5% VAT regimes in both countries affects the market, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday January 10.The UAE and Saudi Arabia both imposed a 5% rate of VAT with effect from January 1, 2018.The resulting confusion in the markets has seen buyers refrain from buying n...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transactions: billetBillet Iran, export, billet, traded at $518 per tonne cfr,...Read More

Prices for imported steel billet in the UAE have increased this week while rebar prices in that country and in Saudi Arabia have remained stable, sources have told Metal Bulletin.Demand for imported rebar, meanwhile, was very weak in both countries because local prices were more competitive.BilletIranian mills were offering billet at $520-525 per tonne cfr to the UAE for late-March delivery, while...Read More

Sergey Rezontov stepped down as chief financial officer (CFO) of Mechel, a leading Russian mining and metals company, on January 1, a company spokeswoman has told Metal Bulletin. Rezontov took up the role of CFO in June 2016....Read More

Chinese ferro-silicon prices continued to soften over the past week amid operational restarts in the country's Ningxia province, while the European market reached new highs on tightened supply. Chinese domestic prices edge lower amid production restarts Chinese exporters drop offers amid lack of buying interest European market realizes new highs on thin supplyUS spot market falls dormant, prices o...Read More

Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) and ferro-vanadium prices had a strong start to 2018 last week, with supply concerns in focus as the markets came back from the Christmas break. Chinese V2O5 prices soar with upstream constraints in focusFerro-vanadium leads the way in Europe US ferro-vanadium prices higher but spot activity 'just getting started'Vanadium prices in China jumped last week amid limited sup...Read More

Italian technology company Tenova Metals has appointed former chief operating officer Roberto Pancaldi as its chief executive officer, it said this week. Pancaldi first joined Tenova in 1988 as a process engineer and replaces former CEO Andrea Rocca, who spent five years in the...Read More

Pellet production volumes at Ukraine-focused iron ore producer Ferrexpo fell by 6.75% year-on-year to 10.44 million tonnes in 2017, the company said on Tuesday January 9.The lower annual figure reflected "planned pelletizer maintenance," the company said.But Ferroexpo's iron ore pellet production output rose to 2.79 million tonnes in October-December 2017, up quarter-on-quarter from 2.49 million t...Read More

Metal Bulletin has today discontinued its index for CFR China 60% Fe Iranian Iron Ore Fines.After a consultation period, Metal Bulletin has suspended its weekly Iranian Iron Ore Fines Index, which was published every Wednesday.The MBIOI-IR Index was launched in October 2015 after a period...Read More

Iron ore exports from Western Australia's Port of Port Hedland rose 5% on the year to the highest ever in December, according to data released by the Pilbara Ports Authority on Tuesday January 9.The port shipped 46.19 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material last month, compared with 43.94 million tonnes in December 2016. The volume is also 11.7% higher than November exports of 41.35 million...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. ...Read More

Iron ore prices rose above $78 per tonne cfr China on Tuesday January 9 due to a potential risk of a severe cyclone that will impact Western Australia, according to a warning from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $78.47 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: up by $0.73 per tonne cfr Month-to-date average: $76.54 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Pre...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths this morning, Tuesday January 9, with only copper and nickel continuing to edge higher. The three-month copper price was up $30, targeting the $7,200 per tonne barrier. Copper is finding some support this morning from concerns over constrained supply stemming from tightening regulations in China over imported scrap and looming...Read More

Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Tuesday January 9*Copper -$102.56 (-668.60 yuan) Aluminium -$431.45 (-2,812.75 yuan) Zinc -$178.48 (-1,163.54 yuan) Nickel -$561.47 (-3,660.41 yuan) *The physical arbitrage numbers...Read More

China's prices for hot-rolled coil edged up on Tuesday January 9 on a rebound in the paper market, although the upside was restricted by weak buying interest.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,240-4,280 yuan ($652-659) per tonne, up by 10-20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Tianjin) : 4,040-4,070 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneThe paper market remained strong in the night trading session...Read More

TD Securities' Bart Melek has won LBMA's annual precious metals forecast survey, the LBMA announced today.Melek's forecast for the average gold price in 2017 of $1,256, was just $1.15 below the actual average...Read More

The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Tuesday January 9.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths this morning, with only copper and nickel continuing to edge higher.Here is how the LME base metals complex looked at 11.59am London time:For a snapshot of exchange news, check out our live...Read More