Metal Bulletin

Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized steel coil continued to fall in the week to Tuesday July 5, after steel futures prices slipped to their lowest levels since November 2020.

The United Kingdom has set up the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) with the aim of providing data and analysis on the UK’s critical minerals supply chain to boost its resilience, the UK government said on Monday July 4.

Spot prices for imported containerized ferrous scrap in Taiwan were largely stable day on day on Tuesday July 5 amid weak demand for such material during summer and weak sales of rebar, according to market sources.

Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China moved higher on Tuesday July 5, following a rally in futures prices for the flat steel product.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange fell across the board during morning trading on Tuesday July 5, with the rising US Dollar Index putting pressure on the market.

China’s domestic rebar prices increased slightly on Tuesday July 5 after gains in the futures market resulted in a pick-up in spot demand.

Eastern China-based steel mill Shandong Xinhai Industry (Xinhai) plans to put two argon oxygen decarburization (AOD) refining furnaces into production in October 2022 to achieve an annual stainless crude steel capacity of 1.62 million tonnes, according to a notice released by the Shandong provincial industry and information technology department on Monday July 4.

Turkey exported 396,992 tonnes of flat steel products in May, a drop of 25.27% compared with 531,225 tonnes a year earlier, according to the latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).

Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia’s Central Federal District around Moscow narrowed upward in the week ended Monday July 4, with traders restocking amid a revival of construction activity in the country's largest rebar-consuming region.

Offers for Russian billet exports increased substantially on Monday July 4 on higher steel scrap and rebar prices in Turkey, sources told Fastmarkets.