Stainless prices look weak through the summer
02 Jun 2013 20:55 GMT Stainless Scrap –Summer Gloom Scrap prices seen falling to June 2009 lows Demand sluggish, volumes below normal Dealers hoard material, hope for better margins U.S. stainless scrap processors’ buying prices fell slightly during May. Prices are currently sitting at $.62/lb. and many expect to see $.50s/lb. scrap very soon. We are now approaching the lowest stainless scrap levels since June 2009. Demand is still sluggish and volumes remain below normal levels. Aerospace and energy sectors are decent but distribution customers’ business is weak. “As we approach the traditional summer gloom, things can get real ugly,” one processor told Metalprices.com. Another source said, “At these prices, many dealers are holding onto material in hopes for higher prices in the 3rd or 4th quarter.” “With demand in Europe still weak and China not a traditional scrap buyer, many are holding onto scrap until margins improve,” another source…
Copper Hit a Six Week High
Article from: http://www.metalprices.com/news/article/DJ/178236/dj-wbms-global-lead-market-in-145-700-ton-deficit-jan-mar By: Susan Thomas and Maytaal Angel LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) – Copper hit a six week high on Wednesday as a production outage at the world’s second-largest copper mine looked set to continue, though gains were capped as investors digested comments on monetary easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange ended up at $7,475 per tonne, after touching $7,533.75 a tonne, its highest level since April 12. It closed at $7,375 on Tuesday. Copper has rebounded from 18-month lows hit earlier this month below $6,800 a tonne on growing confidence that the U.S. recovery is on track, but the metal is still down some 6 percent this year. Investor risk appetite got an initial boost after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said monetary stimulus is helping the U.S. economy recover. Appetite was later tempered as the Fed chairman raised the possibility of reducing the Fed’s bond purchases this year if growth improves further. Copper remained in positive…
Freeport Reviews Safety as Copper Rallies Amid Mine Suspension
Article from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-22/freeport-reviews-safety-as-copper-rallies-amid-mine-suspension.html By: Yoga Rusmana & Michelle Yun Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) began a safety review at its halted Grasberg operation, the world’s second-largest copper mine, amid supply concerns that are boosting prices. The mine, halted since a tunnel collapsed May 14, usually produces 220,000 metric tons of ore a day, Rozik B. Soetjipto, president director of local unit PT Freeport Indonesia, told reporters today in Jakarta. The company doesn’t know when output can resume, he said. The lost production would amount to about 680 tons of copper a day, based on calculations by Bloomberg using figures from Freeport’s 2012 annual report. The suspension comes after a landslide last month at Rio Tinto Group’s Bingham Canyon copper mine in Utah forced operations to halt. Copper in London reached a two-week high today, while smelters in Japan said they may seek alternative supplies to Grasberg if the halt extends. “The longer it goes on the greater the impact will be,” Peter Richardson, a Melbourne-based…
Iron Ore Seen Extending Decline as China Steel Mills Shut Down
Article from: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-05-22/iron-ore-seen-extending-decline-as-china-steel-mills-shut-down By: Isaac Arnsdorf Iron ore will fall another 8 percent in the next several months as steel mills in China, the biggest importer, shut down because of maintenance, power rationing and squeezed profits, according to Deutsche Bank AG. Prices may fall about $10 a dry metric ton in the next couple of months, analysts led by Xiao Fu and Daniel Brebner said in an e-mailed report today. Ore with 62 percent iron content at the port of Tianjin, a global benchmark, tumbled 22 percent to $123.60 a ton from a 16-month high on Feb. 20, according to The Steel Index Ltd. Steel prices that have been pressuring Chinese mills are stabilizing as facilities shut down due to power shortages in Hebei province, and more will close for routine maintenance and to draw down surplus steel inventories, Deutsche Bank said. Iron ore rose yesterday for the first time in nine…