Steel billet prices have gone down this week in most regions apart from India and China, following the downward trend seen in scrap prices at the beginning of the week, Metal Bulletin has heard.

A potential ban on Chinese steel imports by Taiwan could disrupt trade flows in Asia, with the stainless steel segment set to be hardest hit, market sources told Metal Bulletin this week.

Global scrap prices have remained largely unchanged during the working week from Monday August 28 to Friday September 1, with markets awaiting the end of holidays in Turkey.

Global scrap prices softened in several markets in the working week from Monday July 23 to Friday July 27, often because of weak demand in the downstream long steel segments in Taiwan and Turkey.

The minor metals industry is facing turbulent times and increased volatility in all regions, but some things remain constant and there are always new opportunities if you know where to look, says former-chairman of the MMTA Anthony Lipmann.

Fastmarkets’ minor metals team answers some of the key questions raised during our recent web seminar, discussing recent market trends in minor metals, and the factors expected to drive price moves in 2019.

The London Metal Exchange is modifying its technology to allow it to launch multiple contracts at once, something it plans to do at the end of the year, according to the exchange’s chief executive officer.

Manganese ore prices continued to succumb to pressure, while the alloys markets maintained stability last week.

After a strong first quarter of 2018, when more ferrous scrap produced in the United States was bought both at home and abroad, it appeared that the country’s scrap sellers were well placed to fend off buyers’ attempts to push market prices downward.

The internationalization of Dalian Commodity Exchange-traded iron ore futures and the sustainability of Chinese buyers’ appetite for imported premium hard coking coal will be the focus of the market this month, after prices of the steelmaking raw materials retreated in April.