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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Japanese buyers of seaborne coking coal will have to pay a higher price for their January-March volumes in comparison with the preceding quarter, with the emergence of fresh supply concerns last month leading to an uncertain outlook for prices in the coming quarter.

Scrap prices in major global markets trended downward during the working week from Monday July 10 to Friday July 14, as mills in most import markets successfully fended off further price increases.