China’s daily crude steel output rebounded in early April amid a recovery in domestic steel prices.

Japanese imported flat rolled steel stockpiles rose by 8.2% at the end of June, marking the first rise in three months.

We were wary that the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement could give the dollar a boost and that it could become a headwind for metals prices and that seems to have been the case. The base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are down across the board by an average of 1.1% this morning, Thursday September 21.

Scrap prices in the global market have mostly been stable during the working week from Monday August 21 to Friday August 25, as the Turkish market approached a holiday period and other major markets were showing weak demand.

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday April 20.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are up by an average of 0.5% this morning, Wednesday September 20. Most metals are in positive territory, with three-month copper prices up by 0.5% at $6,563 per tonne, although zinc prices, down by 0.2%, are bucking the uptrend. Volume has been below average with 4,335 lots traded as of 06:31 BST.

China’s crude steel output retreated in late December following consecutive increases that began in mid-November.

China’s largest steelmaker Hebei Iron & Steel expects its full-year results for 2013 to remain at low levels on account of the weak the steel market last year.

A Chinese steel mill has suspended blast furnaces after a loan default almost brought the mid-tier mill to bankruptcy.

Good morning from Metal Bulletin’s office in Singapore as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday April 3.