Both China and the CIS region have been less active in the steel billet markets over the past week, but Iran has shown more activity in the semi-finished product trade, amid a generally positive mood.

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board by an average of 0.6% on Tuesday November 13.

While the ferro-alloys community prepares to gather in Lisbon, Portugal, Metal Bulletin looks at some of the key topics likely to dominate discussions at this year’s International Ferro-alloys Conference.

A rally in iron ore prices at the end of last week, spurred by an unexpected cut in Chinese interest rates, has failed to provide any real boost to the faltering price of the raw material.

The base metals are under pressure today as escalating geopolitical tensions between the USA and North Korea continue to increase risk aversion, triggering profit-taking after bullish sentiment pushed many of the metals to fresh multi-month highs this week.

History shows that crises such as the Wuhan coronavirus have a relatively short-lived impact on global financial markets. Commodities such as soybeans, metals and paper have longer-term issues to worry about.

China’s domestic and export coke prices extended their upward momentum this month amid healthy demand from Chinese mills and continued restrictions on cokeries.

Some progress at the Group of Twenty (G20) summit on US-China trade has given the three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange a boost, up by an average of 1.4%.

Bargain hunting has returned to the base metals complex in the morning of Friday April 13, lifting prices on the London Metal Exchange by 0.6% on average.

Turkish mills resumed their deep-sea purchases with slightly higher prices during the working week from Monday May 22 to Friday May 26, while other markets were comparatively stable, Metal Bulletin has learnt.