Latest news with #ShanghaiMetalsMarket
West Australian
13 hours ago
- Business
- West Australian
Iron ore extends drop towards $US90/t as Citi cuts outlook
Iron ore headed for the lowest close since September on a seasonal slowdown in demand and signs Chinese mills are curbing steel output. Futures fell for a fourth day in Singapore, sinking below $US93 a tonne. The rainy season in southern China, as well as high temperatures in the north, have persisted, slowing construction, Shanghai Metals Market said in a note. On Monday, figures from China — the top iron ore importer — showed nationwide steel output in May was below April's total on a daily basis, and almost 7 per cent less than a year ago. It was the weakest showing for the month since 2018. The steel-making staple has been under pressure in recent weeks as traders eye a slower pace of construction into the summer, as well as a push by authorities in China to curb steel output to combat a glut. Futures are coming off the back of a four-week losing run that was the longest since January. 'Steel demand in China is likely to remain weak over the coming months over the upcoming seasonal lull,' Citigroup said in a note, cutting iron ore forecasts. China's property market weakness is showing no signs of a turnaround, and manufacturing faces increased trade headwinds, they said. The bank's prompt-to-three month price forecast was reduced to $US90/t from $US100, while the six-to-12 month target was scaled back to $US85 from $US90. On the supply side, miners in Brazil — the largest shipper after Australia — have been ramping up flows. Exports totalled 35.077 million tons in May, narrowly setting a record for that month. Iron ore futures fell as much as 1.2 per cent to $US92.90/t in Singapore, before trading at $US93 at 11.44am. Steel futures in China also declined. Copper and other industrial metals were lower as investors monitored the Israel-Iran conflict and appetite for risk assets. US President Donald Trump called for the evacuation of Tehran, in comments that contrasted with earlier optimism the situation wouldn't escalate into a wider conflict. Bloomberg
Mint
14 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Iron Ore Extends Drop as Demand Concerns Rise, Citi Cuts Targets
(Bloomberg) -- Iron ore headed for the lowest close since September on a seasonal slowdown in demand and signs Chinese mills are curbing steel output. Futures fell for a fourth day in Singapore, sinking below $93 a ton. The rainy season in southern China, as well as high temperatures in the north, have persisted, slowing construction, Shanghai Metals Market said in a note. On Monday, figures from China — the top iron ore importer — showed nationwide steel output in May was below April's total on a daily basis, and almost 7% less than a year ago. It was the weakest showing for the month since 2018. The steel-making staple has been under pressure in recent weeks as traders eye a slower pace of construction into the summer, as well as a push by authorities in China to curb steel output to combat a glut. Futures are coming off the back of a four-week losing run that was the longest since January. 'Steel demand in China is likely to remain weak over the coming months over the upcoming seasonal lull,' Citigroup Inc. said in a note, cutting iron ore forecasts. China's property market weakness is showing no signs of a turnaround, and manufacturing faces increased trade headwinds, they said. The bank's prompt-to-three month price forecast was reduced to $90 a ton from $100, while the six-to-twelve month target was scaled back to $85 from $90. On the supply side, miners in Brazil — the largest shipper after Australia — have been ramping up flows. Exports totaled 35.077 million tons in May, narrowly setting a record for that month. Iron ore futures fell as much as 1.2% to $92.90 a ton a ton in Singapore, before trading at $93 at 11:44 a.m. Steel futures in China also declined. Copper and other industrial metals were lower as investors monitored the Israel-Iran conflict and appetite for risk assets. US President Donald Trump called for the evacuation of Tehran, in comments that contrasted with earlier optimism the situation wouldn't escalate into a wider conflict. Copper fell 0.3% to $9,674.50 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, while aluminum declined 0.2% to $2,508.50. More stories like this are available on
Bloomberg
14 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Iron Ore Extends Drop as Demand Concerns Rise, Citi Cuts Targets
Iron ore headed for the lowest close since September on a seasonal slowdown in demand and signs Chinese mills are curbing steel output. Futures fell for a fourth day in Singapore, sinking below $93 a ton. The rainy season in southern China, as well as high temperatures in the north, have persisted, slowing construction, Shanghai Metals Market said in a note.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's copper tariff threat still a lucrative bet for traders
By Hongmei Li, Pratima Desai, Lewis Jackson HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) -Unusually large shipments of copper to the United States are unlikely to abate as long as the threat of tariffs hangs over the market and price premiums for the metal on U.S.-based COMEX make deals profitable for traders and producers, analysts said. Since February, when U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on imports of copper vital for electric vehicles, power grids and construction, prices of the metal on COMEX have soared. COMEX copper hit a record high at $11,633 a metric ton on March 26, creating a premium of more than $1,570 a ton against the benchmark contract on the London Metal Exchange. According to U.S. government data, copper imports in March amounted to more than 123,000 tons compared with around 58,000 tons in February and 76,000 in January. "We expect 250,000-300,000 tons of extra copper will be shipped to the U.S. over March-May because of the spread and amid the uncertainties regarding the tariff," said Sharon Ding, head of China basic materials at UBS Investment Research. Ding was speaking on Tuesday at a Shanghai Metals Market event during LME Week in Hong Kong. Some of the metal heading for the U.S. has been diverted from China, but much of it has come from LME-registered warehouses where copper stocks have dropped nearly 60% since the middle of February to 170,750 tons. The premium for copper on COMEX has fallen to $600 a ton, a level traders say is still high enough to make a lucrative profit by sending copper to the United States. "Anyone who could get any material into the U.S. was pretty highly incentivised to do so. I think that rolls on for a little bit longer. We're still at super-normal (premiums)," said Marcus Garvey, head of commodities strategy at Macquarie. UNUSUAL SHIPMENTS Typically, traders and producers with contractual commitments transport metal using container ships as the amounts are regular and relatively small. One container can hold up to 25 tons of metal. However, traders wanting to move quickly before tariffs are potentially imposed have been transporting metal using bulk carriers. Container ships stop along the route to pick up cargo and can take 40 days to reach final destinations, according to a logistics source, while bulk carriers sail directly to final destinations, cutting transit time to around two weeks. Data provider Kpler estimates 95,202 tons of copper transported on bulk carriers reached the U.S. in March and 127,539 tons in April, compared with around 44,000 tons in January and February. In the first half of May, 71,591 tons of copper arrived in bulk carriers, according to Kpler, which highlighted larger than usual volumes from Chile, alongside unusual shipments of 10,000 tons and 4,500 tons from Germany and Spain in March and April respectively. Germany and Spain do not typically export copper to the United States. "It's possible we'll see more atypical cargos in the second half of May," Kpler analyst Ben Ayre said. "While the COMEX price continues to run at a premium to the LME there's a strong incentive to land refined copper in the United States."
West Australian
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- West Australian
Surge in Chinese electric vehicle sales bodes well for battered local lithium miners
Electric vehicle sales in China rose 58 per cent year-on-year in April, a positive sign for struggling WA lithium miners with the battery commodity's price running low on juice. The April sales figures are 2 per cent higher than March's numbers and take the total year-to-date EV purchase growth in the Middle Kingdom up to 51 per cent. Retail discounts have driven the speedy growth, according to Morgan Stanley, but there could be headwinds on the horizon. 'Our China Autos team remain watchful for signs of sub-seasonal demand turning into a broader price war as order intake moderates,' Morgan Stanley stated. 'They note the Shanghai Auto Show last month failed to impress as some key EV launches had already occurred, and some highly anticipated models were absent with launch dates now in June or July.' Prices of the spodumene concentrate produced by WA miners to power electric vehicle batteries are yet to show signs of improvement. The prevailing price is currently $US665 a tonne, according to Shanghai Metals Market, down about $US150/t in the space of a month and continuing a broad decline over the past two years. A rapid rise in lithium mine output from African countries like Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Nigeria has partly fuelled the supply glut. Morgan Stanley believes there is still pain ahead but prices should improve to $US1330/t by 2030. 'Our commodities team have a balanced view and see upside capped as the cost curve moves lower, driven by cost cutting and supply growth coming through,' it stated. 'We think prolonged prices below levels required to support new projects could impact supply modelled to come online over the next few years.'
