NALCO cuts India aluminium prices by 2,500 rupees/T-source

Thu Mar 17, 2011 5:07am GMT

BHUBANESWAR, India, March 17 (Reuters) - Indian metal producer National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) has cut aluminium prices by 2,500 rupees ($55.2) per tonne in the domestic market, a senior company official said on Thursday.

"The revision was done to match with the falling LME (London Metal Exchange) prices," the official, who did not wish to be named due to company policy, told Reuters.

He said the basic price of standard aluminium ingots has been cut to 140,200 rupees a tonne and that of standard aluminium sow ingots to 140,150 rupees per tonne.

The new prices for all aluminium products, which were effective from Wednesday, will remain valid till March 31.

LME aluminium traded almost steady at $2,480 per tonne on Thrusday, after hitting a near 1-1/2 month low of $2,452 in the previous session, a level last seen on Jan. 28. ($1=45.3 Indian Rupees) (Reporting by Jatindra Dash; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan,sourced:Thomson Reuters)

Chinese steelmakers to bear heavy pressure of price correction

Monday, 07 Mar 2011

It is reported that an analyst in an interview said “EXW prices of large scale steelmakers may be stable in April, but will certainly witness a correction in May.”

Actually, analysts were not the only group who held the pessimistic attitude to market. Part of traders decided to stop accepting ordering from steelmakers due to upside down between EXW prices and spot prices. It is possible that the operation in H1 of 2011 may be similar to that in May and June 2010.

1. Pressures after continuous price adjustment

Large scale steelmakers like WISCO, Baosteel, Angang, Benxi Iron and Steel, Shougang and HBIS issued EXW prices for March delivery after Lunar New Year with main products, CRC, HRC increased by CNY 300 per tonne.

WISCO was the first steel mill to raise EXW prices with margin CNY 200 per tonne to CNY 400 per tonne for instance

1. Wire rod up CNY 200 per tonne to CNY 330 per tonne
2. HRC up CNY 200 per tonne to CNY 400 per tonne
3. CRC up CNY 100 per tonne tone CNY 300 per tonne
4. Galvanized products up CNY 200 per tonne to CNY 350 per tonne

Following WISCO, Baosteel also raised its March products prices

1. HRC up CNY 300 per tonne
2. CRC appliance plate CNY 260 per tonne
3. Auto plate up CNY 300 per tonne
4. Galvanized up CNY 260 per tonne
5. Slab up CNY 300 per tonne

After that, Angang also raised its EXW with growth margin similar to WISCO and Baosteel.

After EXW prices increased a lot, costs of traders and other end-users were pulled up rapidly. In addition, domestic steel prices showed plunge in the second week after Lunar New Year, showing upside down between spot prices and EXW prices. Part of traders and end users had to stop ordering. And they estimated that the upside down situation will not last long, possibly ending with steelmakers compromise to reduce EXW prices.

However, steelmakers may not cut its EXW prices so soon and given they bears heavy pressures. They may possibly give traders kinds of discount instead of direct price decrease.

(sourced:mysteel)

Tags :wire rod prices, galvanized products, auto plate, slab, Lunar New Year, Angang, Benxi Iron and Steel, Shougang,

Singapore's SMX signs up Newedge as clearing member

Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:57am GMT

SINGAPORE Feb 28 (Reuters) - Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) said on Monday that global brokerage Newedge has signed up as a general clearing member of the bourse.

Newedge is a 50/50 joint venture between Societe Generale and Credit Agricole CIB.

SMX, controlled by India's Financial Technologies , was launched on Aug. 31 last year and currently trades euro-denominated oil futures, as well as gold and euro-dollar futures.

The bourse said last month it plans to introduce an iron ore futures contract in the second quarter. (Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr;Editing by Ed Lane,sourced:Thomson Reuters)

Miners push European shares to 29-mth closing high

17:50, Monday 14 February 2011

* FTSEurofirst 300 (E3X.FGI - news) up 0.3 pct

* Commodity (COMIN.NX - news) stocks gain on China import data

* Banks (SBK.NX - news) lower ahead of sector results

LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - European shares hit a 29-month closing high on Monday, with miners up after Chinese trade data highlighted strong demand for raw material and as talk of easing inflation in the country capped fears of further tightening.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed 0.3 percent higher at 1,177.86 points, its highest close since early September 2008.

The index, up 3 percent this month, has rebounded almost 83 percent since hitting a record low in March 2009.

Miners in the STOXX Europe 600 basic resources index rose 1.6 percent as copper prices neared record highs after data showed a fall in China's trade surplus to a nine-month low, following surprisingly strong imports, notably of copper.

"The import data reaffirms the growth story in China and helps to give confidence in mining companies that interest rate rises are not going to suppress metal demand in the medium term," said Joshua Raymond, market strategist at City Index.

Traders also said there was talk China's consumer price index (CPI (Berlin: CEJ.BE - news) ) may have risen 4.9 percent in the year to January, well below the forecast of 5.3 percent, adding that might be because of weighting changes in the CPI.

"Inflation has been the major worry and there has been a fear of monetary overkill, but until the (inflation) data is released (on Tuesday) we could see a bit of volatility," said Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland Research in Frankfurt.

Share (LSE: SHRE.L - news) price gains were kept in check by falls in heavyweight banking stocks ahead of sector earnings results due this week. Societe Generale (Paris: FR0000130809 - news) and BNP Paribas (BNPQF.PK - news) , which report this week, both shed around 1.2 percent while Lloyds Banking Group fell 1.7 percent.

Bucking the trend, Credit Suisse (CSMA - news) gained 1.9 percent after the Swiss bank said it will issue 6 billion Swiss francs ($6.2 billion) of contingent convertible capital bonds, or CoCos, to satisfy stricter capital rules. [ID:nLDE71D039]

ARM Holdings (LSE: ARM.L - news) rose 6.6 percent as traders cited bullish notes from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - news) and Morgan Stanley (DWDF.EX - news) on its outlook. Nearly all the world's mobile phones and tablets use the company's low-power technology.

France's Thales (Hamburg: CSF.HM - news) rebounded from earlier losses to rise 4.6 percent, as investors brushed aside a profit warning from the defence company. [ID:nLDE71D0BM]

Cementing expectations of a pick-up in merger and acquisition activity, British energy services provider John Wood Group surged 13.9 percent after U.S. conglomerate General Electric bought a unit of the company for $2.8 billion.

(Reporting by Joanne Frearson;Editing by David Hulmes,sourced:resuters)

Tags:FTSEurofirst, Commodities, European market, shares, Chinease trade data, strong demand, raw materials, STOXX Europe, traders, Credit Suisse, ARM Holdings, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.,Thales, John Wood group, General Electric.

PUSTAKA JAYA PALU POWER LOOKING FOR 5800 GAD COAL

Feb08, 2011
According to market information, PT Pustaka Jaya Palu Power, a power plant operator of the Mpanau plant, Palu, Sulawesi has invited coal suppliers to supply 16,000 MT of coal with Calorific Value (GAD) 5,600 - 5,800 kcal/kg per month.

The tender has required suppliers to offer coal for the period of 2 to 5 years and the first shipment of coal should be delivered early April 2011 against this tender.
CCoW or IUP holders only allowed to participate in the tender and participants are required to submit their tender document on or before 21 February 2011 at 14:00 west Indonesia standard time.

The tender documents can be collected from PT Pustaka Jaya Palu Power, Rukan Artha Gading Niaga Blok H No. 23, Jl. Kelapa Gading Barat, Kelapa Gading, Jakarta Utara 14240 between 9 - 14 February 2011.
(sourced:coalspot)

Tags:PT Pustaka Jaya Palu Power, looking for coal suppliers, 5800 GAD coal, Mpanau plant, invited tender, offers, CCoW or IUP holders, Indonesia coal news, Indian steam coal traders, Indonesian Coal Mining Association

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Iron Ore-Key index at record in thin trade

Thu Feb 3, 2011 7:07am GMT
* Indian exporters see higher prices after China holiday
* Indian futures flat to higher, volumes lean (Adds Indian futures)
By Manolo Serapio Jr

SINGAPORE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A key iron ore price index edged up to a record although business is expected to remain light on Thursday with top buyer China off the market for the Lunar New Year break.
Platts' 62 percent iron ore index IODBZ00-PLT rose 50 cents to $187.25 a tonne, including freight, on Wednesday. Two similar indexes by Metal Bulletin .IO62-CNO=MB and Steel Index .IO62-CNI=SI were steady at $183.36 and $185.60, respectively.
The indexes, based on spot transactions in China, are used by global miners like Vale and Rio Tinto in deciding rates for quarterly contracts.

"Buying from Chinese players have almost stopped but Indian exporters are bullish and expect prices to open higher post-Chinese New Year holidays," said Dhruv Goel, managing partner at iron ore trader Steelmint in India's eastern state of Orissa.
Chinese markets are shut for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday that began on Wednesday. They will reopen on Feb. 9.
Iron ore forward swaps mostly gained on thin volumes on Wednesday, although prices remained below those of the indexes, pointing to caution among buyers on the near-term direction of spot prices.

The Singapore Exchange-cleared February contract rose 87 cents to $183 a tonne and March added 50 cents to $174. April slipped 50 cents to $165.50.
In India, iron ore futures were flat to firmer although volumes remained lean on the fifth day since two commodity exchanges there launched the world's first futures contract for the steelmaking ingredient.
At 0630 GMT, 62 percent ore for March delivery on the Indian Commodity Exchange rose 1 percent to 8,014 rupees ($176) a tonne, including freight cost to northern China.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange, March 62 percent ore was nearly flat at 7,516 rupees a tonne, free on board.

Indian exporters are eyeing a court ruling in mid-February on whether a ban on iron ore exports from the southern Karnataka state will be lifted.
Indian iron ore exports fell for the sixth straight month in December because of the ban.
($1 = 45.57 rupees) (Editing by Ed Lane, sourced:reuters)

Bukit Asam Expects Coal Sales to Rise 30% This Year

By Bambang Djanuarto
Monday, Jan 31, 2011
PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam expects coal sales volume to gain about 30 percent this year as the Indonesian state-owned miner plans to produce more of the fuel to meet increasing demand, President Director Sukrisno said.
Sales may increase to 16.9 million metric tons this year from 12.95 million tons last year while output may rise to 17.6 million tons from 13.1 million tons, said Sukrisno.
“Demand of coal for domestic and global markets will continue to increase,” Sukrisno, who uses one name, told parliament members in Jakarta today. “Local consumption will rise significantly, especially for power projects.”

Indonesia, the world’s largest thermal coal exporter, is planning to burn more of the fuel to make up for falling crude oil production from aging fields, which led to the country withdrawing from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2008. PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, the country’s state utility, may more than double its annual coal demand to 95.3 million tons by 2015.
Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra-based Bukit Asam has allocated 1.8 trillion rupiah ($199 million) for capital spending this year to boost production, Sukrisno said. The company expects output to climb to 50 million tons in 2015 and 80 million tons in 2018, he added.

Profit Decline
Net income in 2010 may have been lower than the previous year when the company posted 2.73 trillion rupiah of profit because of lower average coal selling price, the president director said. Profit may have fallen 25 percent to 2.04 trillion rupiah last year, according to average estimate of 19 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
Bukit Asam average selling price fell 19 percent last year to 608,000 rupiah a ton, Sukrisno said. “An increase in sales volume could not compensate for a decline in coal price,” he said, adding the company expects the selling price to rise to 800,000 rupiah a ton this year.
Bukit Asam and Mitsubishi Corp. will jointly develop a coal-to-gas plant in Riau with an annual capacity of 6.5 million tons, Sukrisno said. The Indonesian company will also team up with Lurgi AG in a separate project in South Sumatra, he added.
Bukit Asam shares fell 2 percent to 19,750 rupiah at the 4 p.m. Jakarta time close. The stock has risen 18 percent in the past six months, outpacing the 11.5 percent gain in the benchmark Jakarta Composite index. (sourced:bloomberg)

Sponge iron prices rise 20% in a month

January 26, 2011

sourced Business standard by Dilip Kumar Jha & Shubhashish
The prices of sponge iron rose by nearly 20 per cent in the past month in line with similar rises in the prices of other steel making raw material, including iron ore and scrap.
On Friday, sponge iron prices in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India’s largest producing hub, is quoted at Rs 21,000 a tonne, from Rs 16,500 a tonne about a month earlier. The commodity slipped marginally from its peak at Rs 22,000 a tonne yesterday. Producers and traders attribute this price rise to an all-round appreciation in finished steel products and raw materials.

Post-monsoon construction activity began with a lag of a month due to an extended rainy season. So, projects in this sector are behind schedule, creating a rush for completion. As a result, demand for construction-grade steel has suddenly surged. Vipul Agarwal, director (finance), Prakash Industries, said, “Sponge iron prices have spiked by over 20 per cent in the past month or so and looks likely to continue to move upwards.”
The cost of production of sponge iron for Prakash Industries is around Rs 12,000 a tonne due to captive iron ore mines.
The company sells it at a profit margin of a massive 75 per cent, at Rs 21,000 a tonne. Agarwal said, “We have our own coal mines. That is why our cost of production is lower than other sponge iron makers.”

On the other hand, a number of small sponge iron producers in Chhattisgarh have shut shop due to inability to procure raw materials like steel scrap and iron ore at such a high price. Imported steel scrap is quoted today at Mumbai port at $450-480 a tonne, a significant rise from $360-400 a tonne about a month earlier.
Similarly, the benchmark iron ore (with 63.5 per cent of Fe content) perked to $190 a tonne from $155-160 a tonne a month before.

“Though the flood in Australia did not impact supply of iron ore or coking coal, it created a sentimental boost to the entire steel sector,” said Vimal Kumar Somani, director of Topworth Group, a Mumbai-based sponge iron manufacturer which runs its plant in Raipur.
Prices of finished steel have also surged in line with hot-rolled coil, up to $760 a tonne today from $580 a tonne a month before. Shredded scrap is currently quoted at $500 per tonne, a significant rise from $440-450 a tonne, while heavy melting scrap (HMS) is sold at $450-480 a tonne today, as compared to $360-400 a tonne a month earlier.

Internal demand for steel is also bullish, especially from the automobile, construction and consumer durables’ sector, said Somani. Mega projects like power and national highways require a lot of steel. Therefore, prices of steel and its raw materials are likely to remain firm for at least the next two months, he added.