Volume 6 / Issue 98 / May 22, 2012/PlattsSBBSteelClose/MidpointChange % Chg IODEX Iron ore fines 62% Fe ($/dmt)CFR North China133.50-134.50 134.000.250.19Please see Platts complete iron price/netbacks table, p.3Coking coal, premium low vol ($/mt)FOB Australia 223.00 223.00 +0.50 0.22CFR China238.00 238.00 -0.50 -0.21Please see full metallurgical coal price/freight table, p.4Ferrous scrap ($/mt)HMS FOB Rotterdam 392.50-397.50 395.00 0.00 0.00A3, FOB Black Sea 392.50-397.50 395.00 0.00 0.00HMS CFR Turkey 427.50-432.50430.000.000.00Ferrous scrap ($/lt)Shredded del Midwest US 420.00-425.00 422.50 0.00 0.00Shredded del dock East Coast 395.00-400.00 397.50 0.00 0.00HMS del dock East Coast380.00-385.00382.500.000.00Maryland—The various restrictions on scrap exports present in over 20 countries has had a greater impact on pricing than availability, according to Nucor’s CEO Dan DiMicco.The US is the leading exporter of scrap in the world exporting a record high 24.3 million mt in 2011.“The issue on scrap is not so much availa-bility because of exporting, but it does have an impact on price,” DiMicco said Tuesday during a press briefing at the American Iron and Steel Institute’s joint annual meeting with the Metals Service Center Institute in Maryland.“We let the rest of the world get away with putting either outright bans on the export of raw materials or severe restrictions on them,” DiMicco emphasized.He maintained that there are no scrap export restrictions in the US or Canada while countries like Russia, Ukraine and China have either export bans, quotas or taxes.Scrap restrictions elsewhere hit US prices“We are not in favor of putting barriers up on the export of scrap,” DiMicco said. “We are in favor of undoing the barriers around the world that create additional demand for our scrap. If they won’t let scrap come out of their country then we shouldn’t let their steel come in.”Earlier this year—in a closely watched case—the appeals panel of the WTO ruled China must dismantle its export taxes and quotas on nine industrial minerals including coke. “We see that as another favorable development demonstrating our countryshould expect our trading partners to live up to the agreements they make,” US Steel CEO John Surma said.US eyes are ‘watching’ CBMXMeanwhile, Surma and an executive of a major US-based global raw materials companyacknowledged Tuesday that their companies(continued on page 2)Scrap restrictions elsewhere hit US prices ... from page 1are in a wait-and-see mode regarding the recently launched physical iron ore trading platform in China.“There is going to be some trading done over that [the China Beijing International Mining Exchange (CBMX)],” Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Joseph Carrabba said during the same press briefing.“Whether it gains prominence or not, I think has a long way to go. Trying to find a counterparty for that trade is pretty difficult to do,” Carrabba noted. He added: “I think it is wait-and-see at this point and time; we are exploring all avenues.”US Steel’s Surma said his company is monitoring CBMX and others. “We are watching and observing the developments of these potential platforms,” he said. “We are just in the early stages of watching it.”— Nicholas TolomeoIron ore market...from page 1would be $2.258/dmtu and $2.185/dmtu, indicating a lump premium of $0.073/dmtu, according to Platts calcu-lations. Market talk suggested a Chinese mill was the buyer of this cargo, but this could not be confirmed.Elsewhere, market participants pegged the repeatable trading price of 61% Fe Pilbara Blend fines at $132-133/dmt CFR China. One Singapore-based trader felt the stronger price could be driven mainly by mills thatwere looking to replenish depleted inventories. “It is normal for [the] price of iron ore to take a breather and gain traction after falling constantly for the past week, and there are always mills who need to buy iron ore.”Most sources said they were seeing “significantly more inquiries for Australian ore” from mills, especially for Pilbara Blend fines and Newman fines. “I received quite a bit of interest for cargoes from north and south China mills today. The market seems to finally be edging its way up,” a Singapore-based trader said.But not all participants were as quick to embrace what others saw as the begin-ning of an uptick in spot prices. “The mar-ket is still waiting to see the direction spot prices will take before committing to any position. There is hardly any demand from end-users now, so sellers are finding it dif-ficult to market cargoes too,” a Beijing-based trader said.Mills in Tangshan, seen as generally representative of steelmakers across the country, were seeing losses due to poor steel margins, making it difficult to buy raw materials.“Steel is still terrible,” said a London-based trader. “It is neither acceptable nor possible for Newman fines to be traded repeatedly at $137/dmt CFR China, when both steel futures and billet prices are dip-ping lower together today,” concurred a Shandong mill source.Myriad Vale cargoes still on offerThere were still a number of Vale car-goes on offer. The Brazilian miner was offering a cargo co-loaded with 46,649 mt of 66.3% Fe Lump Ore Blast Furnace Urucum (LOAU) and 31,174 mt of 64.16% Fe Brazilian Standard Sinter Feed Tubarao (SSFT) for tendering. This shipment is slat-ed to pass Singapore May 28.The LOAU cargo, which contains 0.81% alumina, 2.98% silica, 0.054% phosphorus and 4.3% moisture, is the third such cargo Vale has offered in the spot market this year. The SSFT cargo contains 0.75% alu-mina, 4.87% silica, 0.06% phosphorus and 7.8% moisture. The results of the tender couldn’t be obtained before the assess-ment closed, though market talk suggest-ed the SSFT ore sold at $134.50/dmt.Vale was also offering 64.76% Fe Lump Ore Blast Furnace Non-screened Guaiba (LONS), 176,367 mt, with 1.236% alumina, 3.78% silica, and passing Singapore May 29. The tender was due to close May 22, 5 PM Beijing time (0900 GMT), according to traders who received the tender.A 167,068 mt cargo under the Vale63.5% Fe bracket traded at $135.10/dmt CFR China on the China BeijingInternational Mining Exchange Tuesday,according to a mill source and traders withaccess to the platform. But no furtherdetails or specifications were available.Sesa Goa continues to sellIndia’s Sesa Goa was back in the mar-ket offering 55,000 mt of 54% Fe finesTuesday—despite a company source say-ing earlier that the four fines cargoes SesaGoa sold last week would be its last priorto the Indian monsoon season. This latestparcel contains a maximum of 8% alumina,7% silica, 0.1% phosphorus, 0.03% sulfurand 15% moisture, and will load over May24-30 from Goa.The tender closes Tuesday, 10 pmIndian time (1630 GMT). The companysource did not wish to confirm if this wouldPlatts Daily Metallurgical Coal Assessments, May 22Coking coal price assessments ($/mt) FOB CFR CFR Change Australia China India Australia China IndiaHCC Peak Downs Region 222.50 237.50 240.00 +0.50 -0.50 -0.50Premium Low Vol 223.00 238.00 240.50 +0.50 -0.50 -0.50HCC 64 Mid Vol 190.00 205.00 207.50 +1.50 +0.50 +0.50Low Vol PCI 152.00 167.00 169.50 +1.00 +0.00 +0.00Low Vol 12 Ash PCI 132.50 147.50 150.00 +1.00 +0.00 +0.00Semi Soft 128.50 143.50146.00 +1.00 +0.00 +0.00Met Coke - -361.00- -+0.00HCC Assessed SpecificationsCSR VM Ash S P TM Fluidity HCC Peak Downs Region 74% 20.7% 10.5% 0.60% 0.030% 9.5% 400Premium Low Vol 71% 21.5% 9.3% 0.50% 0.045% 9.7% 500HCC 64 Mid Vol64% 25.5% 9.0% 0.60% 0.050%9.5%1,700Penalties & Premia: Differentials ($/mt) Within % of Premium Low Vol FOBNet Value Min-Max Australia assessment price($/mt)Per 1% CSR 60-74% 0.50% 1.12Per 1% VM (air dried) 18-28% 0.50% 1.12Per 1% TM (as received) 8-11% 1.00% 2.23Per 1% Ash (air dried) 7-10.5% 1.25% 2.79Per 0.1%S (air dried) 0.3-1%1.00%2.23The assessed price of HCC Peak Downs® originates with Platts and is based on price information for a range of HCCs with a CSR > 67% normalized to the standard of HCC Peak Downs® (CSR 74%). Peak Downs® is a registered trade mark of BM Alliance Coal Operations Pty Limited “BMA”. This price assessment is not affiliated with or sponsored by BMA in any way.Dry bulk freight assessments RouteVessel Class Freight rate ($/mt)Moisture (%)Australia-China Panamax 15.00 9.50Australia-IndiaPanamax17.509.50East Australia: basis Hay Point port. North China: basis Qingdao port. East India: basis Paradip port.Detailed methodology and specifications are found here: /IM.Platts.Content/MethodologyReferences/MethodologySpecs/metcoalmethod.pdf Source: Plattsreally be the last fines cargo sold before the rainy season, but said it would be “fully dependent on weather conditions.”“The Indian monsoon season officially hits the Goan region around June 6, so tech-nically the Goan miners can still offer fines cargoes now, but come next week, it will be risky,” another Beijing-based trader said.Elsewhere, South Korean trading house Daewoo was offering 150,000 mt of high-sili-ca 58/57% Fe Mauritanian fines, according to a trader who received the offer. The ship-ment, which already loaded May 6, contains 1% alumina, 12.5% silica, 0.08% phospho-rus, 0.07% sulfur and 2% moisture.“It’s going to be hard for any mill to be able to take this cargo because the silica content is dangerously high. I think even a trade level of $100/dmt CFR China would be tough to fetch for it,” the trader said.— Celestyn Wong,Melvin Yeo and Keith Tanwith Annalisa Jeffries in LondonCoking coal marketAsian spot coking coal market ‘balanced,’ freight downSingapore—Spot coking coal prices into Asia were steady Tuesday, though lower freight rates had some effect on FOB Australia, and CFR India and China spot prices.In what was described by market players as a “balanced” premium low-volatile hard coking coal market, a $1/mt drop inassessed Panamax freight rates was shared equally between FOB and CFR prices. This resulted in a 50 cents/mt rise for the FOB Queensland price to $223/mt, and a 50 cents/mt fall for CFR China, to $238/mt.Indicative buy-side interest for premium low-vol HCC was reported by buyers and miners at $220/mt FOB or just below, across several regions including North Asia, India and China.No new transactions were heard done, however. “It’s a very thin spot market,” a producer of premium HCC said Tuesday, add-ing that sentiment in China was generally bearish. Traders agreed, with one Beijing source citing falling billet prices in China. Tangshan billet prices have eased Yuan 90/mt ($14.20) since last Friday to Yuan 3,520/mt ex-stock, sources said Tuesday.Another trader said even US miners were reluctant to cut their offers to China as they could see better demand compara-tively from buyers outside China.A third Beijing trader said buying of port stocks also remained lackluster. He said dockside coking coal inventories in Jingtangand Rizhao ports were steady at 4 million and 2 million mt, respectively. “I can’t see any improvement in demand,” he said.Highlighting the need to shift coal in ports, one trader said he was prepared to delay pay-ment and to bear the extra interest himself. He had just sold a small volume of Australia semi-hard coking coal at above Yuan 1,400/mt ex-stock, which had 40-50% coke strength after reaction (CSR), 27% volatile matter, low ash and low sulfur. After accounting for the interest paid by the seller, this equates to $179/mt CFR China after deducting Yuan 35/mt in port charges and 17% value-added tax.Meanwhile, higher indicative buying inter-est in India lifted second-tier coking coal, which rose $1.50/mt to $190/mt FOB Australia.“For second-tier, India is looking stronger because buyers are substituting premium coals. It’s nicely balanced,” an HCC producer said. He saw “tell-tale signs of jitteriness”because of the threat of more strikes at BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance mines.Nonetheless, he believed fundamen-tals were bearish and thought the BMA strikes would only delay a fall in the mar-ket. “If the BMA situation hadn’t been there, I believe we would have seen a con-tinuation of the [down]trend of recentmonths.” “Demand is indeed pretty weak,” another HCC producer also conceded.— Julien Hall with Helena Shengand Edwin Yeorussian PCI cargoesabundantly available: tradersSingapore —Several traders have seen an increase in the number of Russian pul-verized coal injection (PCI) cargoes beingoffered to China, for a range of qualities, they said Tuesday“We’ve seen a lot of high offers from Russia,” one trader told Platts SBB. The trader reported 12% volatile matter, 12% ash PCI was offered as high as $160/mt CFR, and 12% VM, 10% ash at around $165/mt CFR.With the exception of a few high-quality PCIs, most Russian low-vol PCIs tend to be harder to grind than similar Australian products. Russian PCIs generally have a Hardgrove Grindability Index (HGI) of below 70, compared with Australian grades in the 70s or 80s.Low grindability can be a limiting factor for mills with constrained grinding ability, according to market participants.Though offers were perceived as high, the trader said Chinese buyers preferred the smaller vessel sizes available from Russia than the larger ships fromAustralia. “It’s a high-risk market. It’s diffi-cult for one buyer to accept a whole Panamax,” he explained.Nonetheless, large Chinese mills locat-ed near ports would be likely to accept top Australian low-vol PCIs at $165-170/mt CFR, another Chinese trader said.Tuesday’s low-vol PCI assessment increased $1 to $152.00/mt FOBAustralia, and low-vol with 12% ash was also up a dollar to $132.50/mt FOB.Prices to China and India were unchanged, however, offset by lower freight rates: Low-vol PCI was steady at $167.00/mt CFR China and $169.50/mt CFR India. Low-vol, 12% ash PCI held Tuesday at $147.50 CFR China and $150.00 CFR India.— Julien Hall and Helena ShengScrap marketUK heavy melting scrap offer to Turkey unchangedLondon —A UK recycler was offering a cargo of heavy melting scrap I/II (80/20 blend) to Turkish mills at $430/mt CFR Tuesday, level on implied prices in recent composite transactions for premium quality HMS blend.Some recyclers achieved sales to North Africa. One Benelux recycler ended up selling its cargo to Egypt rather than Turkey last week as demand proved more potent in North Africa than the EastMediterranean. Other sales were reported from France into Morocco, with major exporters operating out of WesternEuropean ports reducing some supplies.In addition, Turkish mills were chasingcargo for prompt delivery—something recy-clers long-believed the producers needed. This has calmed sentiment after the sud-den fall that took place towards the end of last week. Limited availability has also been a factor, with few merchants having prompt material available.“The fact that Turkish steelmakers are coming and asking for prompt deliveries makes us a little more relaxed,” oneEuropean exporter said. “Our domestic mar-ket only fell away a few euro [for May], so we can’t bring down our export prices—even with today’s more favorable exchange—to the level desired by some mills in Turkey.”Indeed, with the euro strengthening marginally on the US dollar compared to its weakest levels at the end of last week, coupled with slightly stronger freight from Benelux ports to Turkey, recyclers doubted much further weakening was possible for the time being on scrap.Lower US East Coast offer prices to India The Platts SBB daily assessment remained flat Tuesday at $430/mt CFR Turkey basis. Talk persisted from US market participants that US East Coast exporters were seeing less interest from Turkey and are now focusing some effort on India.Dealing with rising inventories and declining interest from Turkish steel mills, two major US East Coast (USEC) exporters came into the market early this week with lower offer prices on bulk cargoes of shred-ded scrap to India.Offers were heard from the USEC at $460/mt CFR Nhava Sheva and $470/mt CFR Chennai. The exporters are said to be awaiting a response from the mills. The offers represent a $20-30/mt drop from two weeks ago.USEC exporters are dealing with a declining domestic scrap market and waning interest from Turkish mills. One USEC exporter with considerable scrap supply on hand was heard to be declin-ing substantial tonnage deals from scrap yards last week, and in turn offering to US-based mills.— Ciaran Roe with Nicholas Tolomeo in Pittsburgh Major eastern Chinese mills cut scrap prices $8/mtSingapore—Domestic scrap prices have fallen further in China’s eastern regions since Shagang Group in Jiangsu province cut its buying costs again by Yuan 50/mt ($7.92) Tuesday.The latest reduction took Shagang’s buying price for heavy melting scrap (over 6 mm thick) to Yuan 3,040/mt ($480) including 17% VAT. The mill has cut its scrap prices four times since May 11, by a total of Yuan 200/mt (about $32/mt).“We have to lower raw materials costs since our rebar prices have kept declin-ing,” a Shagang official said. The mill has slashed its rebar prices by an accumulated Yuan 230/mt since the beginning of this month. “There is still a possibility for us to further cut the scrap prices, but the margincould be limited,” the official told Platts Steel Business Briefing.The province’s smaller mills, includ-ing Huaigang Special Steel, immediate-ly followed Shagang by shaving their scrap prices by Yuan 30-50/mt, and more mills are expected to follow in the next few days.Meanwhile, major steelmakers in neighboring Shandong province also low-ered their scrap prices. On Tuesday Xiwang Special Steel reduced its buying price for HMS (>6 mm) to Yuan 3,090/mt from Yuan 3,140/mt with VAT. “Themarket is very dismal, and we are stillstruggling to avoid losses, although itseems more and more difficult,” a majorShandong trader said.Market prices for HMS were prevail-ing at Yuan 3,040-3,150/mt ($481-498)with the VAT in the country’s eastregions, around Yuan 50/mt lower thanprices on Monday.— Della FuJapanese scrap exportprices to Korea keep fallingSingapore—Japanese scrap exportprices to Korea have dropped by Yen1,000-1,500/mt ($12.5-18.80) over thepast week as demand from foreign buyerssuch as Chinese mills has declined.“Korean mills seem the only buyersfor Japanese scrap for the moment,” asource with a major steelmaker inPlatts steel industry assessments, May 22Close/MidpointChange% ChgAsiaHot-rolled coil $/mtFOB Shanghai*630.00-635.00632.50 -5.00 -0.78Reinforcing bar $/mt FOB China* 615.00-625.00 620.00-10.00-1.59* Assessed May 17, 2012Europe Hot-rolled coil Eur/mtEx-works, Ruhr 542.50-547.50 545.00 -2.50 -0.46CIF Antwerp 520.00-530.00 525.00 0.00 0.00$/mtFOB Black Sea 585.00-595.00 590.00 0.00 0.00PlateEur/mtEx-works, Ruhr 605.00-615.00 610.00 0.00 0.00CIF Antwerp 535.00-545.00 540.00 0.00 0.00Reinforcing bar Eur/mtEx-works, NW Eur 522.50-527.50 525.00 0.00 0.00$/mtFOB basis Turkey 642.50-647.50645.00 0.00 0.00Billet$/mt FOB Black Sea 585.00585.000.000.00North America Hot-rolled coil $/stEx-works, Indiana 650.00-660.00 655.00 0.00 0.00CIF, Houston 630.00-650.00 640.00 0.00 0.00Plate$/stEx-works, US SE 880.00-900.00 890.00 0.00 0.00CIF, Houston 800.00-820.00 810.00 0.00 0.00Reinforcing bar $/stEx-works, US SE 720.00-725.00 722.50 0.00 0.00CIF, Houston610.00-620.00 615.000.000.00Europe and US cold-rolled coil assessments, May 22Eur/mtClose/MidpointChange % Chg Ex-works, Ruhr 622.50-627.50 625.00 -2.50 -0.40CIF Antwerp 585.00-595.00 590.000.00 0.00$/mtFOB Black Sea 695.00-705.00 700.00 0.00 0.00$/stEx-works, Indiana 750.00-770.00 760.00 0.00 0.00CIF, Houston740.00-760.00750.000.000.00Korea said Tuesday.Hyundai Steel, the country’s largest scrap buyer, booked Japanese H2 grade scrap at Yen 31,000-31,500/mt FOB($389-395) this week, market sources told Platts SBB.This compares with contract prices concluded earlier last week of Yen32,500/mt FOB for the same grades. “We have secured sufficient scrap inventories so for now we’re taking a wait-and-see atti-tude in terms of booking import materials,” a company source said.Another Korean mill source also said that his company had booked enough imported scrap up until June arrivals. “Thus we’re taking our time to monitor market sentiment closely before booking for July shipment,” he noted.Korean steelmakers contacted by Platts SBB said that Japanese export pric-es of scrap are unlikely to drop much fur-ther from the current levels in the near term. “However, there seems no momen-tum for a significant price hike in Japanese scrap for export,” the third mill source said. Sales of finished steel products in both the Japanese and Korean markets have remained depressed so far this year, as reported.“Besides, Japanese scrap traders fear unstable market conditions caused by ongoing global economic turmoil so raising prices will be difficult for them,” he added.— Hera OhExchangesIron ore swaps prices rally as physical losses ceaseLondon—Iron ore swaps pricesincreased more substantially Tuesday on the back of an arrested decline in the physical market, brokers and traders in London and Singapore said.There was a flurry of trades on Q3, basis The Steel Index’s reference price for 62% Fe material CFR North China, which moved up to trade at $130/dry mt several times. July traded at $128.75/dmt and moved up to $129.50/dmt, while a Q3/Q4 spread changed hands at $1.50/dmt.Several physical cargoes were done at levels suggesting slightly higher prices, reflected in the upward movement of both IODEX and TSI 62% Fe fines. The latter gained 20 cents to $131.10/dmt, while the former was up 25 cents to $134/dmt.The tenders were the “first positive news for two weeks” so it made sense that they would lead to some gains, a trader inSingapore said. “I think physical prices havecome to the bottom, it’s a good time to cover a short,” said a trader in London.The decline in China’s billet price con-tinued, but at a slower pace. In Tangshan city, ex-works prices for 150x150 mm Q235 slipped Yuan 10/mt to Yuan 3,520/mt ($557) with 17% VAT on a cash basis. Physical rebar was unchanged.Wary about downstream steel weaknessBut not all sources believed the phys-ical increases could be seen as a turning point in the market, alluding to down-stream steel weakness. “As long as the government has not loosened its tight grip on the real estate market I don’t think the economy will show any substan-tial improvement,” one Tangshan-based billet trader said. And dockside ore inven-tories in China lost another Yuan 10-20/mt, TSI reported.Market weakness was being confound-ed by Chinese mills continuing to pump out “massive” amounts of steel in a bid to keep costs low and maintain market share, one analyst said.Wavering and confused sentiment was reflected by a Yuan 16/mt fall in the most active October rebar contract in Shanghai, which had gained some ground Monday after broadly supportive comments over the weekend by China’s Premiere Wen.Indicative forward curves from London-based brokers also pointed to some confusion over market direction. Two curves both had prices up through-out, but the increases ranged from 50 cents to $3/dmt.— Colin RichardsonFerroalloys market Asian manganese ore prices move up on tight supply London—Seaborne manganese ore bound for Asia gained ground Tuesday on the back of tight supply in the spot market, sources said.The Platts 44% Mn ore lump assess-ment moved up 5 cents from the previous day to $4.90/dry mt unit CIF Tianjin, China.“Demand for silicon manganese is pretty stable, but alloy producers are pushing up prices due to higher ore pric-es,” said a producer who was working at 40% capacity.Other market participants said there was growing uncertainty for ore demand levels, citing negative steel margins. The weak steel market has been weigh-ing on manganese ore, and there has been talk some mills may cut crude output amid weak margins, accordingto an Inner Mongolia based trader. That will further crimp manganese ore demand, he added.A China based producer source said she would not be purchasing manganese ore until the steel market showed signs of strengthening and the direction of sili-comanganese prices is clearer. “I am wait-ing to see what happens with the sili-comanganese price. I think if it doesn’t increase plants will close their furnaces,” she said.“Demand is not good, ore is tight and alloy prices weak. It all depends on sili-comanganese now but ore prices are firm. Miners aren’t negotiating,” the pro-duce concluded.Sources said major French ore miner Eramet was not offering June shipments due to port loading issues at its Gabon operations, which is creating tightness in the ore market.China’s manganese alloys producers reported the price of silicomanganese 65:17 at Yuan 8,000/mt ($1,269.60) ex-works, an increase of Yuan 100/mt over the previous week. The China based producer source saidsilicomanganese could be purchased ataround Yuan 7,500-7,800/mt DDP.— Jitendra GillAsia moly oxide offers stablebut further falls fearedSingapore—Asian offers of molybde-num oxide were at $13.70-13.80/lb CIFTuesday, unchanged on day, in a marketsubdued by fears of further falls due tohigh inventories in Japan and Europe aswell as a bearish tender result and con-cerns about the eurozone.Offers mostly originated from Chinesetraders, South Korea traders said, butwere with no firm bids, although someSouth Korean ferromolybdenum converterssaid their price ideas were around$13.65/lb CIF Busan for powder in bags.Buyers in South Korea showed littleinterest, partly due to low demand andpartly because they were waiting foroffers to drop to about $13.50/lb. AJapanese trader heard deals done at$13.70-13.75/lb CIF Japan for powder inbags by Chinese traders.The Posco Specialty Steel ferromolybuy tender for 50 mt Monday was award-ed at Won 38,000-39,000 ($32.67-33.51)/kg duty and delivery costs paid.The cost of moly oxide powder feedstockis believed to be around $13.30/lb, saidsome market participants, while one esti-mated feedstock cost higher at above$13.50/lb.The latest tender result has led togrowing concern about further falls in molyoxide prices among the Chinese traders.“It is true that usually tender prices arelower than the prevailing market level, butgiven that market demand has been dis-mal recently, it seems very likely that molyoxide prices will continue to slide down-ward,” a trader in northeast China’sLiaoning province said.Japan has sufficient stocks of molyoxide and European customers may stillhave enough inventories to last till earlyJune, market sources said.Most South Korean ferromoly plantshave been operating at less than 50% ofcapacity this month and their operatingrates may be even lower in June in antici-pation of lower ferromoly orders, a SouthKorean trader said.Some Chinese traders have reviseddown their earlier forecasts for the molyoxide’s price low this year to below$13.00/lb from $13.00-13.50/lb.“We have not spotted any positivesigns so far. European economies,Greece in particular, have been doingworse than we expected at the beginningof this year; it may be time for us toreview our market forecasts,” a secondLiaoning trader said.— Hongmei LiChina imported 714 mt ofmoly ores and conc in AprilSingapore—China imported a total of714 mt of molybdenum ores and concen-trates in April, down 25.5% year on year,figures released Tuesday by the GeneralAdministration of Customs showed.Of the total imported volume, 592 mtwas roasted moly ores and concentrates.China also exported a total 1,430 mt ofmoly ores and concentrates in April, down0.1% year on year. Of this, roasted orescomprised 1,398 mt.For the first four months, imports ofmolybdenum ores and concentrates totaled3,762 mt, down 24% from a year ago,while total moly ores and concentratesexports amounted to 5,747 mt, down37.4% from last year.Meanwhile, China imported 20,000 kgof ferromolybdenum in April, which was flatfrom a year ago. The figure, however, wasa sharp jump from the 4,480 kg importedin March.Ferromoly exports in April totaled 21,000kg, which was down 19.2% from April 2011,and also down 41.7% on the month. Importsof ferromoly in the first four months of 2012reached 45,485 kg, down 58.2% year onyear, while exports stood at 77,000 kg,down 26.3% from 2011.— Yuencheng MokBHP Billiton to restartAustralian ferroalloys smelterMelbourne—BHP Billiton plans torestart its TEMCO manganese alloy plantin early July following a review of its eco-nomic viability, the miner said Tuesday.Operations at the ferroalloy smelterlocated at Bell Bay in Tasmania were sus-pended for 90 days on February 23.BHP said it will ramp up operationsto have all four furnaces back in opera-tion by the end of August. Over the pastthree months, BHP identified ways toreduce costs to return the plant to a“globally competitive position,” the com-pany said.“One of the key changes as we restartwill be the operational separation of theTEMCO alloying facility from the GEMCOmine, located in the Northern Territory.This separation introduces the ability toblend in other ore sources, which will。
