U.S. Gulf: Sources described a slow week on the sulfuric acid market. “The market is very quiet,” said one market player. “No supply disruptions, no demand changes.”
Price ideas for Gulf-delivered cargoes fell in the $35-$45/mt CFR range, unchanged from the previous report. Prices to Brazil were similarly unmoved at $35-$45/mt CFR, and acid vessels bound for Chile were expected to command $45-$60/mt CFR. Tons offered from smelters in Northwest Europe were quoted in the (-)$5-$5/mt FOB range.
Century Aluminum Co. has set an April deadline to reach a cost-cutting deal on electricity bought for its Mount Holly, S.C., smelter, the company announced in its quarterly and annual earnings report. Without a new deal with state-owned utility Santee Cooper, the smelter is expected to close at the end of May, sources said.
The Mount Holly plant was originally slated to shut down at the end of 2015, but Century cut production by 50 percent to extend talks with Santee Cooper. The facility reported a net loss of $59.3 million in 2015, citing high electricity costs, the weak aluminum market, and overproduction from Chinese producers.
London Metal Exchange prices were mixed at the March 16 close. Aluminum, lead, nickel, and zinc were lower compared to the week before, but copper was up.
Aluminum closed at $1,495.00/mt, down from $1,564.00/mt the week before, and copper was reported at $4,945.00/mt, up from $4,935.50/mt at last report.
Lead values softened to $1,768.00/mt from $1,858.00/mt, and nickel dropped as well, slipping to $8,460.00/mt from the prior week’s $8,785.00/mt. Zinc was also down, closing at $1,738.50/mt, compared with $1,798.00/mt a week earlier.