LME price stuck around $... ; Severe tightness persists in US spot billet market

1. LME prices range-traded this week on support from oil prices and geopolitical tensions and downward pressure from cooling world manufacturing activity.

2. US BILLET ALERT. STILL TIGHT: US spot billet upcharge unchanged at all-time highs, unfulfilled spot market appetite lingers.

3. BRAZIL DUTIES UPDATE. APPEALING DECISION: ABAL against zero AD duty determination on China.

4. ALERT! – US SCRAP. PROMPT SCRAP TIGHTNESS: Consumers offering higher prices for prompt delivery scrap units.

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5. ALERT! – MEXICO UBC. WAR FOR UBCs INTENSIFIES: Scrap dealers in Mexico pushing hard to secure UBC volumes.

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6. MEXICO SECONDARY SCRAP UPDATE. PRICES ARE UP: Some regional hubs are aggressively chasing after old sheet units.

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7. EUROPEAN BILLET ALERT. NEGOTIATING: Spot billet premium unchanged; Q2 contract negotiations ongoing.

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8. LME Cash–3M backwardation narrows slightly from a three-year high amid easing February tightness (bearish for P1020 spot premiums).

9. The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) was closed this week due to the Lunar New Year holiday. Trading will resume on Monday, February 7.