Emerging uranium producer Wildhorse Energy has announced that the Federal Court of Australia has approved the schemes of arrangement for the acquisition of Peak Coal.

The Orders of the Federal Court have been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and accordingly the Peak Schemes are now effective.

MEPS forecasts world steel output at 1350 million tonnes in 2010. This will be an all time high figure and represents an increase of approximately 11% over the anticipated outturn in the previous twelve months. Blast furnace iron production is also predicted to reach a record level in 2010. At 994 million tonnes, it would be almost 11% above the result a year earlier. Further significant gains are foreseen in 2011.

MEPS said that "The last peak year for global iron and steelmaking occurred in 2007 at almost 947 and 1345 million tonnes, respectively. Our latest forecast for 2010 indicates that the return to past glory will take just three years. This compares with 5 years in the early 1980’s and eight years in the 1990's."

As to steel market this year, steel traders’ attitudes have huge differences. Some are pessimistic while some choose to stock up.

In futures market, rebar prices in Shanghai have already decreased by around 10% until February 5th. But the spot market suffered more.

(Sourced from www. steelprices-china.com)

Automotive exhaust system manufacturers and exporters in the country, using high grade imported stainless steel for producing critical exhaust components for cars and other vehicles have urged the ministry of finance to immediately withdraw anti dumping duty on import of certain category of cold rolled stainless steel used by the industry.

The tightness in the spot market of Indian iron ore fines reported last week has resulted in higher transaction levels on week opening.

Although credit squeeze news from Chinese banks is keeping domestic steel prices in negative motion, Chinese steel mills with such high production levels are under pressure to secure their iron ore supplies. Hiking of forecast for benchmark settlement as well as Big 3 negotiation tactics are further buoying the spot market.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

According to preliminary data in 2009 the investment volume into Ukrainian metallurgy upgrade did not exceed UAH 5 billion.

In recent years the metallurgists kept increasing the investments into main capacities upgrade. The investment started picking up in 2007, when the investments volume amount to UAH 10.5 billion.