GCX BlogPhysical metals trading

GCX Exchange

Notes from the physical metals market

How the exchange matches orders, how a deal is priced and delivered, and what is moving in the market — written for people who trade metal, not for search engines.

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What we write about

Ten sections. Each one is where a question actually comes up in a deal or in working with metal, not where a keyword happens to sit.

Articles

  • Stainless steel for heat exchangers

    How to choose a grade for a heat exchanger by medium and temperature, which pipes and sheets are needed and which corrosion risks to take into account.

    • Applications
    • 6 min read

  • Stainless steel for a pool and chlorinated water

    Why 304 is not suitable for a pool, which grades withstand chlorinated water, how to weld and passivate elements and how to care for them.

    • Applications
    • 6 min read

  • Stainless steel — ferrous or non-ferrous metal

    Stainless steel belongs to the ferrous metals: its base is iron. We examine the classification, why the confusion arises and what this changes when purchasing.

    • Grades and materials
    • 6 min read

  • Slow-moving stock and warehouse remnants: how to sell, not write off

    Slow-moving rolled steel and off-grade material: how to identify slow-moving stock, why it does not sell, how to describe a lot honestly and what affects the speed of the trade.

    • Market
    • 5 min read

  • Stainless steel grades: AISI and ГОСТ table with analogues

    How to read a stainless steel grade, how AISI differs from ГОСТ and which analogues are interchangeable. Correspondence table, PREN, common grades and substitution mistakes.

    • Grades and materials
    • 10 min read

  • Is stainless steel magnetic and how to identify the grade

    12Х18Н10Т and 304 are weakly magnetic after annealing, while 430 and martensitic grades always are. How magnetism relates to structure and what it does not prove.

    • Grades and materials
    • 6 min read

  • Stainless steel scrap: how to value it and hand it in

    Stainless steel scrap: categories and types, how the grade is determined, what affects the price per 1 kg, moisture and contamination, preparing the batch and documents.

    • Buying and selling
    • 12 min read

  • Logistics of steel products: road, rail, container

    Logistics of steel products: how to choose between road, rail and container, how to secure and pack the cargo, and what delivery times are made up of.

    • Customs and HS codes
    • 5 min read

  • Stainless round bar: calibrated or hot-rolled

    Stainless round bar: how calibrated bar differs from hot-rolled, accuracy, where each is needed, grades 201, 304, 316L and weight calculation.

    • Grades and materials
    • 6 min read

  • Exchange fee: what a trade costs

    GCX metal exchange tariffs: a fee of 0.50% from each side, no less than $0 and no more than $500, charged in USD at the Bank of Russia fixing.

    • Exchange and deals
    • 5 min read