Australia's Roy Hill is looking to increase its iron ore capacity by another 5 million tonnes per year, which would allow it to produce the steelmaking raw material at a rate of 60 million tpy.This ramp-up is set to commence by the end of 2019, its market technical manager for China, Wang Yongming, told delegates at an industry conference in Xiamen, Fujian province last Friday November 16.A source...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices retreated on Tuesday November 20 amid weakness in the steel and ferrous futures markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $74.65 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.46 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $73.84 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.46 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $79.22 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.58 per tonne.MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $64.34 p...Read More
Buyers and sellers in the seaborne coking coal market remained on the sidelines on Tuesday November 20 to monitor the effects of Chinese import restrictions that came to the fore last week.The National Development & Reform Commission has put a stop to cargoes clearing customs at ports other than their actual destinations as well as the purchase of imported coal that are loaded before December 15....Read More
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) will launch high-grade iron ore swaps and futures contracts on December 3. Here is a summary of the contracts' specifications:Name: SGX MB Iron Ore cfr China (65% Fe Fines) SwapsTicker symbol: M65Contract size (one lot): 500 metric tonnesTrading hours (Singapore time)*: T session: 7.25am-8.00pmT+1 session: 8.00.01pm-4.45amLast trading day: 7.25am-8.00pmNote: After the...Read More
China's ferrous futures fell during morning trading on Tuesday November 20 amid bearish sentiment that had spilled over into the physical steel markets in recent weeks, sending domestic prices downward. Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange January rebar: 3,769 yuan ($543) per tonne, down 67 yuan per tonneJanuary hot-rolled coil: 3,588 yuan per tonne, down 13 yuan per...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading on Tuesday November 20, with most metals trading in narrow ranges while global trade tensions and depleting LME stocks deter investors. Falling furthest over the morning, copper shed 0.5% of its three-month price over the morning, but remains well supported above $6,200 per tonne due to a recent slew of stock...Read More
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and the European Union Council of Ministers have reached a provisional agreement on a limit for cadmium content in phosphate fertilizers sold within the EU.Under the agreement, which has yet to be confirmed by the full European Parliament and Council of Ministers, cadmium content should be capped at 60 milligrams per kilogram of fertilizer from the d...Read More
Chinese buyers have been reluctant to commit to long-term contracts for cobalt raw materials for 2019 during this year's mating season, Fastmarkets has learned.Year-long or multi-year commitments are traditional, but Chinese buyers now intend to purchase cobalt raw materials, including concentrates and hydroxide, on a spot basis, because there is adequate spot supply and because their profit margi...Read More
The latest selenium transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe reported to Fastmarkets MB.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse Rotterdam basis. Delivered prices are netted back.To view the latest price quotation, click here.To see all Fastmarkets pricing methodology and specification documents go to https://www.metalbulletin.com/prices/pricing-methodology.htm...Read More
Jittery stock markets and ongoing disappointment over United States/China trade developments continued to put either a cap on the base metals - the exception being tin that broke higher at the start of this week - or keep them under pressure, in the likes of nickel and aluminium.The three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths this morning, Tuesday November 2...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board by an average of 0.4% this morning, Wednesday November 21. Lead led the rebound with a 1% gain to $1,979 per tonne, while nickel was little changed and the rest were up between 0.2% and 0.3%, with copper up by 0.3% at $6,194 per tonne. Volume has been below average with 4,562 lots traded as at 7.19am London time....Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 20 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for October Durable Goods Orders was a drop of 1.8% versus a gain of 0.8% in September. Actual was down 4.4%. Excluding transportation, consensus was an increase of 0.4% versus no change i...Read More
This morning, the U.S. dollar traded slightly lower to a critical support level at 95.90 before recovering, gathering steam, and moving to much higher ground. As of 5:00 PM Eastern standard time, the dollar index is currently up almost 7/10% (+ 0.639 points) and fixed at 96.705.Dollar strength has taken away the modest gains seen as market participants bid gold prices modestly higher today. Today&...Read More
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada will review its monetary policies and is open to making major changes, including a move away from its long-standing practice of targeting inflation, a senior official said on Tuesday.The deadline for the review is late 2021, when the central bank is due to renew its five-year inflation control agreement with the federal government. The inflation target has bee...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters on Tuesday the next phase of U.S. tax reform will not happen during the final months of 2018, the “lame duck” period when Republicans will still control Congress.A follow-up to Republicans’ 2017 tax overhaul could be passed in the new session of Congress starting in January, Kudlow said, even though D...Read More
A storm is coming in the equities markets and the first sign of a equity rain cloud is the death cross that is hanging over the Russell 2000. This occurs when the 50-day moving average (DMA) crosses below the 200 DMA to the downside (see chart below). I believe a break in the equities could be the catalyst that pushes gold through $1246/oz and powers it up to the 200 DMA at $1276/oz. Now recently...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are modestly lower in early-afternoon U.S. trading Tuesday, pressured by bearish outside markets that include another sharp drop in crude oil prices and a rally in the U.S. dollar index. However, there’s another outside market force that’s limiting the downside in the safe-haven metals: a major sell-off in the U.S. stock market recently that has...Read More
(Kitco News) - Average daily gold turnover was $36.9 billion and 30.2 million ounces in the London over-the-counter market during the last week, the London Bullion Market Association reported Tuesday upon releasing a new report aimed at increasing transparency in the market.Average daily silver volume during this period was $5.2 billion and 359.3 million ounces, the report said.Some analysts po...Read More
Monthly data from the Swiss Federal Customs Administration show that gold demand in key Asian buying nations was weak during October, says Commerzbank. The report shows that Switzerland exported only 11.3 tonnes of gold to India last month, the least in at least five years. “This was probably due to sharp rises in local gold prices, as gold in Indian rupees increased by over 10% in price bet...Read More
Gold is going nowhere but it seems to be in a hurry, or at least traders and investors are impatient. A watched pot never boils, and gold will make the next move when it's ready and not one minute before. The most important components of trading and investing are not the news or opinions of others but the patience for the chart to guide you. All markets leave footprints or a treasure map of what's...Read More