(Kitco News) - Gold prices edged up, trading near ten-week highs, as retail sales fell short of expectations in September. U.S. retail sales rose 0.1% in September following a downwardly revised advance of 0.1% in August, according to the latest data from the U.S. Commerce Department. Economists were expecting to see an increase of 0.7% in last month’s headline number. In an immediate reacti...Read More
Gold is getting a lift from geopolitical tensions at the start of a new trading week, says Phil Flynn, senior market analyst with at Price Futures Group. Just after 8 a.m. EDT, Comex December gold was $10.50 higher to $1,232.50 an ounce. The U.S. has threatened to punish Saudi Arabia if it turns out that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Turkey, and Saudi Arabia respo...Read More
Prices for steel billet in the major global markets have gone down or remained stable during the working week from Monday October 8 to Friday October 12, amid poor demand and increasing supply.The major buying regions, such as Turkey the Middle East, were mostly quiet and no major trading activity was heard for billet, while only a few deals were heard in Southeast Asia.Southeast AsiaImport prices...Read More
Prices for steel billet in the major global markets have gone down or remained stable during the working week from Monday October 8 to Friday October 12, amid poor demand and increasing supply.The major buying regions, such as Turkey the Middle East, were mostly quiet and no major trading activity was heard for billet, while only a few deals were heard in Southeast Asia.Southeast AsiaImport prices...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 2 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures moved slightly lower following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for September Retail Sales was an increase of 0.6% versus a gain of 0.1% in August. Actual was an increase of 0.1%. Excluding auto sales, consensus for September Retail Sales was an increase of...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Movements in the prices of base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly upward at the close of trading on Friday October 12.This was supported by the emergence of fresh buying amid a softer US dollar index and increased market optimism about trade talks between the United States and China.Most prominent among the gains in the complex over the afternoon was the rise in the three-month lead...Read More
Fastmarkets MB rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base metals In breaking news this afternoon, the US Treasury Department has further extended the expiration date of general licenses relating to UC Rusal until December 12.Codelco's Chuquicamata division will be running at reduced operating rates until mid-November following a technical fault at...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Key data for the pricing session in the week ending Friday October 12. China China's domestic spot markets for ferro-chrome and UG2 chrome ore were relatively quiet in the first week after the national holiday, which ran October 1-7. Offers for imported charge chrome rose but liquidity...Read More
Fastmarkets MB rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base metals In breaking news this afternoon, the US Treasury Department has further extended the expiration date of general licenses relating to UC Rusal until December 12.Codelco's Chuquicamata division will be running at reduced operating rates until mid-November following a technical fault at...Read More
Rising copper premiums should forerun years of higher prices for the metal, Atlantic Copper chief executive officer Javier Targhetta said in an interview with Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 9 during LME Week in London. Premiums for copper cathodes in-warehouse Shanghai remain close to three-year highs, while import gains for Chinese refined copper in September are up by 16.1% this year....Read More
The Fastmarkets MB alumina index fob Australia dropped below $500 per tonne on Friday October 12 following the Brazilian government's U-turn on an earlier decision, allowing the Alunorte alumina refinery to resume production at 50% capacity. Fastmarkets MB's fob Australia daily alumina index was at $493.75 per tonne today, down from $504.50 on Thursday October 11. Key drivers On Saturday, Hy...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets MB.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets MB prices Click here for Fastmarkets MB's price assessment for low-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb Click here for Fastmarkets MB's price assessment for high-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb In...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices moved in different directions in the various global markets during the working week from Monday October 8 to Friday October 12, Fastmarkets has learnt.Import prices in Turkey and India inched upward week-on-week, while Taiwanese import prices slipped on poor demand. Offers from the United States to Turkey remained firm, but some US exporters lowered their buying prices in prep...Read More
Fastmarkets' weekly prices assessments for alloy steel scrap imported into mainland Europe were unchanged this week amid 'very slow' market activity and relatively stable nickel prices.Demand has been below expectations since the end of the summer, when the usual post-holiday recovery failed to fully materialise. And it weakened further when stainless steel prices dropped sharply in October, with...Read More
The price for shredded ferrous scrap imported into India inched up this week but trading remained subdued because of the week rupee, sources told Fastmarkets MB on Friday October 12.Fastmarkets MB's weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India increased to $358.92 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday October 12, from $355 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva one week ago.The import mark...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Domestic Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices softened on Thursday October 11 due to lower concluded prices after the Golden Week national holiday on October 1-7. Cheaper lithium compounds produced from brine in China keep dragging spot prices down while suppliers of lithium compounds produced from hard rock are resisting lower bids. The Chinese lithium carbonate price...Read More