Interesting activity is afoot in the financial markets as a reaction to the release of the Labor Department's jobs report numbers for September. According to the Labor Department, there were 134,000 jobs added in September. This was well below economic estimates which were looking for 185,000 jobs to be added last month. The Labor Department also upwardly revised jobs created in July and August. T...Read More
(Kitco News) - Precious metals investors should take heed of gold’s resilience in light of rising U.S. bond yields and impressive U.S. macro data, according to analysts, which point to inflation risks as one of the main supportive drivers for the yellow metal.This week, gold prices endured a line-up of positive macroeconomic datasets out of the U.S. as well as the U.S. Treasury 10-year note...Read More
(Kitco News) - Wall Street and Main Street alike look for gold prices to rise over the next week, according to the weekly Kitco News gold survey.Sixteen market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. Nine respondents, or 56%, predicted higher prices by next Friday. There were two votes, or 13%, calling for lower prices, while five respondents, or 31%, were neutral or looked for a sidewa...Read More
On September 30th, we had an announcement of a second miner merger proposal after the recently concluded Denver Gold Forum. North and Central American focused silver miner/developer Americas Silver (USAS) announced that it has agreed to acquire Nevada-focused gold developer Pershing Gold (PGLC) at an implied value of $56.7 million. Under the terms of the deal, Pershing shareholders will...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are modestly higher in early U.S. trading Friday and little changed from levels seen just before an important U.S. economic report was released. December gold futures were last up $2.80 an ounce at $1,204.30. December Comex silver was last up $0.06 at $14.645 an ounce. This morning's U.S. Labor Department Employment Situation Report for September showed the key non-farm...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are holding relatively steady, hovering above the psychological level of $1,200 an ounce as the U.S. labor market showed a mixed picture last month.The Bureau of Labor Statistics said 134,000 jobs were created in September, economists were expecting to see job gains of around 185,000. While the data came in weaker than expected, the report noted higher revision in July a...Read More
U.S. Treasury yields have become the key driver for global markets, says Brown Brothers Harriman. Yields have been rising lately, which has underpinned the U.S. dollar but hurt equities. “After spiking to 3.23% yesterday, the U.S. 10-year yield fell back but remains elevated just above 3.20%,” BBH says. “So too is the two-year yield, now trading at 2.88%. Bloomberg WIRP sug...Read More
The prices of base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Thursday October 4, with the three-month aluminium price closing 1.6% lower amid headwinds from a strong US dollar index.News of the full closure of Norsk Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil earlier this week spurred a 4.5% spike in the three-month aluminium price, pushing it to an intraday...Read More
Participants in the alumina industry are bracing themselves for a turbulent end to the year following Hydro's announcement that it will suspend 100% of operations at its Alunorte facility. Alumina refinery Alunorte has been running at 50% capacity since March. The decision for a full curtailment came on Wednesday October 3 following embargoes from Brazilian authorities. Hydro said that the cl...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively higher during morning trading on Thursday October 4, with aluminium's price rally continuing after Norsk Hydro announced a full suspension of operations at its Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil. The three-month aluminium price has gained just under 10% this week and breached $2,200 per tonne following Hydro's announcement at its A...Read More
Manganese ore markets gained on higher offers from miners, while alloy prices dropped in China, capping ore market sentiment. Ore prices jump by up to 20 cents per dmtuSilico-manganese spot prices weaken in ChinaIndian silica-manganese market weakensEuropean alloy prices steadyUS manganese alloy prices largely stable in dormant spot market Manganese ore prices jumped in the week ended Friday Septe...Read More
Fastmarkets amended the specification of the chromium content of the 0.10% C low-carbon ferro-chrome Europe price to 65-70%.Fastmarkets has considered all data points within the existing low-carbon ferro-chrome price with a carbon and chromium content of 0.10% and 60-70% respectively. Some market participants felt that a divergence in the spread that had developed between the high and low end of t...Read More
Participants in the alumina industry are bracing themselves for a turbulent end to the year following Hydro's announcement that it will suspend 100% of operations at its Alunorte facility. Alumina refinery Alunorte has been running at 50% capacity since March. The decision for a full curtailment came on Wednesday October 3 following embargoes from Brazilian authorities. Hydro said that the cl...Read More
Vanadium trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets MB.To view the latest price quotations, follow the links below:Europe- Ferro-vanadium delivered duty-paid in Europe- Vanadium pentoxide in-warehouse RotterdamChina- Ferro-vanadium, 78% min, fob China, $ per kg V- Vanadium pentoxide, 98% min, fob China, $ per lb V2O5Friday September 28Ferro-vanadium - 5 tonnes sold at $1...Read More
Fastmarkets is increasing the minimum tonnages for some of its benchmark minor metals price assessments following a month-long consultation. Fastmarkets' minimum lot size for its in-warehouse Rotterdam indium, gallium, germanium metal and germanium dioxide price assessments is rising to 100kg from Friday, October 5, from 50kg currently. There will be no changes to the publishing time and dates of...Read More
"We want to be leaders in what we do," Vital Materials' chief executive officer, George Zhu, told Fastmarkets MB during a visit to the company. Vital Materials, one of the largest and most diverse minor metals producers in China - has five sites across the country: four in Qingyuan and a pigment plant in Tianjin, and employs more than 2,500 people worldwide. Each of the plants runs 24 hours per da...Read More
Turkish steel producers made no deep-sea bookings on Thursday October 4 but a rumor of a US cargo deal surprised the market.A Turkish producer was heard to have booked a US cargo at $330 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) earlier on Thursday, but a number of sources said later in the day that the deal had not been concluded.There was also market chatter about a rebar shipment traded at $495 per ton...Read More
The Comex copper price was trading at a multi-week high in the US morning on Thursday October 4, amid falling stocks and a weaker dollar.Copper prices for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 0.10 cents or 0.1% to $2.8350 per lb.At 84,000 tonnes as of October 3, they are down 7,900 tonnes or 9% so far this week after falling 53,000 tonnes or 37% last...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker during morning trading on Thursday October 4.The exception was lead where prices were up by 0.4%. The rest were down between 0.2% for copper, aluminium and nickel and 0.7% for tin, with zinc off by 0.3%. Copper prices were recently quoted at $6,320 per tonne. Although Chinese markets are still closed for the...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...Read More