China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices continued to drop on Friday August 31 amid expectations of supply picking up in the days to come with the lifting of restrictions on steel production in Tangshan in the country's northern region....Read More
Deliverable copper stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses dropped by 8,589 tonnes or 5.9% over the past week to 138,001 tonnes as of Friday August 31. ...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The following Metal Bulletin minor metals prices changed on Friday August 31:...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai on Friday August 31....Read More
The rebounds in the base metals have paused in recent days; we wait to see if the better-than-expected Chinese official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) acts as a boost as we approach September and the end of the summer slowdown. The PMI edged up to 51.3 in August from 51.2 in July, but it also came in better than the 51.0 that was expected. Three-month base metals prices on the Lond...Read More
Swedish steelmaker SSAB has decided temporarily to shut down blast-furnace operations at its special steel mill in Oxel??sund, Sweden, the company said on Thursday August 30....Read More
The following Metal Bulletin non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday August 31:...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the week ending Friday August 31....Read More
Italian steel trade unions have announced company-wide strike action at troubled Italian steelmaker Ilva, to take place on Tuesday September 11, four unions said in a joint statement on Friday August 31.The statement was co-signed by Fim-Cisl, Fiom-Cgil, Uilm and Usb.The decision to strike comes amid continued uncertainty over the future of the flat steel producer, after Luigi Di Maio, Italy's min...Read More
Italian steel trade unions have announced company-wide strike action at troubled Italian steelmaker Ilva, to take place on Tuesday September 11, four unions said in a joint statement on Friday August 31.The statement was co-signed by Fim-Cisl, Fiom-Cgil, Uilm and Usb.The decision to strike comes amid continued uncertainty over the future of the flat steel producer, after Luigi Di Maio, Italy's min...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the week ending Friday August 31.Raw materialsSeaborne iron ore lump premiums traded notably higher on Friday amid robust prices for pellets, which can be partially replaced by lumps in blast furnaces, and relatively limited spot availability at Chinese ports.Stringent port inspections and a forthcoming major holiday...Read More
As of 4:00 PM Eastern standard time, spot gold is trading just above $1,200 at $1,200.09. This occurred after trading to a low today of $1,196.45 before slightly recovering. Although dollar strength can be cited as an underlying force, it is selling pressure that is dominating the markets today. According to the KGX (Kitco Gold Index), today’s decline of $6.10 is composed of mostly selling p...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is ready to increase trade tensions with China, telling aides he wants to impose tariffs on $200 billion more in Chinese imports after a comment period ends next week, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.The White House declined comment on the Bloomberg report.The report, which cited six unidentified sources, pressured markets. The S&P hit ses...Read More
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's peso lost as much as nearly one-fifth of its value on Thursday despite the central bank's hiking its benchmark interest rate to a dizzying 60 percent as investors panicked over President Mauricio Macri's handling of an economic crisis.Onerous borrowing costs combined with government spending cuts and a drought that crippled the agricultural sector this year hav...Read More
(Kitco News) - Investors will have to wait a few more weeks before the gold market is ready to shake off its summer lulls, according to one gold market analyst. Milling-Stanley, head of gold investments at State Street Global Advisors In an exclusive interview with Kitco News, George Milling-Stanley, head of gold investments at State Street Global Advisors, said that he is expecting buying mom...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are moderately lower in early-afternoon U.S. trading Thursday. While the safe-haven metals traders are closely watching developments today in the emerging market currencies, so far they have not benefitted from the uncertainty of the matter. December gold futures were last down $6.10 an ounce at $1,205.40. December Comex silver was last down $0.21 at $14.60 an...Read More
(Kitco News) -Critical support in the gold market is holding for now but analysts are keeping a close eye on the $1,200-an-ounce level as the U.S. dollar finds new momentum in the marketplace.Growing uncertainty and volatility in emerging-market currencies is weighing on gold prices as the U.S. dollar index trades at session highs. In particular, the Argentina peso and Turkish lira have seen...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are trading moderately lower in morning U.S. dealings Thursday. The yellow metal was steady to slightly lower at the start of U.S. futures daytime trading, but have dropped as the U.S. dollar index has pushed to its daily high and is trading moderately up. The greenback is being supported today partly on fresh worries about secondary currency markets continuing to erode...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices have pushed into positive territory after inflation pressures have officially hit the Federal Reserve's target.Thursday, U.S. Department of Commerce said that its Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, increased also increased 0.2% in July, in line with expectations. Annually, core inflation, which is the Fed's preferred inflation measure increased a tick higher t...Read More