Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More

The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More

Fastmarkets reporters present the key themes and discussion points from the International Ferro-alloys Virtual Conference held on November 9-10.Strong recovery expected in 2021, but steel, ferro-alloys market unlikely return to pre-Covid levels Despite a quicker-than-expected recovery across certain regions following the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic and expectations of a stronger reco...Read More

Peter Krauth looks into what Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine efficacy announcement could mean for gold and silver. Believe it or not, the big deal for precious metals this week was not the U.S. election.It was news that Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine was over 90% effective in preventing the virus, and would likely be among the first to receive FDA authorization.Monday was massively...Read More

German steelmaker Salzgitter is to supply heavy steel plate for the Saint-Brieuc wind-power project off the French coast, the company said on Thursday November 12.Two subsidiaries of Salzgitter - Ilsenburger Grobblech and Salzgitter Mannesmann Grobblech - will deliver 50,000 tonnes of thermomechanically rolled plates for the offshore wind farm being built by Spanish group Navantia.The plate will b...Read More

A radical shake-up of the European Union's waste shipment regulations could lead to a total ban or the implementation of controls on scrap metal exports from the territory, Fastmarkets understands.The European Commission is reviewing EU rules on waste shipments to encourage more recycling within the EU and is exploring ways to reduce the exports of such materials.EU lawmakers have been m...Read More

Top executives of steelmakers in Latin America are "moderately optimistic" on fundamentals for the industry in 2021, with demand in the region showing a V-shaped recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, though longer-term challenges could emerge.Executives were unanimous about the V-shaped economic recovery throughout the region during the 2020 edition of the Latin American Steel Association (Alacero)...Read More

China will set standards for the quality of steel rebar used for reinforcing concrete in the construction sector by 2022, according to a notice released by the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT) on Saturday November 7.The standards for the product, which it describes as hot-rolled ribbed steel bar in Chinese, will be drawn up by China Metallurgical Information & Standardization I...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 12 that are worth another look.German steelmaker Salzgitter is to supply heavy steel plate for the Saint-Brieuc wind-power project off the French coast, the company said on November 12.Greenland-centerd commodity developer Bluejay Mining on...Read More

Prices for certain imported flat steel products rose in the United States, with increasing domestic prices and tight supplies making shipments from abroad competitive when they were available, market participants said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, import, ddp Houston rose to $620-650 per short ton ($31-32.50 per hundredweight) on Wednesday November 11, up by 2.4% from $5...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Thursday November 12, with lead being the star performer and the rest of the complex showing smaller gains.The three-month price for the heavy metal showed a 1.3% increase from its closing price on Wednesday, to $1,899 per tonne on Thursday.Stock levels dipped by a further 300 tonnes on Thursday to 113,05...Read More

The London Metal Exchange's latest off-warrant stock data showed a net rise of 123,871 tonnes of material held outside the LME network over September, a rise of 7.3% from the prior month with aluminium stockpiles accounting for just under 87% of the total. Copper inventories made a marked descent after incremental rises over the summer. The data, released on Monday November 10, reported stock lev...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 12 that are worth another look.German steelmaker Salzgitter is to supply heavy steel plate for the Saint-Brieuc wind-power project off the French coast, the company said on November 12.Greenland-centerd commodity developer Bluejay Mining on...Read More

Now is not the time for Freeport-McMoRan to be thinking about mergers and acquisitions, the mining company's chief executive officer says.According to Richard Adkerson, the company - which is just over half-way through a mega-project to transform its giant Grasberg copper-gold mine in Indonesia from an open-pit to an underground operation - is on the verge of creating huge shareholder value."I jus...Read More

Plans for a London Metal Exchange spot trading platform have sparked intense debate within the aluminium industry. But opponents and supporters don't necessarily fall into the camps that one might expect. For starters, a decision by the LME not to change its futures contract, establish a new green aluminium contract or set thresholds to define what constitutes low-carbon metal is proving key in st...Read More

Sometimes it is better to let a situation speak for itself. Alcoa, Rio Tinto Aluminium, Novelis, Constellium, Arconic, Kaiser Aluminum, Tri-Arrows Aluminum, American Metal Chemical Corp, Hydro Extrusion North America, JW Aluminum, Real Alloy, Reynolds Consumer Products, Scepter, Silberline Manufacturing Co, Smelter Service Corp and Wagstaff. The US Aluminum Association, which represents more than...Read More

With China outperforming the rest of the world in its economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the country has an increasing need to secure strategic materials and commodities, market participants told Fastmarkets.The disruptions to international trade amid all the headwinds derived from the Covid-19 pandemic have identified the vulnerabilities in the global supply chain. The nationwide and...Read More

It's been a tough year for the COMEX silver market, where there's been constant pressure on supply & deliveries, and now there's one bank that's...Andrew Maguire with Chris Marcus of Arcadia EconomicsIt's been a tough year for the COMEX silver market, where there's been constant pressure on supply and deliveries.But in this month's update, #AndrewMaguire of Kinesis Money reports that now there's o...Read More

It will be interesting to see what the sales will reach for the remainder of the year as the markets continue to be volatile with... by Steve St Angelo of SRSrocco ReportAnother week and another 1 million Silver Eagles were sold by the U.S. Mint. In the first ten days of November, sales of Silver Eagles are nearly six times higher than the total for November 2019. With premiums now down in th...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Thursday November 12, with lead being the star performer and the rest of the complex showing smaller gains.The three-month price for the heavy metal showed a 1.3% increase from its closing price on Wednesday, to $1,899 per tonne on Thursday.Stock levels dipped by a further 300 tonnes on Thursday to 113,05...Read More

The London Metal Exchange's latest off-warrant stock data showed a net rise of 123,871 tonnes of material held outside the LME network over September, a rise of 7.3% from the prior month with aluminium stockpiles accounting for just under 87% of the total. Copper inventories made a marked descent after incremental rises over the summer. The data, released on Monday November 10, reported stock lev...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices were down slightly on Thursday November 12 amid diminishing demand for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.74 per tonne, down $0.82 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.74 per tonne, down $1.26 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $114.41 per tonne, down $1 pe...Read More