As always, most analysts focus not on what they really should. After March FOMC meeting, everyone was talking about the more dovish dot-plot. But the Fed also announced that it will end the unwinding of its balance sheet in September. As these changes are revolutionary and may entail potentially huge consequences for the precious markets, we invite you to read our today’s article about the n...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market became quiet again at the beginning of the week with suppliers withdrawing their offers, after news was heard of the removal of an additional US import tariff on steel imports from Turkey, sources said on Monday May 20.The United States lowered its tariff on steel imports from Turkey to 25%, from the previous 50%, with effect from May 17.This essentially removed t...Read More
I am not sure how much more I can add to what has been said over the last two weeks in the metals complex.At this point in time, it is quite clear that the metals are testing support.As specifically noted about silver, the 14.60 support region is what I want to see holding as support here.While I can accept a spike and reversal of that level, a sustained break of that level opens the door to a 13...Read More
Last month, Trump said that he considered Herman Cain and Stephen Moore as his picks to the Federal Reserve Board. As the former had withdrawn his name from consideration, the focus shifted to the latter. Who is Mr. Moore exactly and what would his nomination imply for the gold market?Who Are You, Mr. Moore? There are still two vacancies at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board of Go...Read More
The market for exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was frozen on Monday May 20 because suppliers preferred wait for more clarity to emerge in Turkey, the key outlet."[The CIS] mills are mostly sold out for June production, and they have time to wait until some clarity appears in Turkey," one trader told Fastmarkets.The Unite...Read More
Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), the copper-producing arm of global miner Vedanta Resources in Zambia, is under threat from the president of the African country of a possible takeover of its copper assets amid disputes arising from the country's new tax regime.Zambian president Edgar Lungu said on Sunday May 19 that the government plans to disengage with KCM and invoke a legal process, according to loc...Read More
Brazilian aluminium producer Companhia Brasileira de Alum?-nio's (CBA) net sales revenue grew by 13.9% on an annual basis in the first quarter, despite lower sales volumes and London Metal Exchange prices, thanks to higher value-added product and surplus energy sales, the company said on Friday May 17. CBA reported 1.33 billion Reais ($324 million) in net revenues in the first three months of the...Read More
Market participants saw little immediate change to aluminium premiums in Europe on Monday May 20 following the US government's removal of its 10% Section 232 tariff on aluminium imports from Canada and Mexico at the end of last week. Fastmarkets assessed the Rotterdam P1020 duty-unpaid in-warehouse premium at $85-90 per tonne Monday, unchanged from last Friday. The duty-paid premium was...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has decided on a dispute over when the load-in, load-out (LILO) rule should have been activated, ruling in favor of warehouse company Istim. People familiar with the situation said that the warehousing firm had been found to have acted vigorously and without delay in its dealings with Glencore at its warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, following large cancellations of alu...Read More
Massive amounts of scrap metal are being held at Malaysian ports for unprecedented inspections and multiple copper cargoes still at sea are being diverted to other Asian countries at big discounts, sources told Fastmarkets. The bulk of the cargoes comprise insulated copper wires (ICW), as well as scrap motors, a Malaysian copper scrap buyer said. This type of copper scrap typically comes with a pl...Read More
Zambia has started looking for a new investor in Vedanta-controlled Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Zambia's President Edgar Lungu said on state radio on Monday."We are not shaken in our resolve to divorce, starting with KCM, and we have filed that notification," Lungu said on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation radio, adding that he would brief the cabinet on the decision later on Monday.London-...Read More
SolGold is in talks with financiers keen to invest in its Ecuadorian copper-gold prospects and mining major BHP could increase its stake in the company, SolGold's chief executive said on Monday.In a preliminary economic assessment of the Alpala copper-silver-gold deposit in northern Ecuador released earlier, London-listed SolGold said annual copper output should be 207,000 tonnes for the first 25...Read More
Here's a sign of how all-dominating the trade war has become in metals markets: Copper is slumping toward a three-month low even after Zambia moved closer to nationalizing some of its mines.The lack of a reaction is even more surprising when compared with other market moves. Zambia's Eurobond yields surged to a record high and the currency hit a 3 1/2-year low.Zambian President Edgar Lungu is esca...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 0.7% below its traditional support level of $12,000 per tonne during morning trading on Monday May 20, although thin trading volumes have capped further downside movement. The metal's futures price was recently traded at $11,910 per tonne. Despite total LME stocks remaining at a seven-year low at just 164,100 tonnes, commodity trade...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday May 20 that are worth another look.Massive amounts of scrap metal are being held at Malaysian ports for unprecedented inspections and multiple copper cargoes still at sea are being diverted to other Asian countries at big discounts, sources told Fastmarkets. The German federal government is planning to invest "billions of eu...Read More
Prices for slab exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States have continued to decline in the second half of May while producers have had to make concessions in new bookings with customers in Europe and Asia amid unfavorable conditions in their finished flat-steel outlets.Fastmarkets' weekly CIS export slab price assessment narrowed down to $450-455 per tonne fob Black Sea on Monday May 20...Read More
The mood in the CIS export billet market turned positive at the start of the week that began on Monday May 20, with most producers having almost filled their June order books in recent weeks.Import scrap prices in Turkey rebounded at the end of last week, supported by a reduction in the duty imposed on imports of Turkish steel into the United States to 25% from 50%.Although CIS...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products reported a 4.5% year-on-year drop in shipment volumes in the first quarter of 2019, Eurometal said on Monday May 20."Shipments continued their negative trend of late last year and this was accompanied by rising stocks," the regional federation for steel, tube and metals distribution and trade said.European steelmakers such as Germany's ThyssenKrupp have...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Once the deal closes, Chevron will be the second-largest producing major in 2019 terms. It was fourth.The acquisition makes the Majors' peer group much more polarised. ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP are now in a league of their own...Read More
CIS export rebar and wire rod markets were quiet in the week ended Monday May 20 with most buyers and sellers taking a wait-and-see approach seeking more clarity from Turkey, which finally achieved a reduction to the US import duty to 25% last week. Recent offers of rebar from Ukraine were heard within the range of $460-475 per tonne fob Black Sea, depending on destination. No bookings were report...Read More