You know I’ve been fighting the gold bugs for a longtime. Gold is an inflation hedge, not a deflation hedge. Turn togold for safety during a deflationary period and you’ll get your ass handed toyou on a golden platter!Gold is simply another commodity and it burst in the 30-yearcycle top between 2008 and 2011, just like it did after the 1980 top.But my bubble model projec...Read More
Powell is apparently between a rock and a hard place.Inflation surged, while the global economy slowed down. What will he do? Andhow will gold react?InflationJumps in OctoberThe consumer price index climbed 0.3 percent last month,after rising 0.1 percent in September, according to the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was thebiggest rise since January, and it was mainly caused by an impressive su...Read More
After declining by more than 20 percent from the October peak, oil prices are showing some signs that they have now bottomed out.WTI hit a low point at $56 per barrel on Wednesday and Brent hit a low just below $65 per barrel. Both crude benchmarks regained some ground at the end of the week, despite the huge increase in U.S. crude oil inventories. In fact, rising prices in the face of the 10-mill...Read More
When dealing with the buying and selling ofcommodities, there are things which you need to know. It can be a complicatedbusiness, and this means that people who buy and sell products can fall intosome of the common pitfalls and experience issues. However, commodities can cover a wide range ofdifferent goods and services, so there are things that you're going to need toknow. To try and make sure th...Read More
Are the metals markets ending a price correction in unison and preparing for a massive price advance? This is the question we asked our research team to investigate and their findings may help skilled traders identify great opportunities in the future. This multi-part research article will share our most recent opinion about the metals markets as well as share some critical new data th...Read More
The import price for hot-briquetted iron (HBI) in Italy decreased in the week ended Thursday November 22 due to softer prices for hot-rolled coil and low demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' import price assessment for HBI in Italy decreased to $315-330 per tonne cfr on November 22, from $345-350 per tonne cfr a week before."The workable HBI price for us depends on how strong the HRC...Read More
The price of pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States has fallen over the past seven days due to weak prices both for raw materials and for finished steel products, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday November 22.Fastmarkets' CIS export price assessment for high-manganese pig iron went down to $355-365 per tonne fob Black Sea on Thursday, from $365-370 per tonne a week before."The ma...Read More
Precious metals expert Michael Ballanger discusses the recent rise in precious metals prices and what he sees ahead for the metals. As many of us have grown to appreciate over the years, forecasts tend to be nothing more than "educated guesses" and no matter what methods one uses, predicting directional and amplitudinal movements in economics or finance or asset prices is analogous to standing in...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the EU have remained under pressure from slow buying activity in the past week, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 22.European distributors were reported to have sufficient stocks of the material and this, in combination with a seasonal slowdown in demand, was reflected in the negative effect on the market.In addition, Turkish mills have decr...Read More
Strongwords, aren’t they? And yet, we are not afraid to put them right in the title.The number of factors (and their importance) that point to a nearby reversaland continuation of the major decline is too significant to believe in thebullish case, even though gold, silver, and mining stocks moved higher in thelast few days.Weemphasized it many times and we will continue to do so, as it&rsquo...Read More
Let’s take an in-day snapshot of gold vs. several key competitors (for your investment dollars/euros/yen, etc.) and check the progress in turning the macro from risk ‘on’ to risk ‘off’, cyclical to counter-cyclical.Gold/Commodities motors along above the SMA 200. The move has been hysterical, and thus looks impulsive. That could mean something as we look back in hinds...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Thursday November 22, with quiet trading continuing to keep prices broadly stable. Nickel's three-month price continued its downtrend, closing below $11,000 per tonne for the first time since December 2017; upward price action continues to be limited by slow Chinese stainless steel production. Additionally, the I...Read More
The major gold miners’stocks remain mired in universal bearishness, largely left for dead. They are just wrapping up their third-quarterearnings season, which proved challenging. Lower gold prices cut deeply into cash flows and profits, andproduction-growth struggles persisted. But these elite companies did hold the line on costs, portending soaringearnings as gold recovers.&...Read More
South Africa's Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE:SGL) (NYSE:SBGL) has halted all its gold mining operations in the country after violence broke out overnight during a strike by workers demanding higher wages.Operations at the Driefontein, Kloof and Beatrix mines, major sources of revenue for the precious metals miner, were suspended late on Wednesday due to increasing levels of brutality and intimidation,...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Thursday November 22. The majority of base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were rangebound during morning trading while overall volumes remain light.Holding gains made at Wednesday's close, the three-month lead price remained above $2,000 per tonne amid continued outflows in LME stock - which remain at nine...Read More
Have you heard about the Everything Bubble? Some analysts believe that after the dot-com bubble of the 1990s and the housing bubble of the 2000s, we are in the middle of a price bubble in virtually all asset classes simultaneously caused by the Fed’s unusually easy monetary policy with ultra low interest rates. Although we agree that the US central bank maintained federal funds rate too low...Read More
The pound plunged against the euro, the dollar, gold and all leading currencies today as Theresa May’s UK government appeared vulnerable to collapsing and political turmoil risked creating a hard Brexit. Gold in GBP (24 Hours)The pound has fallen 2.6% against gold in less than twenty four hours seeing gold rise from £923 to £947 per ounce in sterling terms.The pound slumped the m...Read More
Vancouver- based Walker River Resources (TSXV: WRR) has announced that it has just started a drilling program at its Lapon Canyon gold project in Nevada.Located 60 kilometres southeast of Yerington in the Wassuk Range, the project consists of 96 claims that occupy 1,940 acres.In a media statement, Walker River said that this winter drilling campaign will focus on infill and expansion of the Lapon...Read More
China has developed tremendously in recent years. But what’s next? Is the country entering the growth recession? And how it will affect the world and the gold market?A New Chapter in ChinaWe have not analyzed the publications of the World Gold Council for a while. Let’s make it up, starting with the newest edition of Gold Investor. The report is about China and its remarkable transform...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday November 22.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down during Asian morning trading on Thursday despite the recent softness in the dollar; copper and aluminium were little changed with a slight upward bias, while the rest were lower across the board. Check F...Read More