Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were being pushed and pulled by cross currents this morning, Thursday November 29. Nickel, lead and tin showed gains averaging 0.4%, while copper, aluminium and zinc were down by an average of 0.4%. Copper was off by 0.4% at $6,230 per tonne.Volume across the complex has been average with 5,189 lots traded as at 7.33am London time. Wednes...Read More
The London Court of Appeals has upheld Vladimir Potanin, one of two major shareholders in Nornickel, in his attempt to block the other, Oleg Deripaska, from buying more shares in the giant nickel and palladium producer.Deripaska would have gained 6.3 million shares, owned by Crispian Investments, a stake that Russian news agency TASS put at 4%. Deripaska currently has a share of 27.8% through alum...Read More
2018 was a huge year for the cannabis industry.The state of California - the fifth-largest economy in the world - officially began the legal sales of adult-use cannabis.The entire country of Canada officially legalized adult-use cannabis.Mexico began the process of ending the prohibition of cannabis.All across the world, new legalization legislation was introduced, debated, and passed.Make no mist...Read More
All ears were listening to Fed chairman Jerome Powell's comments on monetary policy Wednesday for hints as to whether the central bank would be easing up on its rate hike plans. As explained in yesterday's post, US stocks move into fair-valued territory, stocks are likely to face more downside pressure unless the Fed pulls back on its hawkish path. As it turns out, the Fed chairman suggested that...Read More
Rumors have become stronger recently that discounts are being offered on flat steel prices in Brazil, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday November 29. Imported material has lost value and this has caused competition to intensify in the country, sources reported.Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) is the main steelmaker granting price discounts to distributors at an average of 5-6% for all flat product...Read More
European buyers of hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil have been watching the market in expectation of a price reduction, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 29.Buyers have mostly been holding back from making purchases while hoping for a clearer market trend to emerge."Prices are under pressure, for sure," a Northern European source said. "Demand from [the] automotive [sector] is slowing d...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil (CRC) in the EU have been under pressure from slow trading, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 29.Demand has been reduced by a combination of seasonal de-stocking activity and a general 'wait-and-see' attitude among buyers due to the lack of market clarity about further price trends.European buyers have also been reported to have sufficient stocks of...Read More
Turkish domestic rebar and wire rod prices have continued to decrease amid poor demand and a stronger lira, sources said on Thursday November 29.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY2,950-3,085 ($562-588) per tonne ex-works, including 18% VAT, compared with TRY3,080-3,220 per tonne of last week.A steel mill in the Izmir region was heard offering rebar to local.....Read More
Turkish long steel export prices continued to fall over the past week on sluggish demand and a downturn in Asian steel prices, sources said on Thursday November 29.Steel mills in Turkey cut their offers to $490-495 per tonne fob on an actual-weight basis, but had attracted almost no interest at those prices, sources told Fastmarkets."We are trying to keep our offers at $495 per...Read More
CloseGain/LossGold $1223.90+$3.70Silver$14.30-$0.01XAU64.80-1.11%HUI146.40-1.00%GDM534.77-0.25%JSE Gold1124.07+16.97USD96.78-0.05Euro113.89+0.18Yen88.30+0.17Oil$51.45+$1.1610-Year3.029%-0.032T-Bond140.21875+0.28125Dow25338.84-0.11%Nasdaq7273.08-0.25%S&P2737.80-0.22% The Metals: Gold gained $8.70 to $1228.90 by late morning in New York before it drifted lower in afternoon...Read More
By Ira EpsteinHow to play metals going into the G-20 Meeting.https://www.iraepstein.com/ Read More
The economic sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran since early August have had direct and indirect negative effects not only on the Middle Eastern country's steel exports but also on its domestic consumption.This may lead to lower steel output by the country in the future, Fastmarkets was told on Thursday November 29.The first tranche of sanctions imposed by the US was intended to pr...Read More
By Stefan GleasonOne of the greatest asset bubbles of all time appears to have just burst.It's not the stock market. Despite recent downside volatility amidst bubble-like valuations, so far stocks have merely entered a correction.Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, have entered into a full-blown meltdown. Bitcoin will go down in history for its extraordinary rise from zero to a high of $19,783...Read More
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:Questions are asked to get answers, but refusals to answer may be enough to permit conclusions to be drawn and thus in effect constitute answers as well.With all these recent refusals to answer, who really cannot believe that governments and central banks long have been manipulating the gold market so they might control the currency markets and thereby defeat all mar...Read More
Powell spoke yesterday. The gold market considered his remarks as dovish. And the market is always right, isn't it? Just Below Neutral On Wednesday, Powell delivered a speech "The Federal Reserve's Framework for Monitoring Financial Stability" at The Economic Club of New York. The majority of analysts judged the speech as dovish. Why? The key reason was Powell's view that interest rates were c...Read More
Wednesday's monster rally was just the beginning of a surge that can end only when the last die-hard bear has thrown in the towel. Although the short-covering panic goosed stocks into the clouds, the wild-blue-yonder, blow-off phase lies just ahead. Hundreds of stocks, most crucially AAPL, lifted from the danger zone, shifting the herd's tiny, fevered brains from bearish to bullish in the space...Read More
- Brexit no-deal would lead to "worst crash since 1930s"- Gold rose 0.6% in dollars and 1.2% in pounds today- UK economy could contract by 8%, house prices fall 30%, sterling fall 25% warns Bank of England- Sterling collapse would push Irish economy into recession- Carney's doomsday scenario sees the crippling of UK finances, the pound crashing and inflation soaring- BOE accused of "Project Fe...Read More
Gold and silver have just have formed a short term bottom after comments from the Federal Reserve chairman that interest rates are "just below" neutral range. This implies that the pace of interest rate hikes (after December) will be slower next year. This is just the catalyst needed for gold and silver bulls. The US dollar index should form a long term top over the next two weeks. Physical dema...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States was stable despite worries about shipments from Ukraine being interrupted because of the country's current restrictions under martial law, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 29.Fastmarkets' CIS export price assessment for high-manganese pig iron was unchanged at $355-365 per tonne fob Black Sea on November 29.Uk...Read More