Increasing raw material costs have driven special bar quality (SBQ) prices up by $1 per hundredweight ($20 per short ton) across all grades, with market participants reporting lead times for hot-rolled bar that extend into early February 2019.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for 1-inch round 1000 series (Carbon) hot-rolled bar was at $46 per cwt on Friday October 12, up from $45 p...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil edged up late last week as producers waited for sales to the United States to resume.Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for slab exports from Brazil was $490-510 per tonne fob on Friday October 12 compared with $480-500 per tonne fob on October 5.Brazilian producers are willing to sell to markets outside North America, such as Europe and Asia, at...Read More
Fastmarkets' weekly price assessments for the Russian domestic steel market will not be published on October 15, 2018, because of a public holiday affecting the regional office whose staff compile the assessments.Instead, the prices will be published on October 16, 2018.The assessments affected are the Russian domestic prices...Read More
The European Commission's imposition of tariff rate quotas on 23 steel products earlier this year is severely threatening non-integrated downstream wire rod consumers who have become increasingly reliant on imports over the last few years, the European Non-Integrated Wire Rod Processors Association (Eunirpa) said. Wire rod imports into Europe have increased sharply in the past three years - the ti...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Monday October 15. Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading due to a firm dollar index, while the lead price continued its recovery.Here's how base metals prices looked at...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Tuesday October 16.Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Monday October 15 compared with Friday, with a softer United States' dollar having little effect on prices but trade tensions and weak stock markets keeping investors cautious. Read more in our live futures report. Here are ho...Read More
Gold prices recovered the incremental price decline on Friday and are now trading above Thursday's closing price. On Thursday of last week, gold prices rose from the opening price of $1,197 to $1,230 by the closing bell. On Friday, gold prices had a fractional decline with the most active December Comex contract closing at $1,222 per ounce. Even with Friday's small daily decline, gold futures had...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are holding moderate gains in early-afternoon U.S. trading Monday. Early on, prices hit a 10-week high. Some more safe-haven demand, technical buying and short covering are boosting the yellow metal again today. The bulls have technical strength and momentum to suggest more gains are coming in the near term. December gold futures were last up $8.00 an ounce at $1,230.40....Read More
Manganese ore prices were mixed for the week ended Friday October 12, with low-grade material into China sliding due to increased liquidity following the end of the Golden Week holiday while higher-grade product ticked up in what one miner called a balanced market.Meanwhile, alloy prices fell in Europe but were flat in India and the United States. Low-grade manganese ore price falls sharply; high-...Read More
(Kitco News) - Sentiment appears to be shifting in the gold market and analysts are dismissing a new record in speculative bearish positioning shown in the latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC's disaggregated Commitments of Traders report (COT), for the week ending Oct. 9, showed money managers dropped their speculative gross long positions in Comex gold futur...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. federal government closed the 2018 fiscal year $779 billion in the red as tax cuts hit revenues and the government paid more to service a growing national debt, according to Treasury Department data released on Monday.The deficit for the fiscal year - or the 12 months through September - was the largest since 2012.The data also showed a $119 billion budget surplus i...Read More
(Kitco News) - First Majestic Silver Corp.’s (TSX: FR; NYSE: AG) third-quarter production hit a company record of 6.7 million silver-equivalent ounces, which was up 69% from 4 million in the same quarter of 2017, the company said Monday. The company also announced an effort to cut costs by 20%, although specifics were not released. Officials said this was a response to weak silver prices. T...Read More
Gran Colombia Gold Corp. (TSX: GCM) third-quarter gold output totaled 57,163 ounces, which was up 54% from the same period a year ago, the company reports. Gran Colombia also says it still expects to produce between 210,000 and 220,000 ounces in 2018. For the first nine months of the year, production was 162,741 ounces, up 33% over the first nine months of 2017. This brings the trailing 12-months...Read More
The need for investment in new lithium projects creates a need for risk management tools, but the market's immaturity creates challenges, according to panelists at an LME focus session during this year's annual LME Week. Increasing demand for lithium compounds arising out of the electric vehicle and battery boom has created an appetite to bring new projects on stream, but there are risks associate...Read More
On Friday we asked the question -- could the gold rally continue? The markets have spoken with a resounding yes. Gold traded as high as $1,237 this morning. The next key level to watch is $1,240. A breakout above brings $1,275 into play. The most important thing to remember now is not to chase the market higher. If you missed this rally, there will be other opportunities. Don't let the fear of mis...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices edged up, trading near ten-week highs, as retail sales fell short of expectations in September. U.S. retail sales rose 0.1% in September following a downwardly revised advance of 0.1% in August, according to the latest data from the U.S. Commerce Department. Economists were expecting to see an increase of 0.7% in last month’s headline number. In an immediate reacti...Read More
Gold is getting a lift from geopolitical tensions at the start of a new trading week, says Phil Flynn, senior market analyst with at Price Futures Group. Just after 8 a.m. EDT, Comex December gold was $10.50 higher to $1,232.50 an ounce. The U.S. has threatened to punish Saudi Arabia if it turns out that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Turkey, and Saudi Arabia respo...Read More
Vale's iron ore production increased by 10.30% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2018, while sales soared by 9.40% in the same comparison.Iron ore output reached a record high of 104.95 million tonnes from July to September, compared with 95.10 million tonnes in the corresponding months a year before.The increase was due to the continuing ramp-up of the company's S11D project, in Brazil's north...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 2 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures moved slightly lower following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for September Retail Sales was an increase of 0.6% versus a gain of 0.1% in August. Actual was an increase of 0.1%. Excluding auto sales, consensus for September Retail Sales was an increase of...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market was silent on Monday October 15, with market participants waiting to see if an improved Turkish lira will help boost prices.The Turkish lira has picked up since the country freed the American evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson on Friday afternoon, whose detention over his alleged links to proscribed political groups resulted in political tension with the United Sta...Read More