DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales likely fell slightly in October from a year earlier, when replacement demand following hurricanes Harvey and Irma boosted business, industry consultants J.D. Power and LMC Automotive said on Monday.“The year-over-year comparison is difficult as sales in October last year were inflated by vehicle replacement demand associated with Hurricanes Harvey and Irma...Read More
Prices for manganese ore imported into China on an fob basis ticked upward in the pricing session that ended on Friday October 26, while trading activity started to pick up in China before the onset of winter. High- and low-grade manganese ore prices showed modest increases Manganese ore grade prices in China ticked upward Falling bids weigh on Indian silico-manganese prices US focuses on long-ter...Read More
WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced in May he would reimpose sanctions on Iran, the State Department began telling countries around the world the clock was ticking for them to cut oil purchases from the Islamic Republic to zero.The strategy is meant to cripple Iran’s oil-dependent economy and force Tehran to quash not only its nuclear ambition...Read More
South Korean zinc smelter Young Poong is facing a 20-day shutdown at its Sukpu refined zinc smelter after a court rejected the company's appeal against a closure order.Situated in a national park, the Sukpu smelter is alleged to have discharged waste from the smelting process into the local river, which is used for drinking water by millions of people. Environmental groups and residents have been...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending rose for a seventh straight month in September, but income recorded its smallest gain in more than a year amid moderate wage growth, suggesting the current pace of spending was unlikely to be sustained.The Commerce Department said on Monday consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased 0.4 percent last...Read More
CloseGain/LossGold $1229.10-$4.90Silver$14.45-$0.25XAU64.70-0.71%HUI144.02-0.43%GDM529.83-0.10%JSE Gold1166.01-47.57USD96.61+0.26Euro113.85-0.35Yen89.06-0.36Oil$67.04-$0.5510-Year3.088%+0.009T-Bond139.28125-0.15625Dow24442.92-0.99%Nasdaq7050.29-1.63%S&P2641.25-0.66% The Metals: Gold dropped $6.30 to $1227.70 in London and spiked down to $1224.50 in early afternoon New York trade, but it th...Read More
Brazilian copper producer Paranapanema expects relatively stable copper prices and treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) during the fourth quarter compared with the July-September period, chief executive officer Marcos Camara told Fastmarkets MB on Friday October 26. The company estimates the London Metal Exchange three-month copper price to range $6,000-6,500 per tonne until year-end. TC/RCs, t...Read More
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told leaders of her conservatives on Monday that she will not seek re-election as party chairwoman, senior party sources said, heralding the end of a 13-year era in which she has dominated European politics.Merkel, 64, has been chairwoman of her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) since 2000 and chancellor since 2005. Party sources said Merkel...Read More
* Gold seen averaging $1,273/oz this year, $1,300/oz in 2019 * Silver seen at $15.80/oz this year, $16.40/oz next year * Individual forecastsBy Peter Hobson and Sumita LayekLONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Banks and brokerages have cuttheir average gold price forecasts for this year and 2019 afterthe metal slumped to 19-month lows in August, but they stillexpect prices to stage a modest recovery, a Reut...Read More
Cobalt spot market prices for both high- and low-grade material increased week on week on Wednesday October 24 on bullish sentiment that was fueled by supply tightness in the United States, arising from sanctions on Chinese metal, Fastmarkets has heard.Although the cobalt spot market was unusually slow last week, due to industry conferences and the beginning of contract price negotiations, the dea...Read More
* Palladium seen at $993/oz this year, $1,025/oz next year * Platinum seen averaging $882/oz in 2018, $875/oz in 2019 * Individual forecastsBy Peter Hobson and Sumita LayekLONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Palladium's price premium overplatinum will widen next year, with palladium set for its bestyear on record while platinum slumps to its worst performancesince 2004, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.Shor...Read More
The Monday Market Minute Global stocks edge cautiously higher as investors continue to focus on developments in the U.S. corporate earnings season and rising geo-political risks.China stocks tumble, with the Shanghai Composite falling 2.2%, after weaker industrial profit data and further signs of slowing growth in the world's second largest economy.European stocks book modestly gains, with HSBC...Read More
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's yuan closed at its weakest in over a decade on Monday, losing 0.16 percent to end the domestic session at 6.9560 per dollar CNY=CFXS, stirring speculation over whether the central bank will tolerate a slide beyond the key level of 7 per dollar.Broad dollar strength, as concerns swirl over risks of a global economic slowdown, was the main influence in the currency mark...Read More
Global antimony continued to trade last week amid weak demand for the metal, with prices remaining unchanged in both China and Europe on scarce spot market activity.In China, Fastmarkets MB's price assessment for Chinese Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA) standard grade-II antimony price, delivered, duty-paid, was 51,000-51,500 yuan ($7,341-7,412) per tonne on Wednesday October 24, unchang...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three former London-based currency traders were found not guilty on Friday of U.S. charges that they schemed to rig benchmark exchange rates, the latest verdict to emerge from a U.S. probe into the multitrillion-dollar foreign exchange market.Chris Ashton, Rohan Ramchandani and Richard Usher, who worked at Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co, respectively,...Read More
* Euro falls briefly on Merkel report * Dollar near 10-week high * Major currencies stick to tight ranges * Yen strengthens as investors seek safety from equitylosses * Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 (Recasts with Merkel report, adds quote, updates prices)By Tom FinnLONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The euro briefly weakened onMonday after a report that German Chancellor Angela Merkel willnot seek re-el...Read More
LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The euro fell briefly and Germangovernment bond yields rose on Monday, after a report thatGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel has told leaders of herChristian Democrats (CDU) that she will not seek re-election asparty chairwoman in December. Merkel has been CDU chairwoman since 2000 and giving up therole would start a race within the party to succeed her aschancellor.The eur...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book cargoes in the deep-sea scrap trade, with two more transactions coming to light, pushing prices up further on Monday October 29.These two deals were heard on Friday after the data submission deadline for the day.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $335 per tonne, shredded at $340 per tonne and...Read More
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that her party's dismal showing in weekend elections has meant her coalition government has "lost credibility" and that she will step down as party leader and retire from politics when her current term as leader of Europe's biggest economy ends in 2021. Merkel's told Christian Democrat leaders that she will stand down as leader of the party that has ruled Ger...Read More
* STOXX50E up 0.7 pct as Italy relief boosts European shares * Italian bank stocks rise after S&P keeps rating unchanged * China data shows slowing industrial profits growth * EM stocks rise after Bolsonaro wins Brazil election * Crude prices tumble as investors price in easing growthBy Helen ReidLONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Concern over China's slowingeconomy dented U.S. stock futures and kept...Read More