China's hot-rolled coil prices tumbled on Wednesday October 31 amid persistently weak demand, with buyers remaining on the sidelines on expectations of the market softening further.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,080-4,100 yuan ($586-588) per tonne, down 50-60 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 4,050-4,060 yuan per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonnePrices tumbled during the day following losse...Read More
BOSTON (Reuters) - TIG Advisors on Wednesday said it has bought a piece of Canadian mortgage investor Romspen Investment Corporation, marking the first time it has taken a stake in another hedge fund.Romspen, a Toronto-based credit manager, invests C$2.5 billion in assets, providing first mortgage bridge lending to commercial real estate projects in North America.“We invested with Romspen be...Read More
Ferrous futures mostly ended morning trading on a slight uptick on Wednesday October 31 following a steep decline during Tuesday night's session.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange January rebar: 4,146 yuan ($595) per tonne, up 11 yuan per tonneJanuary hot rolled coil: 3,793 yuan per tonne, down 2 yuan per tonneDalian Commodity Exchange January iron ore: 533 yuan per...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minster Theresa May’s spokesman declined to say whether an EU exit deal was expected by Nov. 21, as indicated in a letter by her Brexit minister Dominic Raab earlier on Wednesday, but said government was working to get a deal as soon as possible.Asked about Raab’s letter, the spokesman said: “I can’t go beyond repeating, as I have done many times, t...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Northern Europe have fallen this week following a decline in feedstock prices, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday October 31.Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe fell by ?,?10 per tonne to ?,?650-660 ($739-750) per tonne delivered on October 31, from ?,?660-670 per tonne delivered on Oct...Read More
ZURICH (Reuters) - Rising global trade tensions could buffet the Swiss franc, Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan warned on Wednesday, adding Switzerland would be among the countries hardest hit if full-scale trade war broke out.If higher tariffs made consumers and producers expect steadily rising prices, this could force central banks to tighten monetary policy to head off inflationary ris...Read More
European prices for mesh-quality wire rod were flat across the Northern and Southern parts of the continent on Wednesday October 31, with few buyers seriously enquiring for deliveries. Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessments for mesh-quality wire rod in both Southern and Northern Europe were ?,?535-560 ($608-636) per tonne delivered on Wednesday. Both assessments were unchanged over the pre...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - A Brexit deal is now firmly in sight and should be finalised by Nov. 21, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said in a week-old letter to a lawmaker that was published on Wednesday and briefly sent sterling sharply higher.With just five months until Britain is due to exit the European Union, little is clear: Prime Minister Theresa May has yet to clinch a divorce deal and rebels in her...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe fell slightly on Wednesday October 31, with some suppliers accepting lower bids to make sales but most only offering higher prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe fell to ?,?510-535 ($579-608) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, from ?,?520-545 per tonne last week.Producers have been raising thei...Read More
(Adds economist, Albayrak comments, updates lira)ANKARA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Turkey’s lira weakened more than two percent against the dollar on Wednesday after the government unexpectedly announced a plan to cut taxes on several sectors, including cars, white goods and furniture, until the end of the year.The tax cuts, announced by Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, came hours after the central...Read More
RIYADH (Reuters) - A senior Saudi Arabian prince who recently appeared to criticize the king and crown prince has returned to Riyadh, in what some sources close to the royal family say is a sign it wants to form a united front amid its worst political crisis in a generation.Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, a younger brother of King Salman and uncle of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, arrived on Tuesda...Read More
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers will discuss next week a watered down proposal on an EU-wide digital tax, a document seen by Reuters shows, trying to persuade reticent governments to agree on the plan by the end of the year.Under a proposal from the European Commission in March, EU states would charge a 3 percent levy on the digital turnover of large firms such as Google and...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices remained largely stable after a new transaction was heard on Wednesday October 31.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 23,000-25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $335 per tonne and 4,000-5,000 tonnes of bonus at $345 per tonne cfr, late on October 30.Some sources believed that the cargo also contained...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - A Brexit deal is now firmly in sight and should be finalised by November 21, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said in a week-old letter to a lawmaker published on Wednesday that briefly sent sterling sharply higher.The United Kingdom and European Union have resolved most differences, though the issue of Northern Ireland remains, Raab said in the letter, dated Oct. 24 and sent to Hi...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday backed a U.S. call for a cessation of hostilities in the Yemen war, a conflict that has killed at least 10,000 people and brought on the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.Yemen’s plight and the role of Saudi Arabia in the war have taken center stage after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its embassy in...Read More
PARIS (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus softened its key target for jet deliveries on Wednesday and warned that reaching it would be a “greater stretch” after a sequence of industrial problems.The cautious tone on deliveries - which implied a 2 percent cut in the annual target by changing its parameters to include a recently acquired Canadian jet - came despite higher than expecte...Read More
Prices for iron ore fines weakened on Wednesday October 31 in a cautious market, while lump premiums traded higher.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $75.71 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $74.74 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $80.13 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.04 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $67.42 pe...Read More
Ferrous futures mostly ended morning trading on a slight uptick on Wednesday October 31 following a steep decline during Tuesday night's session.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange January rebar: 4,146 yuan ($595) per tonne, up 11 yuan per tonneJanuary hot rolled coil: 3,793 yuan per tonne, down 2 yuan per tonneDalian Commodity Exchange January iron ore: 533 yuan per...Read More
Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N) beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit on Wednesday, as strong sales at KFC and Taco Bell more than made up for further weakness at Pizza Hut, sending its shares up as much as 5 percent.Competition between big U.S. fast food chains has intensified as Yum, McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) and Domino’s Pizza Inc (DPZ.N) try to lure cash c...Read More
CloseGain/LossGold $1216.90-$6.70Silver$14.28-$0.20XAU64.28-1.77%HUI142.82-1.66%GDM525.44-1.36%JSE Gold1163.80-6.70USD97.01+0.02Euro113.25-0.20Yen88.62-0.03Oil$65.31-$0.8710-Year3.147%+0.028T-Bond138.25-0.65625Dow25115.76+0.97%Nasdaq7305.90+2.01%S&P2711.74+1.09% The Metals: Gold fell $11.50 to $1212.10 by midmorning in New York before it bounced back higher at times, but...Read More