Yesterday’s oil session was indeed heavy on action. The initial upswing gave way to a reversal lower, leaving black gold to close almost unchanged. Well, it finished a bit lower than it opened the day actually. Does this signify something important? That important that it would make us act? You bet – let’s dive in to the juicy details.Let’s take a closer look at the chart b...Read More
Donald and Xi have confirmed their true and everlasting friendship now. Trade wars are over, it’s all rainbows and unicorns - and investors do not need safe havens anymore. Right? The celebratory mood feels great but let’s find out what the trade truce really means for the gold market.Ufff, They Announce Trade Truce The G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan, is behind us. Did I write “G20&...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has just finished its trial to calculate nickel prices using a volume weighted average price (VWAP) method on the exchange's electronic trading platform. If early indications are anything to go by, metals market participants did not embrace this method of price discovery in the way some had anticipated. For three months since Monday March 18, closing prices for nickel car...Read More
The United States Secretary of Commerce has joined the growing chorus of voices questioning the current method of setting the US Midwest aluminium premium. Wilbur Ross said the US Midwest aluminium premium is at inflated levels that do not justify the cost of transportation and logistical handling costs that it was originally designed to reflect. His view is being echoed by a number of...Read More
A decade ago, the Shanghai Futures Exchange launched its steel rebar futures contract. In the years that followed it has become the gold standard for steel derivatives, achieving a success that other exchanges aspire to emulate. And they are definitely trying, with a total of 11 steel derivatives contracts launched by the main trading exchanges since. SHFE, which launched a wire rod futures contra...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Thursday July 4, with price movements largely subdued by a national holiday in the United States while volumes traded were markedly lower.Over the afternoon, tin's three-month price continued its ascent back above $18,000 per tonne, climbing by more than 4% to close at $18,350 per tonne.The metal was subject to i...Read More
Seaborne coking coal market was stable on Thursday July 4, underlining some market participants' expectations of a slow price slide for the steelmaking raw material.An 85,000-tonne cargo of a top brand of premium low-vol hard coking coal was traded at $197.19 per tonne cfr China. The cargo is scheduled for loading in August.The same brand had fetched $200 per tonne cfr China last week.A buyer sour...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices were unchanged on Thursday July 4 although trading activity dropped in the afternoon after futures declined amid chatter that a group of Chinese steelmakers has planned a working group to study the import iron ore market where prices have hit record highs this year.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,890-3,900 yuan ($565-567) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianj...Read More
Stainless steel prices in Europe were likely to remain under pressure due to a longer-than-usual summer slowdown and the renewal of the region's safeguarding quota allocations, while in the United States the determining factor was likely to be the level of alloy surcharges.Meanwhile, the resumption of trade talks between the US and China was likely to boost market activity in Asia.EuropeParticipan...Read More
Turkish billet prices have increased over the past week on the back of an uptick in imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday July 4.Billet suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) raised their offers to $440-445 per tonne cfr levels for Turkish customers. However, there was no significant trading activity heard so far this week.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for...Read More
Yunnan Tin Group (YTG) has begun negotiations for its potential incorporation into China Minmetals Corp (CMC), according to a notice released on June 17 by Shanghai-listed Yunnan Tin Co Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of YTG.According to the International Tin Association (ITA), Chinese state-owned Yunnan Tin remains the world's largest producer of refined tin, with output of 77,789 tonnes of tin in...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed across morning trading on Thursday July 4, with low liquidity capping three-month prices in broadly narrow ranges.Overnight, tin's three-month price continued to stabilize above the $18,000 per tonne level after falling by more than 6% at Tuesday's close.Forward spreads have also been favorable in tin, with the benchmark cash/three-month r...Read More
While US equities remain upbeat on expectations for looser monetary policy, the base metals continue to reflect the soft economic conditions brought about by the lack of a United States-China trade deal.The strong rebound in gold after the recent correction suggests some investors remain nervous about what lies round the corner.US stocks close at record levels with the S&P 500 closing in on the 3,...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up during morning trading on Thursday July 4, following record closing highs for US stocks on Wednesday.Tin and nickel led the advance with gains of 0.9% and 0.8% respectively so far this morning, while the others posted more moderate increases ranged between 0.1% for lead and 0.7% for aluminium. Zinc bucked the stronger tone exhibite...Read More
Steel import volumes into Spain fell to 3.51 million tonnes in January-April 2019, down by 3.1% from 3.62 million tonnes in the corresponding period in 2018, according to Unesid, the country's steel association.Import volumes from non-EU countries fell by 5.8% to 1.17 million tonnes in the first four months of 2019, from 1.24 million tonnes in January-April 2018, with Unesid noting the swift exhau...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has re-adopted a cartel ruling against five Italian rebar producers and imposed fines totalling ?,?16.07 million ($18.14 million), it said on Thursday July 4.The decision related to the companies' participation in a price-fixing cartel between December 1989 and July 2000.The five steelmakers named by the EC were Alfa Acciai, Feralpi, Ferriere Nord (Pittini), Partecipaz...Read More
The price of steel billet imported into Egypt increased in the week to July 4 on higher offers, despite poor domestic demand."Higher offers are because of high scrap and iron ore prices," a local market source told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily index for Northern Europe-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap was calculated at $291.88 per tonne cfr on July 4, up from $273.88 per tonne...Read More
Egypt's Administrative Courts suspended an earlier decision to impose safeguard duties on imports of rebar and steel billet on Thursday July 4.The country's Ministry of Trade & Industry started a safeguard investigation into billet imports on March 31.The ministry then imposed a temporary additional duty on imports of rebar and billet on April 15, with the import duty for rebar set at 25% and that...Read More
The domestic rebar prices in Turkey have edged down slightly over the past week amid strength in the Turkish lira against the US dollar, sources said on Thursday July 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,100-3,120 ($550-554) per tonne ex-works, narrowing down from last week's TRY3,100-3,160 per tonne ex-works.The domestic rebar price in the Izmir region was...Read More
Turkish rebar producers failed to fully pass the increase in imported scrap costs onto their finished goods prices over the past week due to weak demand, sources said on Thursday July 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey was $445-465 per tonne fob on actual weight basis, slightly wideneding up from last week's $445-460 per tonne.The country's mills increased their...Read More