Gold futures gave up much of their earlier gains on Friday, with strength in the U.S. dollar prompting prices for the precious metal to post only a modest gain for the session, down significantly from their highest intraday level in 14 months. Prices eased back from the session's best levels with the dollar on track for a gain on the week, putting some pressure on dollar-denominated gold prices. T...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has decided on a dispute over when the load-in, load-out (LILO) rule should have been activated, ruling in favor of warehouse company Istim. People familiar with the situation said that the warehousing firm had been found to have acted vigorously and without delay in its dealings with Glencore at its warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, following large cancellations of alu...Read More
The temporary truce on tariffs between China and the United States could be over, injecting a new round of uncertainty into the global financial markets and suspending hopes that a resolution to the countries' trade impasse was likely.US President Donald Trump has threatened to raise the tariff on $200 billion-worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% by Friday May 10. He also said that the US may...Read More
Demand for safety still runs high despite U.S.-Mexico trade resolution.Falling bond yields also increase non-yielding gold's attractiveness.South African gold mining stocks among the biggest winners right now.One question that gold investors have been asking lately is, 'Can the gold rally continue if worries over global trade diminish?' After all, there's no denying that the initial impetus be...Read More
ThyssenKrupp has appointed Premal Desai as the new chairman of its European steel division, the German conglomerate said on Friday June 14.Desai, who is currently chief financial officer of the steel division, will replace Andreas Goss in the role on Saturday June 15.Goss will resign from his position as chairman of the steel division following the failure...Read More
I believe Barrick will increase in value over the next two years even if the price of gold remains flat.Barrick's current EV/EBITDA ratio is 8.6 and I expect it to decline to 5.7 as EBITDA increases and debt is repaid. Additional interest savings aren't included in this multiple.The bullish technical setup in GOLD is something that hasn't been seen since the last bull market back in 20...Read More
With an international career that has spanned senior positions with some of the biggest companies and mines for non-ferrous metal production, Sonami president Diego Hernandez tells Andrea Hotter about the multiple roles that led him to the pinnacle of copper mining.Diego Hernandez was in his mid-20s when he learned a very important lesson about negotiating. The young mining executive, who would go...Read More
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Friday June 14, having reached an intraday high of $12,065 per tonne but failing to close above that mark, while the rest of the complex continued to trade in a downtrend.Volumes traded in nickel were moderately high over the day, with more than 9,000 lots exchanged by the close, second to copper's 11,700...Read More
The queue for aluminium at London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses at Port Klang, Malaysia, operated by Istim, edged down to 109 days at the end of May, according to the latest LME data.This is slightly down from the 113-day queue at the end of April, the LME said on June 10, but it is significantly lower than the 229-day queue registered at the end of February.Queues for copper,...Read More
Eastern China's hot-rolled coil prices weakened further on Friday June 14, with rising inventory levels putting pressure on sellers.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,800-3,810 yuan ($549-550) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,780-3,790 yuan per tonne, unchangedThe domestic market remained inactive despite sellers making price cuts.A Tianjin-based trader pointed out tha...Read More
China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
Seaborne pig iron has become relatively competitive versus ferrous scrap over the past year in most regions, and China is no exception. As the first chart below illustrates, the gap between the MBR's proxy for imported pig iron price in China and the Metal Bulletin's Chinese domestic heavy melt scrap price assessment had shrunk by late 2017. The premium averaged $17 per tonne this year to date, co...Read More
We have compelling NEW PROOF that silver prices have been manipulated... From Ted Butler, Butler Research:Several recent articles have highlighted a surge of silver imports to India, prompting me to take a closer look. India has always been a big buyer of silver and gold, befitting the traditions and culture of the country with the world's second largest population. The population of India, more...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Turkey have been under pressure from slow trading, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 14.Buyers have been insisting on lower domestic prices, according to market sources. In addition, HRC buyers have been reported to have sufficient volumes of material in stock.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Turkish domestic HRC was $520-530 per tonne ex-...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland have moved down this week due to the negative impact of competitive import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 14.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic 12mm B500B-grade rebar in Poland was 2,000-2,120 zloty ($530-562) per tonne ex-works on June 14, compared with 2,100-2,150 zloty per tonne ex-works a week earlier.The assessment reflects...Read More
Are Gold Bugs fans about to receive positive news they haven't had in years? Possible!This chart looks at the Gold Bugs Index (HUI) on a weekly basis over a couple of decades. The index has spent the majority of the past 20-year inside of rising channel (1).The index hit the top of the channel in 2011, where it peaked and started creating a series of lower highs for the past 8-years, which has for...Read More
With an international career that has spanned senior positions with some of the biggest companies and mines for non-ferrous metal production, Sonami president Diego Hernandez tells Andrea Hotter about the multiple roles that led him to the pinnacle of copper mining.Diego Hernandez was in his mid-20s when he learned a very important lesson about negotiating. The young mining executive, who would go...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More