The global copper supply chain could be underestimating the market impact of Chinese scrap cuts amid the country's growing consumption, established industry expert Jonathan Barnes told Fastmarkets. "China has been absorbing around 50% of the world's copper scrap," Barnes said. "The effect of the tightening legislation is big. People have been underestimating the impact of Chinese copper scrap cons...Read More
The Comex copper price saw a modest increase in morning trading on Monday March 11 with the market remaining mainly rangebound until further news on the US-China trade talks is revealed. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 0.70 cents to $2.9005 per lb. "While the rally in copper prices since the start of the year is driven by stronge...Read More
Despite further poor economic data at the end of last week, the three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part higher this morning, Monday March 11.With the exception of tin that was down by 0.2%, the rest of the complex were up between 0.3% for copper and 1.3% for zinc. Copper was recently quoted at $6,414 per tonne, compared with $6,395.50 per tonne at Friday'...Read More
It's already being called "the Tesla of the Sea"...And this thing could to turn the entire boating and shipping industry on its head. We're talking a complete paradigm shift here.Austrian-based yacht builder Silent Yachts recently unveiled the world's first and only solar-powered electric yacht.Named the Silent 80, the vessel has 70 solar panels, electric motors, and uses the same type of lithium-...Read More
Fastmarkets will host a free web seminar on Monday April 8 at 9.30am London time to introduce the new Fastmarkets-settled London Metal Exchange cash-settled cobalt contract. Learn how Fastmarkets assesses the cobalt market and how you can manage your risk with the new LME cash-settled contract. Click here to register for the webinar. Date Monday April 8, 2019 Time 9.30am London time Join us and th...Read More
The London Metal Exchange launched a new cash-settled cobalt contract, settled against Fastmarkets' benchmark standard-grade cobalt price, on Monday March 11.Physical cobalt prices have seen dramatic swings in recent years, coinciding with mounting interest in the minor metal, arising from the boom in the use of battery and electric vehicles, and leading to stronger calls for a new way to hedge co...Read More
The export market for flat steel exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has softened on lower bids from the key outlets, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 11.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) was $500-525 per tonne fob Black Sea on March 11, decreasing from $520-530 per tonne fob a week before."Turkish buyers are facing p...Read More
Thank you for joining us in a weekly technical look at the mid-cap oriented INK Canadian Insider (CIN) Index. After enjoying a strong multi-week advance, the Index finally pulled back last week, shedding 22.4 points or 1.9% to close at 1135.41. MACD dropped 3.9 points to hit -5.37. Our near-term momentum indicator, RSI, which ended the previous week at an elevated reading of 75.05, then plunged...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices weakened on Monday March 11, leaving traders with the expectation that mills would lower their export offers this week following last week's sparse trading activity.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,790-3,810 yuan ($564-567) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,740-3,760 yuan per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneSpot prices for HRC dropped...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia increased during the past week on higher offers and bids, although trading remained sluggish due to the persistent bid-offer mismatch.Fastmarkets' weekly import price assessment for slab imports to Southeast Asia and East Asia was at $475-495 per tonne cfr on Monday March 11, up $15 per tonne from a week earlier.One cargo from the Common...Read More
Bahraini rebar producer Unirol last week increased its rebar production capacity to 275,000 tonnes per year from 175,000 tpy with the launch of a new unit, a company executive told Fastmarkets on Monday March 11.The company uses direct-reduction iron (DRI) pellet as raw material, sourced locally, and is now offering material that is officially labeled 'Made in Bahrain', chairman and chief executiv...Read More
Strong demand for vanadium as a result of China's revised rebar standard is likely to boost vanadium price momentum again this year, industry speakers said at Fastmarkets' Asian Ferro-Alloys conference in Hong Kong taking place on March 10-11. Global vanadium production is estimated to reach 103,564 tonnes in 2019, up 14% from 90,500 tonnes in 2018, Mark Smith, chief executive officer of Largo Res...Read More
The International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) has delivered a broadly positive short-range outlook for the long steel markets in March, even though prices continue to struggle on lackluster demand, largely because of concerns about protectionist trade measures."The global long steel products market is currently in a positive mood amid good demand worldwide," Irepas said in its...Read More
Use the above link to subscribe to the paid research reports, which include coverage of critically important factors at work during the ongoing panicky attempt to sustain an unsustainable system burdened by numerous imbalances aggravated by global village forces. The historically unprecedented ongoing collapse has been created by compromised central bankers and inept economic advisors, whose int...Read More
StrengthsThe best performing metal this week was silver, up 0.87 percent and rallying strong on Friday alongside gold. Gold traders were again split this week on their outlook for gold as U.S.-China trade talks remain in the headlines. The yellow metal advanced the most in two weeks on Friday morning as investors awaited the release of the February jobs report for clues on the health of the econ...Read More
By: Ed SteerYESTERDAY in GOLD, SILVER, PLATINUM and PALLADIUMThe gold price edged quietly sideways once trading began at 6:00 p.m. EST on Thursday evening in New York -- and that lasted until around 9:20 a.m. China Standard Time on their Friday morning. It began to head higher from there -- and that lasted until shortly before 9:30 a.m. in London. It crept quietly lower from that juncture un...Read More
This is a pair of photographs taken by Keith Weiner, for a high school project. It seemed a fitting picture for the dual nature of money, the dual nature of wood both as logs to be consumed and dimensional lumber to be used to construct buildings.Last week, in Is Capital Creation Beating Capital Consumption, we asked an important question which is not asked nearly often enough. Perhaps that's...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinRead More
The Turkish steel mills have continued to book deep-sea scrap this week, with prices remaining little changed, sources said on Monday March 11.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a UK cargo on Monday, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $320 per tonne cfr.As a result of...Read More
Over the weekend, we were surprised to learn that some readers were prevented by Facebook when attempting to share Zero Hedge articles. Subsequently it emerged that virtually every attempt to share or merely mention an article, including in private messages, would be actively blocked by the world's largest social network, with the explanation that "the link you tried to visit goes against our comm...Read More