Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker this morning, Friday October 2, but our focus is on the broader markets because US President Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid-19, which in itself is a major development, but is also going to have ramifications on the run-up to the presidential election on November 3.Pre-market major western equity index futures...Read More

Nornickel, which had three industrial accidents within seven weeks in the middle of this year and gave up most of its profit for the first half due to a record environmental fine, announced this week that it would invest $1.3 billion in safety improvements in Siberia.Despite a 7% increase in revenues in the first half, Nornickel saw its profit drop by 98.5% compared with the first six months of 20...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves. Read More

European and United States' lithium battery-grade spot prices held steady over the week to Thursday October 1, with the market cautious amid continued Covid-19 uncertainty while lithium technical-grade hydroxide spot prices fell again on subdued demand. Europe and US battery-grade lithium spot prices held steady in the seven days to Thursday October 1 after posting losses the previous week. Fastma...Read More

U.S. Gold Corp. (NASDAQ: USAU) is a U.S. focused, gold exploration and development company, advancing high potential projects, in mining friendly jurisdictions of Wyoming, Nevada and Idaho. We learned from Ed Karr, who is CEO of U.S. Gold Corp., that in Mid-August of 2020, they acquired Northern Panther Resource Corporation, a private company, owned by leading people in the mining industry, which...Read More

In an after-midnight tweet last night, President Trump announced that he and the first lady have contracted the coronavirus. And oh boy, get ready to hear about it over and over and over ad nauseam.Get ready for a landslide of questions:When exactly did President Trump learn he had coronavirus? How long did he wait to tell the public? What responsibility does the president have in reporting person...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have hit a year-to-date high, thanks mostly to tight supply, Fastmarkets understands. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $30.99 per hundredweight ($619.80 per short ton) on Friday October 2, up by 1.3% from $30.59 per cwt on Thursday October 1 and 3.3% higher than $30 per cwt a week ago on September 25. US hot b...Read More

South American import prices for flat-rolled steel were mostly down in the week ended Friday October 2, with new offers from China being slightly lower before that country's Golden Week national holiday, amid reports of short-selling in the region.Fastmarkets assessed the price of steel hot-rolled coil, import, cfr main ports South America, at $540-565 per tonne on Friday, falling by $5 per tonne...Read More

Turkish prices in the domestic market for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and color-coated coil (pre-painted galvanized iron or PPGI) decreased in the week to October 2 while demand was moderate, sources told Fastmarkets.Some market participants told Fastmarkets they expect a decrease in flat steel prices in Turkey because of weakening steel scrap prices.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap,...Read More

Fastmarkets' Ferrous Analytics report helps subscribers keep track of hot metal costs and steel production spreads in China, along with key pricing components of the steelmaking raw materials supply chain in Asia.Read More

Domestic steel rebar prices in Poland have kept increasing in the past week, pushed by strong buying activity and short supply, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 2.Fastmarkets' latest price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, narrowed upward to 2,000-2,050 zloty ($521-535) per tonne on October 2, from 1,960-2,050 zloty per tonne one week earlier.The price w...Read More

As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in September 2020.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for August, July, June, May, April, March,...Read More

Steel producers in Turkey returned to the deep-sea scrap markets on achieving lower prices in the week ended Friday October 2, while the Asian markets were largely stable amid reduced availability and holiday absences in the territory.Turkish steel mills resume deep-sea bookings, prices downSentiment in US export market negative, with falling pricesVietnamese import prices stable on reduced supply...Read More

The import pig iron market in the United States softened again during the week to Friday October 2 amid a global slowdown, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, softened to $370-375 per tonne on Friday, from $380-387 per tonne one week earlier."The US market [for pig iron] is very quiet these days and, with...Read More

Brazil's export pig iron market declined over the week to Friday October 2 on weaker market demand in China, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets assessed the price of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil at $352-353 per tonne on Friday, down from $360-370 per tonne one week earlier.The only sale heard during the week was done...Read More

*This interview was recorded on September 16thCarson Block catches up with an old friend Jim Chanos, dubbed the "LeBron James of short-selling". What more could you ask for? These two legendary short-sellers come together to give you an incredible insight into the world of a short-selling activist as well as their view on the upcoming issues surrounding commercial real estate. Learn the tricks of...Read More

Famed market analyst and historian James Grant is no fan of the current policies of the US Federal Reserve.He recently wrote:"Distortion in the cost of credit is the not-so-remote cause of the raging fires at which the Federal Reserve continues to train its gushing liquidity hoses. But the firemen are also the arsonists. It was the Fed's suppression of borrowing costs, and its predictable willingn...Read More

Danielle DiMartino Booth is CEO & Chief Strategist for Quill Intelligence LLC, a research and analytics firm. She spent nine years as an advisor to Richard W. Fisher at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Danielle left the Fed in 2015 to found Money Strong, LLC, an economic consulting firm and launched a weekly economic newsletter She is the author of Fed Up: An Insider's Take on Why the Federal...Read More

Marc speaks with The Capital Network's Lelde Smits to discuss his outlook for investments including gold, silver, stocks, real estate, bonds, bitcoin. Over the years Marc had told investors to hold diversified portfolios with equal 25% shares in stocks, real estate, cash and bonds and precious metals and Marc answers how his views have changed since the Federal Reserve shied away of its long-time...Read More

Eric Sprott discusses the events of the past week and begins to look ahead to what will be a busy month of October for the metals and mining companies.Sprott Money News ? Sprott Money News Weekly Wrap-up - 10.2.20Eric Sprott has more than 40 years of experience in the investment industry. In 1981, he founded Sprott Securities (now called Cormark Securities Inc.), which today is one of Canada's la...Read More