Recent sentiment toward the yellow metal matched peak 2011 levels You may recall investor optimism that attended gold's then record high of $1921.50 in September 2011.A Gallup poll from that time period captured the prevailing sentiment. The Sept. 2, 2011 Elliott Wave Financial Forecast said a monthly publication which provides forecasts for major U.S. financial markets, said:Perhaps the stronges...Read More
Low inventory levels and longer lead times have pushed hot-rolled coil prices in the United States up to their highest in 17 months, with mills holding most of the negotiating power. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $32 per hundredweight ($640 per short ton) on Friday October 9, up by 1.3% from $31.58 per cwt on Thursday October 8 and 3.3% higher than $...Read More
Steel slab export prices from Brazil widened upward this week with the gap between sellers' and buyers' expectations continuing to increase because of higher offers.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, was $480-505 per tonne on Friday October 9, widening upward by $5 from $480-500 per tonne on October 2.Offers were heard within the range of $505-515 pe...Read More
The domestic price for steel rebar in Brazil has gone up in October, with an average 15% increase being fully applied and with some buyers willing to pay even higher prices for quick delivery, market participants have said.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, monthly, delivered Brazil, at 3,220-3,430 Reais ($574-611) per tonne on Friday October 9, rising from...Read More
South American flat-rolled steel import prices showed no definite trend in the week ended Friday October 9 amid a stand-off between higher offers from China and Japan, and some discounted deals for products from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) reported in Brazil.China returned from its national Golden Week holiday with more expensive offers for South America, in most cases. Other coun...Read More
The three-month price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange rallied at the close of trading on Friday October 9, with a steady decline in the US dollar index supporting a flurry of Asian buying, while a similar upsurge in aluminium saw the metal close at its highest price since July 2019.Nickel's outright price closed at $15,221 per tonne in the afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $14,665 p...Read More
Deliverable zinc stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses increased the most in percentage terms by 3% or 1,423 tonnes to 49,370 tonnes in the week to Friday October 9.The main inflows came into the R&S Logistics warehouse in Shanghai - which received 1,134 tonnes to total 4,418 tonnes on October 9, up from 3,284 tonnes the week before - and the Kangyun Xiaoshan warehouse in Zheji...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were up on Friday October 9 after the return of active trading from Chinese market participants and post-holiday restocking activities, trade sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $125.72 per tonne, up $2.25 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $125.79 per tonne, up $2.30 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $116....Read More
Stimulus "negotiations" are ongoing in what Trump fans call an "art of the deal" kind of way, and Trump's beat The China Virus, so it's all good, right?Everyone thinks Trump is the Master of the Deal after calling off stimulus negotiations on Tuesday, only to call for an even bigger something-or-other just today.Notice, however, what was missing from Trump's "Negotiations" Tweet informing us that...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday October 9, with China quiet due to the week-long Golden Week holiday. Europe The European market was steady over the week, consolidating gains from the week prior when prices tipped ?,?1,000 per tonne, a high last seen...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The US Midwest aluminium premium fell slightly on Friday October 9, after some traders revised offers down following a contraction on the London Metals Exchange's (LME) aluminium spreads and an uncertain market outlook.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US at 12-13.5 cents per lb on October 9, down 3.7% from 12.5-14 cents per lb where it had been steady for over a week....Read More
The United States Department of Commerce issued affirmative preliminary determinations in its anti-dumping duty investigations on common alloy aluminium sheet imports from 18 countries, following the department's affirmative countervailing duty determinations for four of those countries in August."The Department's aluminum sheet investigations constitute the broadest US trade enforcement action in...Read More
Prices of secondary aluminium scrap edged upward week on week in the United States as a result of tightening supply and growing spot demand, sources told Fastmarkets."I have had a lot of offers, but prices are way too high to have any margin," one buyer said.Fastmarkets assessed the buying prices for old sheet, delivered to Midwest secondary smelters and old cast, delivered to Midwest secondary sm...Read More
The three-month price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange rallied at the close of trading on Friday October 9, with a steady decline in the US dollar index supporting a flurry of Asian buying, while a similar upsurge in aluminium saw the metal close at its highest price since July 2019.Nickel's outright price closed at $15,221 per tonne in the afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $14,665 p...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index edged up on Friday October 9 amid thin trading observed during China's Golden Week holiday that ended on Thursday.Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific was at $45.60 per tonne/4.56 cents per lb on Friday, up from $45 per tonne 4.5 cents per lb on October 2.Parcels of concentrates...Read More
Production at Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil will ramp back up now that maintenance at the Paragominas bauxite mine has finished, the producer said on Friday October 9. "On October 8, Hydro resumed operation of the pipeline transporting bauxite from Hydro Paragominas bauxite mine to the Hydro Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil," Hydro said. Production at Paragominas bauxite mine has...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Deliverable zinc stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses increased the most in percentage terms by 3% or 1,423 tonnes to 49,370 tonnes in the week to Friday October 9.The main inflows came into the R&S Logistics warehouse in Shanghai - which received 1,134 tonnes to total 4,418 tonnes on October 9, up from 3,284 tonnes the week before - and the Kangyun Xiaoshan warehouse in Zheji...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States strengthened for the ninth consecutive week, with market participants increasingly anticipating tight spot availability to persist into 2021. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US was at $39.50 per hundredweight ($790 per short ton) on Thursday October 8, up by 1.3% from $39 per...Read More