The European Commission (EC) will extend the existing safeguard measures on 26 steel products imported into the European Union by three years, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 11.Quota volumes for all 26 steel products will increase by 3% year on year - lower than the 5% rise expected by market participants.The draft document of the adjusted measures was released to member states on...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories from Tuesday June 8 that are worth another look.A rise in Covid-19 cases in China's Guangdong province in recent weeks has led to tighter controls and rigorous testing at the huge Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT), causing extended delays...Read More

After decades of concerted effort by governments and central banks, the focus away from gold as money has led to its characterization as an investment, a hedge, insurance, etc. Some still refer to it as a barbarous relic. Are any of these descriptions valid? GOLD AS INSURANCEThere is a seemingly plausible argument for calling gold a hedge or insurance given volatile conditions in our society...Read More

Excerpted from Elliott Wave International's new FREE report "Gold Investor's Survival Guide: 5 Principles That Help You Stay Ahead of Price Turns."There is a glaring hole in the popular understanding of what drives gold's price.Mainstream finance believes the Federal Reserve's monetary and interest rate policies shape the trend.That sounds like a solid explanation... except, the Fed officials them...Read More

In the currentenvironment of rising inflation and easy monetary policies, the value of goldcould potentially go sharply higher from recent levels.Unlike many traders outthere, the successful gold investor has learned to “see the forest through thetrees.”Put simply, goldinvestors understand that the shiny yellow metal is not likely to go straightup in price. It can, however, be expected...Read More

Gold is okay, but not yet uniqueThere are times when gold is an okay inflation hedge, while under-performing the likes of industrial metals, oil/energy, materials, etc. During those times, if you’re doggedly precious metals focused you should consider silver, which, as a hybrid precious metal/industrial commodity, has more pro-cyclical inflation utility than gold.But as I have argued for muc...Read More

London Metal Exchange ring dealing members have a decision to make - whether to remain one or not.The LME has just announced it will reopen the open outcry trading floor, which was temporarily closed due to Covid-19, on September 6.Its plan, however, comes with a twist; some ring dealers say, a knife.The official prices - which the global trade and industry use as the global reference for physical...Read More

The worldwide shift toward cleaner, greenerenergy sources once again appears to be picking up speed.While the world’s focus on climate changeunderstandably took a backseat to the Covid-19 pandemic for most of the past 18months, that focus on climate change has started to return in a powerful way. In fact, our transition into a post-pandemicenvironment is triggering a number of significantopp...Read More

With the current situation suggestiveof a Monty Hall problem, investors are clinging to the first, bullish door. Butwhat if a different option is more likely?The Monty Hall problem is a form of aprobability puzzle, and what it shows is immensely unintuitive. Suppose you areon a game show, and you need to choose one of three doors. Behind one of themis a car and behind the others, goats. You pick a...Read More

Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk once described the ongoing use of fossil fuels and their generation of a vast carbon footprint as "the dumbest experiment in human history."Not everyone will agree with his assessment of the petroleum, gas and coal sectors, which have powered the world's growth for decades. Nonetheless, the twin goals of supply chain security and sustainability are now driving a t...Read More

Bill Gates has a theory about green premiums: He wants to eliminate them entirely. The American business magnate and philanthropist calls green premiums the additional cost of choosing a clean technology over one that emits a greater amount of greenhouse gases.In other words, the price that metals and mining companies are starting to charge their customers for producing low-carbon produc...Read More

Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: SHFE tailwind for LME pricesAs we are entering the traditional strong demand season, we expect Chinese aluminium demand to show further recovery, and we expect demand from existing end-user sectors, new infrastructure projects and the export sector to show some increases. As a result, we believe that S...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view, including an upgrade to our aluminium price forecasts.Aluminium: Price forecasts raisedWe correctly expected the macro reflationary theme to raise the prices for all base metals but, with it being the base metal with by far the weakest fundamentals, we had expected the price of aluminium to underperform relative...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.These include an increase in our copper mine disruption estimates, upgrades to our production outlook for Indonesian nickel pig iron (NPI), a smaller refined zinc surplus, and an upgrade to our zinc price forecasts.Aluminium: Big disconnect between price and fundamentalsAluminium has extended its uptrend on the London Metal...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.United States sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum carrying into June. Actual US HRC prices averaged $1,712 per tonne in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,698 per tonne. Strong underlying supply-and-demand conditions both in the US and globally are supporting prices as well as long lead...Read More

It is essential to have one's ducks in a row with with silver being right before breakout to new highs...by Korbinian Koller via Midas Touch ConsultingWe don't learn much about the principles of money-making in school. After basic living costs and security, money-making motivation is extending one's self-expression. That next big purchase, that next vacation, living on a larger scale. Freedom! Whe...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Global welded pipe prices surged in May as strong demand and still-insufficient supply lifted flat steel prices.The biggest jumps were seen in China, which was hit by the unexpected announcement of the elimination of export rebates on welded pipes in April. Chinese seaborne prices reached $1,570 per tonne fob for longitudina...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Recent weeks have largely been a repetition of the weeks leading up to our previous tracker in mid-April. A flurry of price increases have been announced, and largely obtained, by leading steelmakers in both Europe and the United States while buyers struggle to secure spot tonnages.Although steel output is rising in both reg...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:Unprecedentedly high flat steel product pricing in the United States was forecast to persist through the current quarter and well into the second half of 2021.Actual US hot-rolled coil prices in April slightly outpaced our forecasts, with Fastmarkets' US HRC index ave...Read More