Turkish steel producers remained active in the market for import scrap in the week ending Friday June 12, while prices for bulk scrap in Japan and Vietnam appear to hit a ceiling as activity slowed.Turkish mills continue to book deep-sea scrap Demand from Turkey has allowed US East Coast prices to keep increasing Trading activity falls in Vietnamese market as offer prices climb  Buying activi...Read More

The UK market for deliveries of steel scrap to domestic consumers has increased again month on month, on tighter scrap generation against steady demand and higher export prices into traditional destinations, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 12.The move follows fewer scrap arisings in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown, which resulted in falls in demolition projects in construction and...Read More

Precious metals are loving the uncertainty the coronavirus hascreated. Despite limited successessome countries have had with reopening, the virus is nowhere near contained. Asof this writing, close to 6 million worldwide are infected and 365,328 havedied. The important columns in the table below from the heavily visited Worldometer's coronavirus page, are the yellow andred.  The United S...Read More

From Investopedia:“Correlation is a statistic that measures the degree to which two variables move in relation to each other. Correlation measures association, but doesn’t show if x causes y or vice versa, or if the association is caused by a third–perhaps unseen–factor.”In order for correlation to exist, there must be fundamentals that directly connect the two items...Read More

The London Metal Exchange recently reiterated its willingness to facilitate spot trading of low carbon aluminium. While not a new concept for the exchange, it would serve two important purposes. First, it would provide more transparent, digitalized data on the specification of its aluminium brands and determine whether people are actually paying more for low carbon metal. Second, it would pro...Read More

Since the creation of the Federal Reserve in1913, the stock market has outperformed Gold and Silver significantly. Here isa great chart (from longtermtrends.net) that proves this: The S&P 500 is in red, the Dow in blueand Gold and Silver in their native colours. The outperformance is huge.Through the debt-based monetary system, the Fed facilitates the extension ofcredit which disproportionatel...Read More

Just over a year ago, US Section 232 tariffs against imports of aluminium from Canada were removed. Now there are calls to reintroduce them.The American Primary Aluminum Association (APAA), which represents US producers Century Aluminum and Magnitude 7, says that Canadian imports have "surged" since the tariffs were removed and are threatening the viability of the US primary aluminium industry.&nb...Read More

Last week, the FOMC released the minutes from its last meeting. What implications do they carry for the gold market? FOMC Finally Acknowledges the Situation As SeriousLast week, the FOMC has published minutes of its meeting from April 28-29. They show that the Fed reassessed the coronavirus economic implications since the previous meeting at which the central banks did not yet grasp the full gravi...Read More

An expected shortfall in Brazilian supply of high-grade iron ore will likely result in 2020 becoming a boom year for Australian miners.While Brazilian miner Vale, a key producer of high-grade iron ore fines and pellets, is maintaining its production guidance despite a suspension of operations at its Itabira mining complex, many market participants in Asia are expecting a shortage of Brazil-origin...Read More

The gold-silver ratio tends to fall after a recessionary period. Though the US appears to be at the very bottom of its recession, many major economies in...by McAlinden Research Partners via Streetwise ReportsSilver and silver miners popped in May on the back of a rebound in industrial activity around the world. Ultra-low interest rates and expectations of a weaker dollar have compounded several...Read More

Fastmarkets' fob Australia seaborne hard coking coal index moved up on Friday June 12, after a steel mill in India booked an August-laycan spot cargo on Thursday.Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $107.36 per tonne, down $0.23 per tonne  Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $116.52 per tonne, down $0.29 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $89.42 per tonn...Read More

There has been some follow-through selling in Asian-Pacific equity markets and base metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange this morning, Friday June 12, but base metals on the London Metal Exchange and pre-market major western equity index futures are consolidating after Thursday's routs. Pre-market Dow Jones equity index futures were indicated to open up by 1.4% this morning after the Dow Jones...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Short-term upside targets achievedLME aluminium's price recovery to $1,600 per tonne has been driven by macro forces acting on all metals, and amplified for aluminium by technical factors after prices became so oversold at the double-bottom lows in April and May. With a 4-million-tonne supply surplus this year, al...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Consolidation needed after technical gainsDespite structural oversupply, the London Metal Exchange aluminium price has enjoyed a technical rebound since the mid-May lows, which was in line with our short-term forecasts. But technical indicators now look overbought and the price must consolidate its recent gai...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Early signs of post-lockdown demand recoveryWith major economies outside China reopening after the easing of their Covid-19-related restrictions on movement and industrial activity, last week's jump in the number of cancelled aluminium warrants on the London Metal Exchange may be an early sign that the post-lockdo...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: 'Sell the rally' mentality here to stayAlthough the London Metal Exchange aluminium price has managed to recover modestly from recent lows, we suspect this is mostly short-covering. The lack of producer restraint, growing exchange inventories, a weak demand outlook and the 7 million tonnes of oversupply forecast f...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.As we anticipated, rebar prices in Eastern China (ex-warehouse basis) rose in May, coming within 0.6% of our forecast. Strong demand at home meant that Chinese producers were largely absent from the export market, maintaining their offers near $450 per tonne, while import prices into Singapore were set near $400 per tonne cf...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.US demand shrinksDemand projections call for a continued retreat in US electric-resistance welded (ERW) line pipe and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) consumption as drill rigs and the number of wells drilled per rig are cut. Project demand in the large-diameter line pipe market is also shrinking with deferred or canceled pro...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.A couple of months into the global Covid-19 pandemic, the sell-off in steel markets appears to be abating.In parts of Asia, where the outbreak first occurred, steel prices - including those for coated steels - have rebounded since late April. The same is true of the US market as well. As we detail in our Americas analysis thi...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US flat product prices outperformed our expectations over the past month. In an attempt to lend the market confidence that sheet prices had reached a floor, US steel mills announced price increases of $50-60 per ton at the end of April. In the announcement, mills cited the expectation of higher scrap prices, tight domestic s...Read More