Bullion premiums have been drifting lower in recent weeksafter spiking earlier this spring. That in part reflects a waning of fear amonginvestors… and a hope for markets and the economy returning to normal as wehead into the summer.But make no mistake, these are NOT normal times. Not with some parts of the economy still locked down. Notwith the Federal Reserve embarked on an unlimited Quant...Read More

The billet import price decreased in Egypt because of lower offers and bids in the week to Thursday June 25, sources told Fastmarkets. CIS-origin billet was offered this week at $395-400 per tonne cfr, and buyers believed $375-380 per tonne cfr may be a "workable" price for the material. No deals were heard in the assessment period because of weak rebar consumption. As a result, Fastmarkets' weekl...Read More

Long-term Trend AnalysisSilver faces very heavy overhead resistance from $18 all the way to $21 which means that it is going to be tough going and take significant effort for Silver to reach let alone breach $21. Whilst there is strong support at $16 and $14.5 (ignoring the crash low of $11.64). Therefore as was the case in January the long-term chart continues to warn to expect Silver to mark tim...Read More

Striking workers have put all industrial action at Tata Steel IJmuiden on hold until Friday June 26 to negotiate with management, Dutch trade union FNV Metaal said this week. All industrial action at Tata Steel IJmuiden has been temporarily stopped until Friday 1 pm local time after the company invited unions to the negotiation table, FNV said on Wednesday. "Due to the pressure of the strikes, the...Read More

Donald Trump appears tohave torn a page from Ahead of the Herd’s manual for recharging the USeconomy. In an earlier article we said what the globaleconomy really needs, in this low-growth, spending-stalled environment broughtabout by the pandemic, is a push - something big that will attract hugeamounts of investment, and workers. As we have suggested, this could be a massiveinfrast...Read More

The economic pressures and concerns within the global marketshave not abated just because the US Fed has ramped up the printing presses.Inversely, the stock market price levels may be elevated based on a falseexpectation of a quick recovery and of future expectations that may be veryunrealistic.In terms of technical analysis, Gold has set up a very interesting sideways basing pattern after recentl...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday June 25 that are worth another look.Striking workers have put all industrial action at Tata Steel IJmuiden on hold until Friday June 26 to negotiate with management, Dutch trade union FNV Metaal said this week.Demand for copper in Europe is weak and economies are struggling to restart after coronavirus-related lockdowns, forcing c...Read More

David Haggith Look at the plethora of problems in my list of 2020 economic predictions, which are so severe and so likely to get even worse that it's more difficult to imagine they won't get worse than to believe they will. Some are so bad that just a few of them would plunge us into an abyss of social and financial catastrophes.Here are my economic predictions for the remainder of 2020This...Read More

By: Chris MarcusThe majority of financial market participants were blindsided by the Federal Reserve's recent historic actions following the reported outbreak of the Corona virus.Yet for those who know about G. Edward Griffin and his legendary book "The Creature From Jekyll Island," the latest financial moves came as little surprise. As a result, they were prepared in advance.So to find out what...Read More

By Avi Gilburt, ElliottWaveTrader.netWhile many viewed unemployment, or the Covid virus, or the slowed GDP, or a myriad of other factors as reasons to believe the market is "dangerous," I propose that these four-letter words are more dangerous to your investment account than anything else:NEWS, BIAS, and HOPEYou see, many will turn to the news to determine which direction the market will move....Read More

By: Ira EpsteinSilver was a miserable failure trying to join the party. Gold as lots of resistance here but it does not mean that it will not break to the upside:Read More

The three-month price of lead on the London Metal Exchange continued its upward trajectory at the close of trading on Thursday June 25, closing more than 1% higher and topping gains across the base-metals complex.But a steady uptick in copper futures over the afternoon was not enough to breach nearby resistance.Lead's outright price on the LME closed at $1,786 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, near...Read More

Turkish steel producers returned to the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday June 25, attracted by lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Osmaniye region booked a 27,500-tonne US cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $261 per tonne, shredded at $266 per tonne and bonus scrap at $271 per tonne cfr. The cargo's composition was not clear at the time of publication.The previo...Read More

Key information from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Thursday June 25. Key drivers: The most recent deal concluded on a fob Gladstone, Australia, basis at $261 per tonne for 30,000 tonnes with loading in the second half of July.  A power outage at Hydro's Paragomias bauxite mine means production output at the Alunorte alumina refinery has been reduced to...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday June 25 that are worth another look.Striking workers have put all industrial action at Tata Steel IJmuiden on hold until Friday June 26 to negotiate with management, Dutch trade union FNV Metaal said this week.Demand for copper in Europe is weak and economies are struggling to restart after coronavirus-related lockdowns, forcing c...Read More

Demand for copper in Europe is weak and economies are struggling to restart after coronavirus-related lockdowns, forcing copper producers to ship cathode to China instead. Chinese trading houses and copper product manufacturers told Fastmarkets that they were fielding a significant rise in offers of cathode produced in Spain and Germany, an unusual shift in traditional trade flows confirmed by Eur...Read More

The three-month price of lead on the London Metal Exchange continued its upward trajectory at the close of trading on Thursday June 25, closing more than 1% higher and topping gains across the base-metals complex.But a steady uptick in copper futures over the afternoon was not enough to breach nearby resistance.Lead's outright price on the LME closed at $1,786 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, near...Read More

The three-month lead price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer during morning trading on Thursday June 25, supported by a continued trend of stock withdrawals, while a steady incline in LME tin stocks softened the metal's wide backwardation. Lead's outright price on the LME was recently at $1,778.50 per tonne, climbing by just under 1% from Wednesday's closing price of $1,762 p...Read More

Broader markets were generally weaker this morning, Thursday June 25, with those equity markets that were open in the Asian-Pacific region mainly weaker by between 1% and 2%.Pre-market major western equity index futures were down this morning, following Wednesday's weakness. Gold prices hold up in high ground around $1,760 per oz.International Monetary Fund (IMF) cuts world growth forecast again,...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The recent announcement about Vale's resumption of operations in Brazil, along with new concerns about a slump in demand because of heavy rainfall in China, has resulted in the end of the iron ore price rally. There has also been pressure from tight steel spreads, with the operating margins for Chinese steel mills shrinking...Read More