By: Ira EpsteinGold monthly is favorable, momentum and bias is up. For the week, gold had a higher weekly close. It was a strange week..Read More

Fireside ChatRapid FireFireworks ShowSome Final ThoughtsScars from the Great DepressionThe history of humanity, at least as taught in most schools, is really about two seemingly opposite forces: human innovation and human conflict. The same intelligence that lets us accomplish great things also sets us against each other. But sometimes, we rise above it.Last week I saw on Twitter (where you shou...Read More

The premium for direct-reduced (DR) iron ore pellet for the second quarter of 2020 remained provisional, and suppliers were unlikely to revise it downward retrospectively in the way that had been expected, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' assessment of the iron ore DR-grade pellet premium to 65% Fe fines index, Middle East reference, was $31 per tonne on Friday May 29, up by $1 per tonne month o...Read More

The European Commission (EC) plans to replace general annual quotas for hot-rolled coil with quarterly country-specific quotas and introduce some other strict measures to existing safeguard restrictions against imported steel, Fastmarkets understands.The EC sent a notice listing the changes to the World Trade Organization on May 29. The EC initiated a second review of the existing safeguard measur...Read More

Fastmarkets is proposing to extend the delivery window for its aluminium P1020A (MJP) spot premium, cif Japan. The current methodology reflects cargoes sold on a cif basis for delivery to the main Japanese ports of Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka within four weeks from the date of the transaction. Fastmarkets invites comment from market participants to determine whether extending the delivery window to...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 1 that are worth another look.Mining company Rio Tinto has apologized for destroying one of Australia's oldest Aboriginal heritage sites in order to expand an iron ore project and said that it was urgently reviewing plans at other sites in the Juukan Gorge area.Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro and battery cell maker Northvolt hav...Read More

Powell gave a much-awaited speech yesterday, in which he sent one bearish and two bullish messages for gold. What exactly did he say and what does it mean for the yellow metal?Powell Sends One Bearish and Two Bullish Messages for GoldJerome Powell gave a speech yesterday at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The Fed Chair acknowledged the unprecedented depth of the coronavirus cri...Read More

The precious metals market did almost nothingyesterday, and consequently we have relatively little to comment on today.There are two subtly bearish signs that we would like to feature, nonetheless.The first subtly bearish sign is the change in theway the USD Index “topped” this month. In early April, and then in late April,the USDX reversed close to the 101 level and then moved lower i...Read More

Technical expert Clive Maund explains why he believes gold and silver are powering up for a stratospheric advance.The deflation and depression is right here, right now, and if you don't believe that, try asking some of the 30 million people who just lost their jobs in the U.S., or those who (used to) work in the catering and tourism industries.The Federal Reserve is reacting to this situation by w...Read More

Technical analyst Clive Maund explains why he's bullish on silver. The way you see silver now depends on whether you see a glass that is half empty or half full. If you are a pessimist by nature you will be grumbling about its underperformance relative to gold up to this point, but if you are an optimist, as we certainly are with regards to silver, you will see it as maintaining the opportunity to...Read More

April job report shows a terrible US labor market. Coronavirus destroyed 20.5 million jobs, pushing the unemployment rate to almost 15 percent. How far does the number reflect reality – and what does it actually mean for the gold market?Apocalypse in the US Labor Market 14.7 percent. Remember this value well, as it will go down in history. This is the official US unemployment rate for April...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday June 1, needing only a further slight push to rise above $5,500 per tonne - a level it has not breached since March 11 - while a smaller-than-expected fall in US monthly construction spending also supported the base-metals complex.Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $5,484 per tonne on...Read More

Over the last 50 years there have virtuallybeen no significant Silver rallies during a period when the US Dollar index hasbeen rising.If you are betting on a massive Silver rallywhile US dollar strength continues, then you have a very low probability ofsuccess. Similarly, if you bet on a massive Silver rally while the US dollarcontinues a long decline, then you have a great chance of success.So, f...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has formally canceled this year's LME Week, which was due to take place in London later this year, "due to the Covid-19 pandemic."All of its official events related to the annual gathering will not happen this year, the exchange said in a notice to members on Monday June 1."In the interests of ensuring the safety of all attendees from across the metals industry, the LME h...Read More

The recent volatility inmost markets was really extreme, which means that it was easy to lose focus onthe things that matter the most in case of the gold market. It was relativelyeasy to keep one’s focus as far as the fundamental outlook for gold isconcerned – it’s quite obvious that the economies around the world are in deeptrouble and that the various QEs and money-printing mec...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices mostly decreased on Monday June 1 after the surge on Friday May 29, with market participants waiting for a clear trend. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $100.45 per tonne, down $1.94 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $103.89 per tonne, down $1.11 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $91.93 per tonne, up $4.63 per to...Read More

What it cannot do is cure the virus.  What it could do, however, according to a good many analysts, is act as an effective hedge against its economic consequences. Since the beginning of the year through April, the metal was up 11.73% during probably the worst period in economic history since the 1930s Great Depression. Below we chronicle what top experts have to say about gold in the year of...Read More

Tonight I would like to focus in on silver which remains one of the best bargains in the PM complex right now. When I first became acquainted with the PM complex back in early 2002 I learned quickly that just because gold may have had a good rally sometimes the PM stocks move very little which was confusing to me as I thought they should move in tandem. Then there were other times when the PM stoc...Read More

For many years now, metals traders and enthusiasts have been patiently waiting for the move in Silver that we feel its eventually going to happen.  There is almost a ritual process in the metals market that takes place when a crisis happens.  We’ve written about this in a past article and we’ve highlighted how we believe Silver is one of the absolute best opportunities if/onc...Read More

The battle between Elliott waves and supply/demand forecasting approach continues In case you just landed on Earth via Martian spaceship, 2020 has seen the biggest crash in oil prices ever.This chart captures crude's three-month, 80%-plus nosedive to 3-decade lows. (Price data as of May 1, 2020 and does not reflect the unprecedented April 20 plunge into negative territory at -$40.32. Yes, minus $...Read More