Inflation surged in May, and some worry that it has already reached its peak. Has it indeed? This issue is key for the Fed and the gold market.Inflation has soared recently. The CPI annual rate surged 5% in May, which was the fastest jump since the Great Recession. However, the Fed officials still maintain that inflation will only be temporary. Some of the analysts even claim that inflation has al...Read More

The CPI surged 5.4% in June, but Powell still sees inflation as transitory. For now, gold has risen under the dovish Fed’s wing amid higher inflation.Did you think that 5% was high inflation? Or that inflation has already peaked? Wrong! Inflation rose even further in June, although it was already elevated in May. Indeed, the consumer price index surged 0.9% in the last month, following a 0.6...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday July 20 that are worth another look,Shipments and distribution of steel in Germany have been disrupted by the recent flooding in the country, pushing flat steel producer Thyssenkrupp to declare force majeure, sources told Fastmarkets...Read More

Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry in an open-consultation process on the pricing methodology for its Northern Europe and United States hot-rolled coil indices. The consultation, which began June 16 and ended on Friday July 16, was done as part of its annual methodology review process in compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (Iosco) principles for pri...Read More

Mexican ferrous scrap prices continued to increase over the past week, with steelmakers competing to secure limited material and buyers in the key regions of Monterrey and Baj?-o heard accepting higher prices to keep volumes flowing.Fastmarkets assessed the steel scrap No1 busheling, consumer buying price, delivered mill Monterrey at 12,400 pesos ($622) per tonne on Tuesday July 20, up by 50 pesos...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange performed well on Tuesday July 20, despite strong headwinds from rising coronavirus cases and a strong United States Dollar Index."The sell-off on Monday July 19 across the LME base metals complex was triggered by a set of negative macro dynamics, which spooked global investors," Fastmarkets analyst Andy Farida said. "Risk sentiment turned very negat...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday July 20 that are worth another look,Shipments and distribution of steel in Germany have been disrupted by the recent flooding in the country, pushing flat steel producer Thyssenkrupp to declare force majeure, sources told Fastmarkets...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange performed well on Tuesday July 20, despite strong headwinds from rising coronavirus cases and a strong United States Dollar Index."The sell-off on Monday July 19 across the LME base metals complex was triggered by a set of negative macro dynamics, which spooked global investors," Fastmarkets analyst Andy Farida said. "Risk sentiment turned very negat...Read More

The London Metal Exchange nickel cash price is likely to hit $20,500 per tonne in the third quarter, with strong stainless steel demand and electric vehicle (EV) restocking driving the uptrend, according to analysts at Citi.Despite a sell off across base metals on July 19, Citi Metals Strategist Oliver Nugent told Fastmarkets that nickel fundamentals remain strong for Q3 and that he expects the pr...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices across China's domestic market edged lower on Tuesday July 20 and futures prices fell following Beijing's latest pledge to ensure stable prices for commodities.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,850-5,930 yuan ($903-915) per tonne, down by 20-30 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped to a one-week low of 5,822 yuan per tonne in e...Read More

There will be FIREWORKS in the Silver Market... by Steve St Angelo of SRSrocco ReportWhy did the iShares SLV ETF add so much silver to its inventories yesterday when the price of silver sold off? The iShares SLV ETF added more silver in one day than the combined 4-week net change of several of the other leading Silver ETFs. Also, why has Sprott's PSLV ETF valued declined compared to the silve...Read More

Precious metals markets got absolutely slammed onThursday.  The selling rout followedstatements put out by the Federal Reserve suggesting that tapering and ratehikes could come sooner than previously expected.The U.S. Dollar Index spiked on the Fed’s latest talkingpoints, prompting short sellers in the commodity futures markets to pounce. Copper and most other commodities also got hamme...Read More

Gold declined yesterday, or I shouldsay, it rushed down at breakneck speed. And while it might have been a surprisefor some, it wasn’t for me.However, we should stay alert to anypossible changes, as no market moves in a straight line. Tread carefully.On a side note, while I didn’t check itmyself (well, it’s impossible to read every article out there), based on thecorrespondence I...Read More

Gold had a remarkable 2020, gaining 22% for the calendar year on a “perfect storm” of factors, namely:Torrid safe haven demand driven by fear of the coronavirus and its economic fallout;Record-low sovereign bond yields, with many countries’ bonds actually offering negative returns. There is a strong correlation between the gold price and low yields, particularly the benchmark US...Read More

The US GDP has already recovered from the pandemic recession. What’s next for the economy and the gold market?Ladies and Gentlemen, the economic crisis has ended. Actually, not only is the recession over but so is the recovery! This is at least what the recent GDP readings are indicating. As the chart below shows, the US nominal GDP has already jumped above the pre-pandemic level . The real...Read More

With the CPI annual inflation rate spiking 5% in May, gold could have gained a lot in response. However, it rallied only $20. Should we prepare for more?Whoa! Inflation soared 5% in May – quite a lot for a nonexistent (or transitory) phenomenon! But let’s start from the beginning. The CPI rose 0.6% in May, after increasing 0.8% in April. Meanwhile, the core CPI, which excludes food and...Read More

The halfway point of the year is quicklyapproaching. Dwindling confidence and concern over the direction of the countryalong with rising inflation expectations continue to drive strong demand for physical gold and silver. Thattrend appears set to continue through the second half of 2021.Here are a few big stories with thepotential to drive bullion buying in the months ahead. Federal Reserve May Be...Read More

Gold endured a 20% correction over eight months. A 15% rebound followed that in two months. It has retraced some, but not a majority of the losses.This action is all part of the handle of a super bullish cup and handle pattern.The handle itself is part of a much larger bullish consolidation, but the market is approaching resistance within the handle.Below we plot GDXJ, GDX, Gold, and Silver. As yo...Read More

Inflation is back, and that’s usually depicted as good for gold. But is the yellow metal still a hedge against inflation, or has something changed?Inflation has returned. This is partly understandable. After all, during the Covid recession , consumers and businesses accumulated a lot of cash as their spending was reduced, while revenues were sustained by money transfers from the government....Read More

Fastmarkets has corrected its weekly price assessment for European high-carbon ferro-chrome (60-70% Cr), which was published incorrectly on Tuesday July 20 due to an error in the review process.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for MB-FEC-0004 ferro-chrome, high carbon, 6-8.5% C, basis 60-70% Cr, max 1.5% Si, delivered Europe, should have been $1.34-1.55 per lb Cr but was published as $1.34-1.6...Read More