Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Italy declined slightly in the week to Wednesday July 21 due to lower slab costs and mills' needs to book more orders, sources told Fastmarkets.Competitive import offers have also contributed to the softening of domestic prices.Southern EuropeOfficial offers for plate from Italian re-rollers have been heard at ?,?980-1,000 ($1,155-1,178) per tonne ex-works....Read More

The U.S. Dollar recently corrected upward but now appears ready to continue its move downward and this should light a fire under the price of Silver and see it undergo a 30-day run to around $38 per troy ounce as illustrated in the chart below.  ConclusionThere is a regular cycle for Silver to rise that starts now and extends until August 11th. The last time that Silver entered that cycle was...Read More

The latest FOMC minutes were… mixed. The discussion between hawks and doves continues giving gold no comfort. Who will gain the upper hand?Yesterday, the FOMC published the minutes from its last meeting in June. Investors who counted on some clear clues are probably disappointed, as the minutes can please both hawks and doves. Indeed, the report showed that the Fed officials are divided on...Read More

With the FED increasingly hawkish andthe USDX rising from the ashes, don’t be fooled by the recent upswing in gold.The bears are getting ready.With the reflation trade getting cut offat the knees, the only asset class not feeling the pain is U.S. equities.However, while shorts capitulate and send the U.S. 10-Year Treasury higher (andthe yield lower), the flattening of the U.S. yield curve sc...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly stable on Wednesday July 21, with minimal reaction to China's announcement to sell more state reserve metal during the day. The three-month zinc price closed 1.1% lower than the previous day at $2,929 per tonne, while the three-month aluminium price was down 0.5% to close at $2,453.5 per tonne from a day ago,...Read More

Peter Krauth of Silver Stock Investor delves into the silver market and discusses why it "looks primed to rally strongly on the back of multiple drivers."Transitory. That's something we've been hearing a lot lately.At its latest FOMC meeting the Fed naturally decided to keep the fed funds rate target at 0.25%. It also decided not to mess with the $120 billion monthly bond buying program...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 21 that are worth another look.Flat steel sales from Brazilian distributors increased by 3.3% year on year in June; volumes began to stabilize after strong growth in the first half of 2021, flat steel distributors...Read More

S&P 500 closed Friday on a strong note, and as theholiday-shortened week is usually accompanied by positive seasonality, it wouldbe reasonable to expect extension of gains. Is therre any show stopper at themoment? Credit markets are strong and in a risk-on mode – but what about theodd strength in long-dated Treasuries? Are the stock traders getting it right –or the bond ones? Remem...Read More

The gold miners’ 2021 gains prompted astanding ovation among investors. However, they didn’t notice a magic trickuntil everything vanished.TheGold Miners After the HUI Index plunged by more than 10% and made all of its 2021 gainsdisappear, the magic trick left investors in a state of shock. But while Mr.Market still hasn’t sawed the HUI Index in half, the illusionist is likelygea...Read More

Gold and silver bulls attempted to start a rally last week, but prices were capped by astrengthening U.S. Dollar Index. The buck has been advancing strongly against foreigncurrencies over the past month. Currency traders are encouraged by the FederalReserve’s apparent plans to taper asset purchases and begin raising interestrates way out in 2023. Dollar buyers also seem convinced that the re...Read More

Gold, silver, and theirminers’ stocks suffer their weakest seasonals of the year in early summers.  With traders’ attention normally diverted to vacationsand summer fun, interest in and demand for precious metals usually wane.  Without outsized investment demand, goldtends to drift sideways dragging silver and miners’ stocks with it.  Long feared as the summer dold...Read More

Gold in the age of inflationThe star investment of the fifty-year era and the most reliable store of valueThere has been considerable, and some would say tedious, discussion on the subject of inflation over the past several weeks. The Fed wants it. The markets await it. Investors and consumers worry about it. If it does come, the Fed thinks it will be transitory. Others believe it will persist. T...Read More

While we might see a small uptick ingold prices soon, it’s not likely to last long. We should be prepared to openour parachutes any time now.The decline in gold continues, and whilewe might see a small pop-up higher here, it’s unlikely to last. And why couldgold move slightly higher and correct the recent declines? Because it has just reached the risingsupport line based on its previou...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly stable on Wednesday July 21, with minimal reaction to China's announcement to sell more state reserve metal during the day. The three-month zinc price closed 1.1% lower than the previous day at $2,929 per tonne, while the three-month aluminium price was down 0.5% to close at $2,453.5 per tonne from a day ago,...Read More

Iron ore prices fell on Wednesday July 21 due to steel production cuts in some Chinese provinces for the second half of 2021, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.79 per tonne,down $6.25 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $216.17 per tonne,down $6.85 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $176.44 per tonne,down $5.83 per tonne65% Fe...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices stayed large stable in both the cfr and fob market on Wednesday July 21 because buying interest is weak facing the elevated offers, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $211.08 per tonne, down $0.19 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $309.31 per tonne, up $0.20 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $178.42 pe...Read More

RAPAPORT... Costco Wholesale and Tiffany & Co. have finally laid to rest an eight-year legal dispute over alleged trademark infringement and counterfeiting."The parties have amicably resolved their dispute," Costco's attorney, David Bernstein, told Rapaport News Tuesday. Bernstein declined to provide any further details of the settlement, which was dismissed with prejudice July 19. That means...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers has appointed C?(C)line Assimon as head of both De Beers Jewellers and De Beers Forevermark, furthering the company's efforts to streamline its retail activities.Assimon, who joined as CEO of De Beers Jewellers last September, will take on the same role at Forevermark, De Beers said Wednesday. She will succeed Nancy Liu on September 5.The merging of the two positions foll...Read More

RAPAPORT... The board of the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) has elected Arnon Juwal as its third chairman in three years.The IDI, which works to promote the country's diamond sector, tapped Juwal to serve a three-year term following Yoram Dvash's resignation last week, it said Tuesday. Dvash took over the role in November after Boaz Moldawsky, who started in 2019, left to head the Israel Diamond E...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has identified a laboratory-grown ruby filled with lead glass - a rare phenomenon, as the trade mostly uses this method to improve natural stones.The transparent to semitransparent, oval mixed-cut piece weighing 3.53 carats was submitted to the GIA's lab in Carlsbad, California. Examination under a microscope showed it contained a network...Read More