Industrial metals will be impacted more by the Corona Virus in China. Silver can also be impacted. Industrial metals can sell off and test 2019 lows and even fall below 2019's low if China's Corona Virus becomes an epidemic. Too early to comment. A few hundred people getting diseased by the virus is not an epidemic in the world's populous nation. The next three weeks will be crucial. Chinese int...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday January 22.Key driversPrices in the ferro-titanium and titanium scrap markets were steady in the third week of January, a level the markets have maintained since December 18. The number of deals done over the week were down from the week prior, although suppliers are keen to hold their offer prices against an expected increase in de...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market, while simultaneously trying to secure short-sea material for their urgent needs, sources said on Wednesday January 22.Mills have been quiet in the deep-sea markets since the middle of last week when the prices fell sharply.Prices in the deep-sea scrap markets fell by around $15 per tonne late last week, after a ste...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday January 22.Key driversPrices in the ferro-titanium and titanium scrap markets were steady in the third week of January, a level the markets have maintained since December 18. The number of deals done over the week were down from the week prior, although suppliers are keen to hold their offer prices against an expected increase in de...Read More
A summary of Antofagasta's production and sales results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2019, and full-year production guidance for 2020. The company saw its copper output decrease in the fourth quarter against the corresponding period in 2018, amid protests in Chile, a strike at the Antucoya unit, and lower copper content in ores. Activities at mines were normalized and were now in line w...Read More
Broader markets rebounded in Asia on Wednesday January 22, after Tuesday's coronavirus scare, but the metals look fairly limp ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday - especially copper that also saw London Metal Exchange stocks rise by 33% yesterday.Asian equities are firmer led by a 1.2% rise in the Hang Seng.European equities open firmer too - suggesting virus scare may not be a headwind for now.Ba...Read More
Today is Wednesday, January 22, 2020, and this is your daily gold market update. Let's look at the latest price of gold, value of the dollar, gold/silver ratio, Commitment of Traders data, and exchange-traded fund (ETF) prices to get a sense of how the yellow metal is faring today.Gold PriceThe price of one troy ounce of gold in U.S. dollars today is $1,558.05. It's down -0.04% from yesterday and...Read More
Today is Wednesday, January 22, 2020, and this is your daily oil stocks roundup. Today we're looking at the valuations of World Fuel Services Corporation (NYSE: INT), Archrock (NYSE: AROC), and CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX).World Fuel Services Corporation (NYSE: INT)World Fuel Services Corporation (NYSE: INT) is a $2.682 billion company today with a one-year return of 67.04%. Let's look at...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil increased over the past week in Southern Europe due to a lack of competitive import offers and a slight recovery in demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, ex-works Southern Europe, was ?,?445-460 ($494-510) per tonne on January 22, up by ?,?10 per tonne week on week from...Read More
Say what you will about Elon Musk, but you can't deny the man is ambitious.His mantra seems to be "go big or go home."After revealing his latest plan to put a million people on Mars by 2050 and his dreams of building a fleet of 1,000 starships, even the sky isn't a limit for him.Yet, for all of his galactic ambition, there's one thing he simply cannot shake down here on Earth.I'm talking about a b...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil market continued to be quiet on Wednesday January 22, with participants slowing down or suspending operations before the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday, while concerns have emerged over post-holiday demand due to the spread of a mysterious respiratory virus that has claimed several lives.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,860-3,880 yuan ($559-562) per tonne, unchan...Read More
Global steel trader Stemcor has been sold to China's Cedar Holdings for $150 million, a source with knowledge of the matter told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 22."Once the transaction is completed, Stemcor's banking and finance facilities will increase considerably and its business will grow further," the source said.Cedar Holdings is a privately-owned commodities business headquartered in Guan...Read More
The price of steel rebar in the Northern European domestic market was confirmed at higher levels this week in a delayed reaction to higher scrap prices in December, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 22. Last week a mill claimed to have achieved higher prices with some of its customers, and this week these higher figures were heard across the market. Yet the increases may be short-lived...Read More
Hollow steel sections prices in Europe moved up again this week, with prices for hot-rolled coil feedstock material continuing to rise and EU import quotas moving closer to expiry, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?620-640 ($688-710) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,...Read More
The price of steel H-beams in Northern Europe widened upwards on Wednesday January 22 as mills continued their campaign of price increases, told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?550-580 ($610-644) per tonne on January 22, up from ?,?550-570 per tonne on January 15."Prices have moved up rapidly [and] there could b...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market, while simultaneously trying to secure short-sea material for their urgent needs, sources said on Wednesday January 22.Mills have been quiet in the deep-sea markets since the middle of last week when the prices fell sharply.Prices in the deep-sea scrap markets fell by around $15 per tonne late last week, after a ste...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were rangebound on Wednesday January 22 amid limited overall activity in the market.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.68 per tonne, down $0.12 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $95.72 per tonne, down $0.12 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $97.86 per tonne, up $0.03 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr...Read More
Global steel trader Stemcor has been sold to China's Cedar Holdings for $150 million, a source with knowledge of the matter told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 22."Once the transaction is completed, Stemcor's banking and finance facilities will increase considerably and its business will grow further," the source said.Cedar Holdings is a privately-owned commodities business headquartered in Guan...Read More
Craig HemkeWe've been monitoring and writing about palladium since the price first broke to new all-time highs in 2018. With the chart now seeming to go parabolic and with misunderstanding and misinformation also at all-time highs it seemed a great time to post this update.Let's start by going back to the beginning. Here are links to four palladium-focused posts written in 2019. If you only rea...Read More