South American flat steel import prices either rose or held firm during the week ended Friday January 31, while the absence of China from the market drove customers to look for materials from other origins.The Chinese government postponed the country's return from the lunar new year holiday to February 3, from January 31 originally, amid the outbreak of a coronavirus in Wuhan. Shanghai has extende...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have increased day on day due to mills' good order books and a lack of competitive imports, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 31.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe was ?,?474.02 ($522.46) per tonne on Friday January 31, up by ?,?6.45 per tonne day on day from ?,?467.57 per tonne on Janua...Read More
Yesterday, I reviewed Wednesday's Fed rate decision and press conference with Jim Goddard on HoweStreet.com. Key topics included the positive outlook for gold, the USMCA opportunity for contrarians, the role the Fed seems to be playing in financing the US deficit, and a big potential policy shift in H1 that could have big implications for Canadian stocks.We started the show by talking about gold...Read More
Indian steel producers were likely to increase their prices for hot-rolled coil by at least 1,000 rupees ($14) per tonne for February sales to take account of rises in the costs of raw materials such as iron ore, Fastmarkets has heard.HRC prices for the current week, however, remained unchanged on Friday January 31 because February prices were likely to be announced early next week.The price of st...Read More
Just as China and the United States started to reach a deal and trade tensions eased, providing some longed-for certainty, the novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) has again increased fear and uncertainty in the steel and feedstock markets.Although there may be no impact of the coronavirus on China's GDP in the long run, we have already passed the point of "no effect" on the market, as raw material price...Read More
Polish domestic rebar prices moved up over the week due to improved demand, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday, January 31.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, ex-works Poland, rose to 2,150-2,200 zloty ($553-563) per tonne on Friday January 31 from 2,050-2,200 zloty...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the UK dropped in the week ended Friday January 31, with British domestic prices dragged down by persistent weakness in the European export market to key buyers in Turkey and the Indian subcontinent, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, w...Read More
The price of austenitic alloy steel scrap in the UK domestic market decreased this week because of lower nickel costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 31. Fastmarkets' price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, domestic, delivered merchants UK, was ?750-780 ($979-1,018) per tonne on Friday, down by ?20-30 per tonne from ?780-800...Read More
The price of ferrous scrap imported into India dropped again in the week ended Friday January 31, while trading activity paused following a mid-week drop in international scrap prices, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' calculation of the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $291.99 per tonne on Friday, down from $296.51 per tonne on January 24, marking the thi...Read More
Gold COT Report - Futures Large SpeculatorsCommercialTotal LongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort 376,40146,30986,056192,300553,114654,757685,479 Change from Prior Reporting Period 1,608-10,789-55,418-20,145-11,234-73,955-77,441 Traders 22856825857311180 Small Speculators LongShortOpen Interest 60,78230,060715,539 -4,335-849-78,290 non reportable posi...Read More
The US stock markets dramatically surged mostly in a straight line since mid-October. This extraordinary rally started when the Federal Reserve announced it would resume expanding its balance sheet for the first time in years. The deluge of new liquidity from that quantitative-easing bond buying has again acted like rocket fuel for stock markets. After shooting vertically they are in real...Read More
David SmithIn late December 2019, a bill from the German finance ministry - which had passed the lower legislative house - proposed lowering the "anonymous purchase limit" for precious metals from EUR10,000 to EUR2,000 (about $2,200), a reduction of 80%.At the current price, one could buy less than one and one-half troy ounces of gold without activating customer ID paperwork, and for businesses...Read More
Steve St. Angelo, SRSrocco Report The majority of precious metals investors do not understand the important fundamental factor to acquire and hold gold and silver. While most precious metals analysts promote investing in gold and silver due to the highly leveraged money supply, debt, and derivatives, they fail to warn about the "Energy Impact Factor." In my newest video update, The Amazing...Read More
By: Robert LambourneSince May 2019 the Bank for International Settlements, which represents most central banks, has increased its use of gold swaps and other gold-related derivatives from an estimated 78 tonnes to an estimated 313 tonnes as of December 2019.The bank's total gold swaps and derivatives stood at 250 tonnes in November 2019.The BIS uses gold swaps and other gold derivatives to gain...Read More
Dave KranzlerThe total US market valuation at $33.9 trillion is 157.4% of the last reported GDP. It's the highest market valuation ever. The more the policy-makers try to pump and jawbone the market higher, the worse the consequences will be on the downside when the rug is pulled out from under stocks. The trigger could be anything. Eventually the market will acknowledge and accept the fact th...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinGold higher lows and higher highs. $1,567.90 key short-term support. 18-dma at $1,568+Read More
To Watch Update #8, CLICK HERE As Chris says in the video: this is an alert we'd hoped not to have to deliver. A new study coming out of China reports that the Wuhan coronavirus has an Ro of 4.1. That means it's much more contagious than previously feared. If indeed the case, an Ro of 4.1 means there is NO way of stopping this virus from becoming a full-blown global pandemic. This study has not y...Read More
Eric Sprott discusses the impact the coronavirus will have on the global economy and how this will drive gold and silver prices in the weeks and months ahead.Eric Sprott has more than 40 years of experience in the investment industry. In 1981, he founded Sprott Securities (now called Cormark Securities Inc.), which today is one of Canada's largest independently owned securities firms. In 2001, Eri...Read More
To Watch Update #8, CLICK HERE Thursday the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) declared that the Wuhan coronavirus is indeed now a pandemic. Scary news, right? Well...not if you kept listening. The W.H.O. then proceeded to downplay the risk to public health and took pains to make it clear it doesn't recommend placing restrictions on global trade & travel at this time.What?!? When we may be in dea...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, the United States and Asia for the week ending Friday January 31. Europe The high-carbon ferro-chrome market ticked up with demand continuing to recover and contract customers increasing their tonnages, according to some producers. But there were also reports of...Read More