Domestic steel rebar prices in Poland declined again this week on slower market demand, sources told Fasmarkets on Friday May 15.Buying activity in the Polish rebar market was reported to be slow this week, with trading companies shunning purchases due to payment issues, sources said."Insurance companies are reducing credit lines, which could cause additional big problems to everybody. May seems t...Read More

Domestic demand for rebar in China increased on Friday May 15, but prices remained unchanged with sellers being under pressure to destock. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,460-3,490 yuan ($487-492) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,420-3,460 yuan per tonne, down by 30-40 yuan per tonneEnd users raised their procurement rates ahead of the weekend, but the heigh...Read More

A diversified portfolio may well prove to be a winning ticket for metals and mining companies during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the former chief executive officer of Rio Tinto. This is in stark contrast to the global financial crisis of 2008-09, when an across-the-board hit to demand broadly left diversified miners in the same position as pure-play operators, Tom Albanese said. "When the...Read More

The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to lead to another casualty: the mega mine. The volatility created by crises like Covid-19 is adding a layer of uncertainty to the development of large-scale projects that take a decade or more to progress and are highly capital intensive, according to Tom Albanese, the former chief executive officer of Rio Tinto.This means that mining projects are likely to be deve...Read More

By Mike GleasonGold and silver markets are inching closer to achieving major upside breakouts.On Thursday, gold rallied above a near-term consolidation pattern to close at $1,747 an ounce. That put the monetary metal about $30 away from making new highs for the year. As of this Friday recording, gold prices are marching higher again and come in at $1,761, up 2.5% for the week.Turning to silver,...Read More

Gold COT Report - Futures Large SpeculatorsCommercialTotal LongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort 277,77134,94335,158126,023404,556438,952474,657 Change from Prior Reporting Period 2,2009,376-4,8525,9782,8753,3267,399 Traders 20445825556290158 Small Speculators LongShortOpen Interest 57,78722,082496,739 3,070-1,0036,396 non reportable positionsChange...Read More

By Gary TanashianSo here we are, with the sector leading the recovery out of the March crash during still-deflationary times. Inflation? It is not yet anywhere to be found, and that probably has a lot of inflation-centric would-be gold boosters on the sidelines. Someday, when these ladies are in full cheer with inflation signals rising, it will be time for caution.Meanwhile, for years we have st...Read More

No Place to Hide: How Market Manipulation in the Age of Pandemic is Destroying Traditional Safe HavensBy Neil VowlesUniversity of Sussex, Brighton, England, UKThursday, May 14, 2020http://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/52005The coronavirus pandemic has created enormous volatility in global financial markets but prices of safe-haven assets such as gold and bitcoin are not surging as one might ex...Read More

The major gold miners' stocks have rallied dramatically out of mid-March's stock-panic lows, soaring to new bull-market highs. Their just-reported Q1'20 operational and financial results reveal whether today's higher gold-stock prices are fundamentally justified. They also illuminate whether this gold-stock upleg is likely to continue powering higher, despite the catastrophic economic damage...Read More

By: Ira EpsteinGold is thrusting higher and now looking at prior highs, watch these key resistance and breakout levels. Read More

Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Italy have jumped over the past month due to low scrap collection in Europe, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 15.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap, No E8 (thin new production steel scrap), domestic, delivered mill Italy was ?,?240-250 ($259-270) per tonne on May 15, up from ?,?210-230 per tonne in the middle of April. The assessment is...Read More

Export prices of Brazil-origin slab increased week on week amid recent deals and offers to China as well as increased raw material costs.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil at $335-350 per tonne on Friday May 15, up by $5 from $330-345 per tonne the week previous.Chinese customers recently purchased material, sources said, with deals being heard at a minimum...Read More

Domestic demand for rebar in China increased on Friday May 15, but prices remained unchanged with sellers being under pressure to destock. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,460-3,490 yuan ($487-492) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,420-3,460 yuan per tonne, down by 30-40 yuan per tonneEnd users raised their procurement rates ahead of the weekend, but the heigh...Read More

Steady demand from China continued to prop up prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 15. Market participants said China remained the preferred destination for suppliers due to their ability to pay higher prices and book larger cargoes than Southeast Asian re-rollers. Demand in Southeast Asia remained sluggish due to restrictions im...Read More

1...The Gold and Silver mining and exploration stocks are among the most undervalued of all the investment sectors... the mining and exploration stocks have been and will be the focus for the next several years.. ..............2...Know well that if after our analysis we choose to invest in for example forty precious metals companies even after in-depth analysis, generally at least half fail. Howev...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the session ended Friday May 15.China The UG2 chrome ore market rose once again after Chinese alloy producers with low stocks accepted higher offers. Import charge chrome prices moved up on supply tightness affecting availability. Domestic ferro-chrome spot prices climbed up on bullish sentiment following increases in...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the session ended Friday May 15.China Domestic prices remained stable in an active spot market, with sentiment strengthening after the majority of steel mills raised their tender prices for May deliveries. Hesteel, China's second-largest...Read More

China's crude steel output was largely flat in April, but finished steel production significantly increased to exceed 100 million tonnes, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday May 15.Steel outputAprilCrude steel: 85.03 million tonnes, up by 0.2% from a year earlier and up by 7.7% month on monthHot metal: 72.02 million tonnes, down 1.2%...Read More

Wall Street's "fear gauge," the VIX, enjoyed its best week since mid-MarchA big comeback for the retail sector -- despite this morning's devastating data -- just barely saved the Dow today. The blue-chip index capped off a week of dramatic dips 60 points north of the breakeven. The S&P, also turned its luck around during the 11th hour, ending with a shallow gain, while the Nasdaq also enjoyed a m...Read More

Many gold stocks have climbed amid the broad-market volatilityOne name that has brushed off the broad market sell-off this week is Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (NYSE:WPM), sporting a 5% weekly gain even despite a downgrade to "sector perform" from "outperform" from RBC. Although one analyst has moved to the sidelines, data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White suggests WPM is...Read More