The current situation with Middle Eastern oil producers of low production and low prices is not sustainable according to Warren Pies, chief energy strategist for Ned Davis Research. In a must watch interview for oil patch investors, Pies pictures an oil market that remains under stress despite the recent rally. He also updates his playbook as crude oil demand recovers from its lows. He continues...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Poland resumed their decline over the week to Friday June 5 on pressure from buyers with Covid-19-related uncertainty restraining their trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Sources noted a minor increase in trading activity over the assessment week but this was largely from attempts to destock."Stockists are lowering prices just to get rid of the old stock...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products reported a 50.8% year-on-year drop in shipment volumes in April, Eurometal said on Thursday June 4.In first four months of 2020, shipments of flat steel products by European steel service centers decreased by 18.5% year on year. Eurometal does not disclose product volumes.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe ...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices snapped over a week of increases on Friday June 5 due to heavy rain in the country's southern region and high temperatures in the north sapping demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,600-3,630 yuan ($508-512) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,700-3,730 yuan per tonne, up by 100 yuan per tonneAdverse weather condi...Read More
China continued to show strong demand for pig iron in the week ended Friday June 5, supporting a global uptrend in prices for the raw material.Four cargoes of pig iron with a total volume of at least 180,000 tonnes were bought for the Chinese market from Brazil and the Commonwealth of Independent States during the week.One booking of Russia-origin material was heard at $334 per tonne cfr. Another...Read More
Pig iron exporters in Brazil achieved higher prices in the week to Friday June 5 in deals to China, market sources said. Fastmarkets' assessment of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was unchanged at $295-300 per tonne on Friday, but this week the top end of the range reflects a deal achieved at this price rather than offers last...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom moved up for the second consecutive week on Friday June 5, driving by ongoing tight material availability. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK was ?65-80 ($82-100) per tonne on Friday, up from ?60-70 per tonne on May 29. This is the second wee...Read More
Gold COT Report - Futures Large SpeculatorsCommercialTotal LongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort 272,19653,16237,007108,654365,277417,857455,446 Change from Prior Reporting Period -15,9522,928-2,944-23,323-41,022-42,219-41,038 Traders 20260715556284161 Small Speculators LongShortOpen Interest 57,88820,299475,745 -1,410-2,591-43,629 non reportable pos...Read More
"Well, now that we have seen each other," said the unicorn, "if you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you." - Lewis Carroll, "Through The Looking Glass""The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." - Keyser S?ze, "The Usual Suspects"By: Dave KranzlerThe employment report is a complete fraud. But as long as the market and it's army of mainstream story-tell...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices snapped over a week of increases on Friday June 5 due to heavy rain in the country's southern region and high temperatures in the north sapping demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,600-3,630 yuan ($508-512) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,700-3,730 yuan per tonne, up by 100 yuan per tonneAdverse weather condi...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinGold is in a correction, but strong supports in the $1,600's:Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market climbed over the past week due to robust demand from Chinese importers.Market participants said China's appetite for imported billet returned after domestic steel prices increased in response to costlier iron ore and production cuts in the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr Southeast...Read More
Import prices of steel billet in China have risen to the $400-per-tonne-cfr mark this week on steady demand amid a domestic market strengthened by restrictions imposed on blast furnaces in the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan.Local authorities in Tangshan, in northern China's Hebei province, have instructed mills to cut their blast furnace production rates by 20-50% in June to improve air qua...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday June 5.China The domestic market has stabilized while immediate availability of material has continued to be tight. The export market was unchanged, with an absence of trading activity....Read More
European monthly stainless steel alloy surcharges have increased significantly for June but there has been no corresponding increase in transaction prices following their fall at the end of May, Fastmarkets heard on Friday June 5.Fastmarkets' calculation for June of the stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm grade 304, alloy surcharge domestic, Europe, was ?,?1,329-1,363 ($1,497-1,535) per tonne,...Read More
Vehicle production increased in Latin America during May, when compared with the all-time lows reported in April, but continued to represent a sharp year-on-year decrease while most plants remained closed or are just starting to reopen following Covid-related halts.Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are the region's top auto producing countries, Fastmarkets understands.MexicoMexican light vehicle output...Read More
The Nasdaq hit a new record highStocks rallied to round out the week, thanks to an uplifting jobs report which shed light on the 2.5 million jobs that were added last month -- the largest gain on record. That report did much to fuel hopes of the beginning of economic recovery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Of the three major indexes, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was the one most investors had...Read More
Investors weighed a mixed bag of jobs data The U.S. faced a tumultuous week as the country quickly turned its attention from U.S.-China relations to civil unrest, as protests against police brutality began in all fifty states following the death of George Floyd. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are all working toward a third straight w...Read More
Stitch Fix's fiscal third-quarter earnings are due out on MondayThe shares of online style service Stitch Fix Inc. (NASDAQ:SFIX) are up 1.4% at $25.50, ahead of the company's fiscal third-quarter earnings report, which is due out after the close on Monday, June 8. SFIX is pacing for a five-day win streak, though pressure at its year-to-date breakeven level is keeping this rally in check.More broad...Read More