By: Ira EpsteinI am bullish gold, but don't want $1,463 taken out. We are above 18-dma, $1,499.60 resistance area:Read More

There will be short covering and subsequent buildup of long positions if gold and silver rise today and tomorrow. There was no surprises in FOMC meet. Now the focus will shift to European central bank meeting, impeachment news related to Trump and UK elections and the key trade deal. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the economic outlook for the U.S. was favorable as the central bank announced its...Read More

China's spot silico-manganese price rose in the week ended Friday December 6 and has maintained the upward momentum so far this week after some alloy smelters raised their offers amid an increase in futures prices and growing buying interest from mills and traders. Fastmarkets assessed the price of silico-manganese, 65% Mn min, max 17% Si, in-whs China at 5,700-5,800 yuan ($810-824) per tonne on D...Read More

Cobalt sulfate prices in China have held for the second consecutive pricing session, with the majority of producers holding their quotations firm amid high raw materials costs. Fastmarkets' assessment for Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, stood unchanged at 42,000-45,000 yuan ($5,973-6,400) per tonne on Wednesday December 12 from its previous assessment. The price has dropped 28.7% si...Read More

A string of long-term deals for cobalt hydroxide show that bullish forecasts for cobalt consumption from the electric vehicle (EV) sector are coming into play. Glencore will supply battery manufacturer SK Innovation with up to 30,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide over six years, it said last week - a deal worth about $1 billion in today's market. And other deals also point...Read More

UK suppliers of steel scrap to domestic consumers in the steel sector have gained another round of price increases for monthly settlements, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday December 12.December contracts were up ?10 ($13) per tonne after increasing by ?15 per tonne in November, they said.The move marks a change in the downward trend of September and October when prices fell by a combined ?6...Read More

Turkish steel producers have resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases after a short break for negotiations, sources said on Thursday December 12.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a 40,000-tonne US cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $297 per tonne, shredded at $302 per tonne and bonus at $307 per tonne cfr.A steel producer in the Iskenderun region booked a 30,000-tonne Baltic Sea cargo of H...Read More

There's a crisis in the metals market that's been developing for the past several years that is so unnerving, it recently caught the attention of many of billionaires, big tech corporations like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, and members of the highest levels of the U.S. government.To be honest, much of it went unnoticed by the mainstream media and investing public. And I'm not surprised. T...Read More

China's output and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) fell again on an annual comparison in November 2019 following its first negative growth in July.China produced 110,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including pure electric vehicles (PEVs) and plug-in hybrids, in November 2019. This is down by 36.9% from November 2018, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacture...Read More

The United States' flat-rolled import market is mixed, with prices for imported hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil and galvanized sheet inching up while those for plate are steady - although the material from abroad has failed to entice domestic buyers."Imports, just forget it. [Hot-rolled coil from Mexico] isn't attractive at all, it's pretty much the domestic price," a US steel distributor source...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been largely unchanged day on day and sentiment in the market remains positive, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday December 12.Domestic prices have been supported by combination of reduced output from European mills, a lack of competitive import offers and some demand recovery.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, ex-...Read More

Fastmarkets is proposing to change the publication date of its Brazilian domestic steel price assessments, ex-works Brazil, reais per tonne.The proposal would shift publication of Brazilian domestic flat steel and rebar price assessments from the first Friday of each month to the second Friday of each month, allowing Fastmarkets to capture price changes more quickly and accurately.After receiving...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday December 12 that are worth another look.Middle Eastern steel producers need to diversify their product lines to survive weakening demand in the region, according to Saeed Ghumran Al-Remeithi, the chief executive officer of the United Arab Emirates' biggest steelmaker, Emirates Steel.China's domestic stainless steel prices dropp...Read More

Fastmarkets is proposing to change the publication date of its Brazilian domestic steel price assessments, ex-works Brazil, reais per tonne.The proposal would shift publication of Brazilian domestic flat steel and rebar price assessments from the first Friday of each month to the second Friday of each month, allowing Fastmarkets to capture price changes more quickly and accurately.After receiving...Read More

Turkish long steel export prices continued to increase over the past week in response to rising imported scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday December 12. However, demand remains limited in the country's major export destinations, they added.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) export, fob main port Turkey was $435-440 per tonne on Thu...Read More

UK suppliers of steel scrap to domestic consumers in the steel sector have gained another round of price increases for monthly settlements, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday December 12.December contracts were up ?10 ($13) per tonne after increasing by ?15 per tonne in November, they said.The move marks a change in the downward trend of September and October when prices fell by a combined ?6...Read More

By: Dave KranzlerTo the extent that some analysts reject the Fed/Wall St/Perma-Bull narrative that the Fed's repo operation is needed to address "temporary" liquidity issues or was caused by the newer regulatory constraints, the only explanation offered up is that the financial system's "plumbing" is malfunctioning. But there has to be an underlying cause......The underlying cause is abject de...Read More

- Gary Christenson, The Deviant InvestorBubbles, like a cocaine high, are fun while they last. History confirms that bubbles and cocaine are enjoyable, because central banks blow many bubbles and the U.S. imports a large quantity of cocaine.Bubbles are fun, but they extract a price. There is no free lunch.Examples:2019: The Everything Bubble.It hasn't crashed yet, but there are many bubble pi...Read More

- Jordan Roy-Byrne CMT, MFTAIf you follow our work, you are aware of our growing optimism on gold stocks in 2020.As we've written, the fundamental setup in 2020 should be bullish for precious metals.Meanwhile, the technical setup for gold stocks is one of the best we've ever seen. Gold stocks (and GDX specifically) are consolidating in a bullish fashion within a nearly 7-year long base that,...Read More

Gold's post breakout reaction back from its early September peak has evolved into a steady downtrend as we can see on its 6-month chart below. The approach of the rising 200-day moving average below suggests that this reactive downtrend will have run its course before much longer leading to a second upleg. However, gold's COTs have shown no improvement as this downtrend has unfolded, which is a...Read More