Why does the Justice Department throw traders under the bus and go along with the charade that senior management saw, heard, and knew nothing?by Ted Butler of Butler Research via Silver SeekA Genuine DilemmaYet another former precious metals trader from JPMorgan has been indicted for spoofing and price manipulation by the US Department of Justice. Between all the criminal guilty pleas and in...Read More

"...their negative impact on silver demand, has been mitigated by higher silver loadings, especially in the all-important..."(Silver Doctors Editors) The The Silver Institute just released their Metals Focus Interim Silver Market Review.The review is titled Silver to remain in a small surplus in 2019, but improving investor sentiment will help drive the price higher.On interesting thing to note i...Read More

Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More

The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More

Turkish steel producers have held back from the deep-sea scrap market for a day and made no bookings, although prices remained steady, sources said on Thursday November 21.The mills booked five deep-sea scrap cargoes last week, totaling 180,000 tonnes, but have now slowed down their purchases. Only two deep-sea cargoes have been booked so far this week, totaling 62,500 tonnes.The main problem for...Read More

The benchmark fob Australia alumina price stabilized around $278 per tonne on Thursday November 21 during a low-liquidity week. Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $278.65 per tonne on Thursday, little changed from $278.86 per tonne on the previous day - and down from $281.10 a week earlier.  Key drivers Alumina prices remained rangebound this week, wi...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday November 21 that are worth another look.Chinese stainless steel prices dived over the past week amid a sustained downtrend for nickel futures on the London Metal Exchange.Press Metal, the largest aluminium producer in Southeast Asia, has finalized a shareholder agreement with Bintan Alumina Indonesia (BAI) for 25% of the compan...Read More

Both primary and secondary aluminium will be required to meet demand in a low-carbon economy, Russian producer UC Rusal's head of marketing, Jerome Lucaes, said at Fastmarkets' International Recycled Aluminium Conference in Hamburg on Wednesday November 13."The aluminium industry is like a beast with two legs - one leg is primary aluminium and the other leg is secondary," Lucaes said.Secondary alu...Read More

The macro-induced downtrend in primary and secondary aluminium prices is a temporary market set-up, according to bullish delegates at Fastmarkets' International Recycled Aluminium Conference in Hamburg on November 12-14. "There is kind of a bearish sentiment that is related to global recessions, dips in the London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price and Chinese scrap import news," Russian a...Read More

Press Metal, the largest aluminium producer in Southeast Asia, has finalized a shareholder agreement with Bintan Alumina Indonesia (BAI) for 25% of the company, which will allow the former to "secure a long-term supply of alumina." Press Metal has invested 3.07 billion yuan ($437.03 million) in BAI, with the funding going toward a second phase of the Indonesia-based alumina project to double capac...Read More

Copper and cobalt producer Katanga Mining has appointed Mark Davis as its chief executive officer, effective November 19, replacing Jeff Gerard.Davis also assumes Gerard's seat on the company's board of directors, the company said...Read More

The European Commission (EC) has approved the acquisition of Evraz Palini & Bertoli, currently owned by Russia's Evraz, by re-roller Marcegaglia Plates, the EC said on Wednesday November 20.Evraz Palini & Bertoli and Marcegaglia Plates are both located in Italy and re-roll heavy plate from imported steel slab.The EC concluded, under its EU Merger Regulation, that the...Read More

US domestic rebar prices declined further in the two weeks to Wednesday November 20, falling to their lowest since early January 2018, while import prices narrowed downward slightly in the same comparison.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US declined to $29.25-30.25 per hundredweight ($585-605 per short ton) on November 20, down by 0.8% from $29.75-30.25 per cwt p...Read More

Brazil's apparent steel use in October reversed a four-month run of declines, led by shipments of long steel products, with new orders for rebar in particular picking up in the country since late in the third quarter and import volumes soaring during the month.Steel consumption in October totaled 1.8 million tonnes, which was a 1.5% year-on-year increase from 1.77 million tonnes, national steelmak...Read More

Domestic and export prices for steel billet in Turkey have remained stable over the past week, but demand for the material was weakening, sources said on Thursday November 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, domestic, exw Turkey, was $400-405 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged week on week.Only one Turkish steel mill was heard buying billet at $400 per tonne ex-works this week....Read More

Domestic rebar and wire rod prices in the Turkish market remained fairly stable over the past week despite firming scrap prices, sources said on Thursday November 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey was 2,870-2,880 Turkish lira ($503-505) per tonne including 18% VAT on Thursday, compared with the last week's 2,850-2,900 Turkish lira.The do...Read More

Prices for steel rebar and billet in Egypt continued to rise in the week ended Thursday November 21, with strong demand for rebar in the country, sources told Fastmarkets.Egyptian rebar producers were offering material at E ?9,850-10,370 ($611-643) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT, up from last week's E ?9,600-10,370 per tonne ex-works including VAT.Some Egyptian...Read More

Market sentiment improves as focus shifts to retail aheadof Thanksgiving weekend. Jewelers preparing Black Friday promotions, withstrong emphasis on e-commerce. Department stores and mall-based retailersoffering heavy online discounts to entice customers. A lot of diamonds out onmemo. Dealers maintaining firm prices for RapSpec A3+ diamonds, with positivetrend in dossiers as reduced manufacturing...Read More

Surat manufacturing backto normal as most workers have returned after Diwali break. Steady rough demandas factories raise polished production. Shortages in select RapSpec A3+ diamondswith no fluorescence. Overseas buyers, mainly from Israel and China, lookingfor SI to I1 goods, with some improvement in 0.30 to 0.50 ct., G-J, VS-SIstones. Local jewelry market relatively slow as wedding season begin...Read More

RAPAPORT... The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) has votedto establish a lab-grown diamond committee that will determine rules for the synthetics sector. The CIBJO board approved the move at the confederation's 2019 congress in Bahrain, which took place from November 18 to 20. The committee will include members of an existing working group that comprises CIBJO officers, as well as representat...Read More