Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia widened upwards over the past week as suppliers increased their asking prices amid a sustained uptrend in the price of HRC.But market participants questioned whether these hikes will be accepted by buyers"It is unlikely that re-rollers can accept the hiked prices given the narrow spread with regional HRC prices," a trader in Taiwan said....Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices in the east gained on Monday December 2, with supply remaining short partly due to slow logistics and rising transportation costs.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,720-3,730 yuan ($529-530) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,640 yuan per tonne, unchangedSpot prices gained in Shanghai following futures increases, with a source there...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap for January shipment at steady prices, but at a slower pace, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday December 2.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo late on Friday November 29, comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $272 per tonne and 30,000 tonnes of shredded at $277 per tonne cfr.This was the first US deal since November...Read More

The 62% Fe iron ore market trended lower in November, with prices falling 5.5% month on month, while the 65% price fell 1% from October. Traded volumes in the 65% Fe derivatives contract on the Singapore Exchange, which is settled against Fastmarkets' daily 65% Fe iron ore index, were 2.27 million tonnes in November, the second-highest total since its launch in December 2018. Open interest on Nove...Read More

Domestic ship scrap prices in Turkey increased over the past week in line with rising imported scrap values, sources said on Monday December 2.One steel mill in the Izmir region raised its buy price for ship scrap by $10 per tonne to $275 per tonne delivered, while three fellow mills were buying the same material at $270 per tonne.Read More

Galena provides a leading lightSPONSOREDgalena miningBarely months into his role as head of Codelco, Octavio Araneda faces arguably the greatest challenge the company has confronted in a generation, and one which will see the company pull in the hornsRead More

Iron ore prices advanced on Monday December 2 amid news of less stringent restrictions on steelmakers in China's steel hub of Tangshan.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.45 per tonne, up $0.99 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.54 per tonne, up $0.99 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.32 per tonne, up $1.46 per tonne.58%...Read More

The import pig iron market in the United States became steadily more quiet during the week ended Friday November 29 as buyers completed restocking ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was at $325-326 per tonne on Friday, narrowing downward from $325-327 per tonne a week before. ...Read More

Galena provides a leading lightSPONSOREDgalena miningAriana will focus on Venus' 9.5 million tonne copper-gold-zinc Magellan project, which consists of two deposits at Klirou and Kokkinoyia which could be developed for open pit mining.Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices moved up on Monday December 2, as spot trading activity remained robust. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $137.95 per tonne, up $3.29 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $146.63 per tonne, down $0.67Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $120.70 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $130.25 per tonne, unchanged ....Read More

The demand outlook for the metals has improved now that two of China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ indices (PMI) showed manufacturing was in expansion mode. The state PMI moved back above 50 for the first time in seven months in November. It climbed to 50.2, and was expected to come in at 49.5. The Caixin manufacturing PMI climbed to 51.8 from 51.7 and has now...Read More

Fastmarkets has changed the publication day for its weekly Shanxi-origin, Tangshan-delivered domestic China coking coal price from every Friday to every Monday.The change follows market consultations that started on November 11.The specifications of the price remain unchanged:Price: Hard coking coal domestic China spot market, Shanxi-origin, delivered Tangshan, yuan/tonne Quality: Volatile ma...Read More

Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet prices continued to rise last week, with Chinese steelmakers still favoring higher grade materials given extending profitability.ConcentrateFastmarkets' weekly index for iron ore 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao rose by $3.56 per tonne to $104.11 per tonne on Friday November 29.The daily Fastmarkets index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qin...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 2 points in pre-opening trade. Wells Fargo slipped $0.11 to $54.35 after Raymond James downgraded the stock to Underperform from Market PerformApple gained $0.92 to $268.17 after JP Morgan raised its target price to $296 from $290.Autozone (AZO $1,177.92) is expected to open higher after Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse r...Read More

Dear Rich Lifer,In many parts of the USA, dealing with winter weather is no joke!Whether you're in Ohio or Oregon, the snow, freezing cold, and weeks without seeing the sun can really drag you down.Social occasions also become fewer and farther between because no one wants to go outside in dreadful weather.Not only that, it's a major inconvenience to get around, and living costs, like food, car in...Read More

Dear Reader,I usually prefer focus on investments most people have never heard of. I do this with a strategy I like to call "backdoor" investing.A "backdoor" investment is a publicly traded company that capitalizes on a "big idea" or trend sweeping Silicon Valley. At any given moment, the venture world is filled with thousands of companies at work in almost every sector of business.For instance, w...Read More

Dear Rich Lifer,I love talking about investments that can make you lots of money. But you know what I love even more? Simple strategies that can SAVE you lots of money with very little effort.After all, even the safest investments carry risk. Meanwhile, some money-saving strategies can end up putting a lot more cash in your pockets with absolutely ZERO risk!Take insurance. Two weeks ago I answered...Read More

Fastmarkets will increase the frequency of its benchmark price assessments for standard and alloy-grade cobalt, in-whs Rotterdam, to daily from Monday February 3, 2020.From February 3, Fastmarkets will assess prices for the following two markets on a daily basis: Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb The decision to increase frequency follows an e...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week ended Friday November 30.China  The Chinese silicon 5-5-3 export price increased from previous week even though the market was quiet - the rise reflects tight domestic supply caused by a seasonal production suspension in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and low operating rates at smelters in Xinjiang province.Chinese producers have...Read More

Dear Rich Lifer,Black Friday is the single biggest shopping day of the year and with more people than ever shopping online, security can be a major concern for shoppers.It wasn’t too long ago that we experienced the largest security breach in the history of the Internet.In October 2017, Yahoo! confirmed that 3 billion of its user accounts were hacked.Names, email addresses, telephone numbers...Read More