Ole Hansen12 hours ago (Nov 21, 2019 12:56 PM GMT)The bill drew a rebuke from China and the standoff is likely to complicate discussions about a growth stabilizing trade deal. The markets reacted by sending bond yields and global stocks lower. Adding to the negative sentiment yesterday was the disappointing earnings report from Home Depot, a major U.S. retailer.Crude oil already under pressure dro...Read More
The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange rose by 2.4% against high turnover at the close of trading on Thursday November 21, while lead futures continued their decline over the afternoon. Tin's outright price on the LME closed at $16,400 per tonne up from Wednesday's closing price of $16,020 per tonne, while daily trading volumes were at their highest since November 13 at 482 lots ex...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices remain resilient, with trading activity involving products in the premium segment not showing any signs of slowing down.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.51 per tonne, up $1.22 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $144.07 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $120.70 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $133...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Thursday November 21, dipping below nearby support against fresh inflows of material, while tin's outright price bucked the downward trend. Zinc's three-month price was recently seen at $2,297 per tonne, with price action down 0.5% from Wednesday's closing price of $2,313 per tonne. Turnover in zinc was hig...Read More
With no end to Federal Reserve easing in sight, what will the reaction be in the gold and silver markets?by Chris Marcus via Arcadia EconomicsWith no end to Federal Reserve easing in sight, what will the reaction be in the gold and silver markets?Jim Willie, editor of The Hat Trick Letter on The Golden-Jackass.com talks about whether we might see a moonshot in the precious metals markets, the po...Read More
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