Now that JP Morgan has been given a free pass, slap on the wrist, get out of jail free card from the Silver Cops (HA!), let's see if they...by Bix Weir of Road to RootaNow that JP Morgan has been given a free pass, slap on the wrist, get out of jail free card from the Silver Cops (HA!) let's see if they, and their 8 colluding partners, continue to rig the silver price going into the 4th Quarter wh...Read More
The correction has further to run before silver resumes its climb, not only heading above $30 but reaching new highs and shocking many observers...by Peter Krauth via Streetwise ReportsAre you fearful, or are you getting greedy?That's the question silver investors should be asking themselves now.Novices have been panicking, while seasoned investors are salivating at the opportunities.Silver has re...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.We do not consider the average iron ore fines price for September so far above $125 per tonne cfr Qingdao to be sustainable. The bullishness is not likely to last in the long term as we expect Chinese demand growth to slow down. A key factor boosting Chinese steel demand so far has been the stimulus policies from the authori...Read More
The takeaways from the latest edition of the Steel Raw Materials Market Tracker are ready to view.Iron ore prices remained relatively stable last week, signalling an end to the price spike. And for the first time since March, at the time of the Covid-19 lock-down in Hubei, we have seen a consistent downturn in utilization rates in China. Blast furnace utilization rates dropped for a fifth consecut...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the year 2020 to date in late August, the Fastmarkets 62% Fe iron ore benchmark has powered along and reached six-year highs, supported by Chinese demand, and despite the global economic uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Iron ore demand has weakened almost everywhere except in China, where it has continued to...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.There has been an increasing bullishness in Chinese steel market sentiment recently, with rising post-Covid-19 optimism about the country's economy for the second half of 2020, especially after the government announced an infrastructure spending boost. Although we believe that high prices are justified, they remain far from...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. A look at stainless steel price movements through August reveals the ongoing battle being faced by stainless steelmakers in Europe and the United States while they try to pass on rising costs to consumers. In these regions, prices on most grades of stainless steel are little changed from July, rising by around 2% at most -...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in the EU have moved up over the week to Wednesday September 30, despite trading activity remaining slow, market sources have said.Price recovery was supported by higher slab costs and a positive trend in the market for steel coil.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was ?,?480-490 ($562-574) per tonne on...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes to amend the publication time of its weekly steel billet and slab export prices for Iran-origin material in order to better capture the full extent of market activity, and to bring the specifications into line with the majority of Fastmarkets' other regional steel price assessments.The current publication time for both price assessments is Wednesday, 1-2pm London time.The prop...Read More
Arbitrage opportunities dictated metal stock movements in Shanghai's bonded zone over September, with substantial moves in copper, zinc and aluminium inventories.Aluminium in bonded warehouses is now at its highest in three years, while traders poured copper into warehouses rather than importing due to a negative arbitrage and weak demand. Shanghai bonded copper stocks grow by 15% on closed arbitr...Read More
Global zinc and lead premiums remained unchanged across all regions in the week to Tuesday September 29, although increased buying appetite from Indian battery makers supported the Indian lead premium, Fastmarkets heard.A favorable arbitrage gain attracted several thousands of tonnes of zinc into China last weekChina's zinc market quietens into this week ahead of the week-long national Golden Week...Read More
China nickel ore prices continued their ascent in the week to Tuesday September 29 - outstripping other regional prices - while United States briquette premiums narrowed at the bottom end of the range and consumers began to restock ahead of the fourth quarter, sources said.China's nickel ore price rally continues unabated while regional nickel sulfate prices downThe already-low US premiums narrow...Read More
The return of a contango across LME copper's benchmark cash/three-month spread prompted fluctuations across Asian physical premiums this week, after sizeable cargoes were delivered into LME-registered warehouses. Yet ample availability and lackluster demand in both the US and European grade A cathode markets saw premium levels hold while the metal's three-month LME price continues to trade fi...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have climbed to their highest since early March while some mills have been quoting higher yet again.Fastmarkets calculated the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US at $30.29 per hundredweight ($605.80 per short ton) on Wednesday September 30, up by 0.4% from $30.17 per cwt on Tuesday September 29 and up by 1.7% from $29.79 per cwt on September...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong slid in August as coronavirus cases surged.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts plunged 38% year on year to HKD 2.46 billion ($317.5 million) for the month. While the figure showed a slowdown in the decline reported over the past few months, it did not necessarily indicate a recovery, Hong Kong's Census and...Read More
RAPAPORT... G? 1/4 belin Gem Lab has partnered with the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) to apply artificial intelligence to its gemstone analysis.Determining a gemstone's authenticity and country of origin currently relies heavily on human judgment, G? 1/4 belin noted Wednesday. By collaborating with CSEM, the Swiss lab will use machine learning to increase the reliabi...Read More
RAPAPORT... BlueRock Diamonds expects output to more than double in 2021 amid the expansion of its Kareevlei mine in South Africa, it said Tuesday.The company plans to produce between 34,000 and 46,000 carats next year, compared with 13,800 to 18,000 this year. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the miner had forecast total output of only 16,000 carats to 21,500 carats for 2020. The guidance for 2...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe inched up over the week to Wednesday September 30, driven by reduced output from domestic mills and a lack of competitive import offers, sources have told Fastmarkets.Sentiment in the market has been mixed because some participants expected prices to rise further, while others expected them to remain at their current level.Fastmarkets calculated its da...Read More
RAPAPORT... US polished-diamond imports fell 50% to $806 million in July, according to data from the Commerce Department. The decline was steeper than June's 34% drop. US Trade Data for July 2020Read More
Prices in the Iranian export market for steel billet strengthened in the week to Wednesday September 30, supported by activity on the traders' side.Offers from Iranian mills have not been numerous because some of them have already sold out their October export allocations. Some mills have not placed any tenders for three consecutive weeks.Several cargoes of Iran-origin billet scheduled for product...Read More