By: Gary SavageI want to add a quick note on the jobs report. Today's number is important in that if the government tries to fake a good number the market will probably lose all confidence in government statistics and likely react badly. There is no scenario where the number can be good as we have already been feeling the effects of the virus scare for a couple of months. A good number will be...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinRead More
Yesterday, the Fed cut interest rates by 50 basis points. Not during a regular monetary policy meeting, but in a surprising move. But what are the implications for the gold market specifically?Fed Cuts Interest Rates in Emergency MoveLast week, I wrote that the spread of the new coronavirus to Europe and the inversion of the yield curve make “the Fed more likely to step in and cut the federa...Read More
The Section 232 tariffs and quotas have fulfilled their purpose - and now it's time to drop them before they harm the US steel supply chain further, trade lawyers, academics and industry experts claimed during this year's Steel-Con, hosted by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) in Houston."Section 232 [tariffs] on steel and aluminum is a policy that ended up helping a few at the...Read More
China produced 29.4 million tonnes of crude stainless steel in 2019, a 10.1% year-on-year increase, according to data released by the China Stainless Steel Council earlier this week.China's apparent stainless steel consumption in 2019 amounted to 24.05 million tonnes, up by 9.2% - or about 2.03 million tonnes - from 2018.CSSC's breakdown of 2019's output according to grade as well as the country's...Read More
Member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) cut their daily steel output rates and stock levels in late February, but spot market inventories continued to rise, according to data released late on Thursday March 5.February 21-29 outputCrude steel: 1.81 million tonnes per day, down by 1.50%Finished steel: 1.79 million tpd, up by...Read More
Gold COT Report - Futures Large SpeculatorsCommercialTotal LongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort 366,17346,44085,359178,134529,145629,666660,944 Change from Prior Reporting Period -23,166-7,034-5,3691,515-23,095-27,020-35,498 Traders 22457835854315168 Small Speculators LongShortOpen Interest 62,31931,041691,985 -13,912-5,434-40,932 non reportable pos...Read More
- Rob KirbyIt's the wee hours of Friday morning, March 6, 2020 and I am tuned in to Bloomberg "Surveillance" business news host Mr. [CFR] Tom Keene. Global equity markets are flat on their backs, crude oil prices are collapsing to multi year lows and the $US dollar looks like it's preparing to do a swan dive into the Hudson River. Thank god we have the likes of ole Tommy Keene and the rest...Read More
Stock-market volatility has exploded on COVID-19 fears, shattering the Fed's QE4-fueled levitation. The resulting stunning sentiment shift has left investors and speculators wondering where these wild markets are heading. This is an important time to check the latest fundamentals underlying the big US stocks that dominate market action. They just finished reporting their Q4'19 results, whi...Read More
By: Gary SavageI want to add a quick note on the jobs report. Today's number is important in that if the government tries to fake a good number the market will probably lose all confidence in government statistics and likely react badly. There is no scenario where the number can be good as we have already been feeling the effects of the virus scare for a couple of months. A good number will be...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinRead More
The Section 232 tariffs and quotas have fulfilled their purpose - and now it's time to drop them before they harm the US steel supply chain further, trade lawyers, academics and industry experts claimed during this year's Steel-Con, hosted by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) in Houston."Section 232 [tariffs] on steel and aluminum is a policy that ended up helping a few at the...Read More
Nickel demand from China is likely to decline more than anticipated because of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, Nornickel said during its earnings call.But the Russian multi-metal miner - the world's leading nickel producer - said it was too early to quantify the risk posed to business by the virus.Publishing its 2019 financial results report on February 26, Nornickel sai...Read More
Most flat steel import prices in South America have remained unchanged in the week ended Friday March 6, in a market lull before the start of negotiations for May shipments, although sellers were indicating that more expensive offers would be presented in the weeks ahead.Market participants were expecting Chinese steel demand to recover from the recent tumble cause by the outbreak of 2019-nCoV cor...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been fairly stable day on day despite bullish sentiment among the region's steelmakers, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 6.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?484.64 ($541.53) per tonne on Friday March 6, up by ?,?0.12 per tonne from ?,?484.52 per tonne on March...Read More
Modest outflows of metal failed to support the London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price on Friday March 6, which closed at $1,685 per tonne after a turnover of more than 15,000 lots. The benchmark three-month aluminium price briefly hit a high of $1,718.50 during trading on Friday, but closed well below the $1,700 per tonne mark despite seeing 6,250 tonnes in fresh cancellations over the...Read More
The price of austenitic grades of alloy steel scrap in the UK domestic and European import markets moved up this week on higher nickel costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 6. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?750-800 (968-1,033) per tonne on Friday, up by ?10-20 per tonne week on week. Fastmarkets' price as...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dropped on Friday March 6 with traders becoming risk-averse ahead of the weekend, with concerns over the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus and its effect on the global economy overwhelming what market participants described as "not bad to healthy" physical demand for iron ore.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.19 per tonne, down by $2.38 per tonne...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday March 6.China Chinese domestic spot ferro-silicon price tumbled because both previously existing logistical constraints and supply tightness have eased. Chinese export prices slipped in response to the weaker domestic market. Export demand threat loomed because...Read More