Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 16 that are worth another look.A sharp decline in market sentiment, linked to the spread of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV), has halted activity and reduced prices in the Japanese construction steel sector, steelmaker Tokyo Steel said.Rio Tinto has slowed work on the underground project at its Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongol...Read More

Gary SavageCrash webinarI will do a webinar Tuesday morning outlining why this market crash occurred, the tools I used to predict it ahead of time, a brief tutorial on cycles, and where I think we're going from here (we're due for a convincing bounce soon) and also what I think is in store for the metals market over the next month. The price of the webinar is $50 this will include a 1 month sub...Read More

Steve St. Angelo, SRSrocco Report The world is heading towards a global depression, but the market hasn't quite figured it out yet. Unfortunately, many analysts and economists continue to believe that the worldwide contagion will be generally short-lived, suggesting growth will return in the second half of the year. A perfect example is the overly optimistic forecasts of global oil demand by...Read More

European car manufacturers have announced temporary stoppages at production sites across Europe due to the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic, Fastmarkets learnt on Monday March 16.Car manufacturer Groupe PSA - maker of the Peugeot, Citroen, Opel and Vauxhall brands - has decided to close its plants in Europe, it said on Monday.It opted to close a number of production sites until March 27 "due to the...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have remained almost unchanged day on day with buyers remaining in "wait-and-see" mode until they can evaluate risks related to the pandemic of 2019-nCoV coronavirus, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 16.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?481.25 ($534.61) per tonne on Monday March 16, u...Read More

A key challenge for US primary aluminium production facilities is the high cost of electricity, which trade restrictions measures such as Section 232 do nothing to alleviate, according to a senior lawyer and former commissioner and vice chairman of the US International Trade Commission.According to Dean Pinkert, senior counsel at New York-based law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed, trade measures are of...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 16 that are worth another look.A sharp decline in market sentiment, linked to the spread of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV), has halted activity and reduced prices in the Japanese construction steel sector, steelmaker Tokyo Steel said.Rio Tinto has slowed work on the underground project at its Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongol...Read More

"It is better to have and not need than to need and not have."- Franz KafkaUnderlying Conditions That Could Cause a CrisisI first wrote this guide in 2008, as the financial markets started to fall apart. I had concerns that the fiat fractional reserve monetary system could collapse, with bank runs, a dollar crash, supply chain disruptions, and rioting. The FED came to the rescue and pledged taxpa...Read More

If global financial markets had been operating under a pervading sense of uncertainty due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), they now appear to be veering on panic.Oil prices have suffered their biggest one-day collapse since the 1991 Gulf War following Saudi Arabia's declaration of a price war on Russia through a shock move to hike oil production. S&P Dow Jones Indices was forced...Read More

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is set to accelerate what the trade wars started: the diversification of global supply chains. Both events have demonstrated just how interconnected the global economy is and have provided a wake-up call to businesses worldwide that it might be time to reduce their reliance on China as the workshop of the world. Of course, that's easier said than done. China is th...Read More

Trade disputes and geopolitical uncertainties had already made the prospects for global economic growth uncertain. A coronavirus has now added to the challenges facing financial markets.The epicenter of the virus is Wuhan, an important commercial hub in China that is home to 11.9 million people, including the country's largest student population. It is also a manufacturing hub, with around 500 fac...Read More

Daniel Hisshion has joined Hong Kong-based minor metals company Fortis Metals as business development director, he confirmed to Fastmarkets. Fortis Metals, headquartered in Hong Kong, has a sister company Kite Metals in Europe, owns United States-based minor metals refiner and recycler Atlantic Metals & Alloys as well as Fortis Metals (Shenzhen) for operations in China.Hisshion - with over 25 year...Read More

The UK steel industry has welcomed a boost in infrastructure spending in the latest government budget, announced on March 12, but expressed disappointment about missed opportunities to tackle weaknesses in the sector.Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced investment of ?640 billion ($786.2 billion) in roads, railways, communications, schools, hospitals and power networks across the United Kingdom by 20...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange continued its descent at the close of trading on Monday March 16, settling at its lowest level since November 2016 after breaching key support levels throughout the day.The rest of the base metals complex similarly depreciated over the day's trading.Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $5,290.50 per tonne on Monday afternoon, l...Read More

Key data from the alumina index, fob Australia pricing session on Monday March 16. Key drivers: Fastmarkets' daily fob Australia alumina index falls 2% on Monday March 16 from $303.71 per tonne on Friday March 13.  One recent deal for 30,000 tonnes of Western Australian alumina concluded at $294.75 per tonne, with laycan between April 20-29.Market participants...Read More

The London Metal Exchange confirmed in a written statement on Monday that a ring-dealing member employee has contracted the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), further jeopardizing trading activity at its open-outcry trading venue."The LME was informed on Sunday that one member of staff of an LME Ring-dealing member has been diagnosed with Covid-19. A number of precautionary measures have been taken, 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

You see Peter, some people would rather not have something fake, but would rather have real money, at any price, during this paradigm-shifting financial crisis...Look anywhere, and you will be HARD PRESSED to find one American Silver Eagle selling for less than $20!Why is the price for one ounce of real, physical silver over $20 right now?Premium creep.Paper is unlimited and infinite in our rigged...Read More

SD OUTLOOK: As the paper price totally disconnects from reality, physical precious metals, aka REAL MONEY, will now go into hiding...Well, what do you expect?The paper price of silver is totally disconnecting from reality.If you're one of those chart huggers, then go hit up Peter Brandt on Twitter and I'm sure he'd be happy to point out his entry point for some SLV.It is amazing to see such trust...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