Avi GilburtYesterday really did not happen. How could we have seen a 10% rally when there was nothing to cause it?Did we see an announcement about the eradication of the coronavirus? No. But, we did get more news of rising numbers of infected.Did we see the passage of the Congressional bill? No. But, we did see more dithering by our wonderful representatives in Congress.And, when the Fed announ...Read More

Why is there such a huge gap between spot price and future price in gold/silver?1. Mines are closed or closing. There will be no new supplies.2. Global lockdown is preventing physical gold and silver to be transferred from one nation to another. 3. Lack of alternate safe investment avenue and availability of free money to fund managers and large corporates has resulted in shor...Read More

Metals, mining and alloy producers have been scenario-planning in response to the novel coronavirus. The South African government appears to have just removed all but one option.President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the country's mineral resources industry to shut underground mines and furnaces from Thursday March 26, unless they can be operated remotely. The shutdown will last for three weeks an...Read More

The 2019-nCoV pandemic is definitely a black swan event, one which nobody saw coming. Global business sentiment has taken a massive hit, with major industries grinding to a halt on travel bans, quarantine orders and border controls. Major airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways have grounded their fleets, stock markets have collapsed with exchanges closing and tourism is taking a pun...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has closed its open outcry trading floor and is using its electronic trading platform for price discovery as a precautionary measure amid the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic.The only other time the 143-year-old metals exchange temporarily closed was during World War II, when - in the absence of electronic trade - the venue was forced to shut entirely. The move to c...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday March 25.Please click...Read More

The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Wednesday March 25, climbing by more than 6% to breach resistance at $14,000 per tonne, while the outright lead price rallied above the $1,600 per tonne threshold. Tin's underlying price on the LME closed at $14,299 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, gaining $815 per tonne from an intraday l...Read More

Tin ingot premiums in the United States moved up in the week to March 24 on physical supply concerns, with similar fears affecting European market sentiment while Chinese premiums are flat amid ample availability.This all comes despite a near 27% decline in the London Metal Exchange tin price over a fortnightly period.European premiums hold firm but availability a concern. Supply concerns push up...Read More

The new issue of Aluminium Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers key insights and forecasts into aluminium markets around the world.Aluminium price down 2.3% week-on-week amid stock market sell-offGlobal markets remain rattled by the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) across Europe and the United States. Panic-sellin...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 new issue of the Seamless OCTG & Linepipe Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers analysis of seamless OCTG and linepipe across international markets:Covid-19 underscores pipe outlookUnsurprisingly, the concern in the seamless pipe markets across the regions is the effect of the spread of Covid-19 on public health and econo...Read More

The new issue of the Steel Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers key insights and forecasts into the long and flat products markets.This week's risks to our latest flat-rolled forecasts:The Chinese government is stepping up help to the economy, increasing banks' liquidity. But the spread of the coronavirus worldwide is likely...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

A combined $6 trillion of stimulus and bailouts would be issued by CONgress & the Federal Reserve...by Jason Burack of Wall St For Main StLooks like hedge fund manager Kyle Bass was right with his prediction of $6 trillion in bailouts/stimulus because Tuesday night at the White House press conference Larry Kudlow said that a combined $6 trillion of stimulus and bailouts would be issued by CONgres...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More

Europe's third largest lead smelter Recylex will stop all lead production due to weak demand, the company said in an exchange release after market trading on Wednesday March 25."To adapt to the strong drop in demand, especially in the automotive industry, in a context of sharply lower metal prices, [Recylex subsidiary] Weser-Metall GmbH has decided to discontinue production from Thursday March 26,...Read More

ALS has been exempted from the lockdown in Peru but has halted activities in India and South Africa, the global inspection and analysis firm said. The Brisbane, Australia-based company said it is following guidelines from governments, the World Health Organisation and its own health and safety advice amid the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic. "[India] is in a 21 day lockdo...Read More

Codelco, the world's biggest copper producer, will suspend construction works of some expansion projects for 15 days to improve safety and prevent the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from spreading among its employees, the company said on Wednesday March 25.Remaining work on the underground phase of the Chuquicamata mine, the initial stage of Rajo Inca, and works at the Andina division will all be h...Read More

Global nickel premiums continued to trade flat in the week to Tuesday March 24 despite regional business practises diverging in the fight against the 2019-CoV coronavirus. China continued its market return while the United States headed toward lockdown, and European participants remained firmly on the sidelines.China's market return has yet to show in premium levels, with patchy spot trading on oc...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday March 25.Please click...Read More