Our research team believes the recent downward price activity in Gold and Silver are indicative of past price patterns we saw in Gold over the 2007 to 2012 rally.  Throughout almost every rally in precious metals (Gold), there have been a number of moderate to serious price corrections taking place within that extended rally.  The current downside move is moderately small compared to his...Read More

Mike Gleason: It is my privilege now to welcomeback our good friend, Greg Weldon, CEO and President of Weldon Financial. Greghas decades of market research and trading experience specializing in themetals and commodity markets and even authored a book back in 2016 titled GoldTrading Boot Camp, where he accurately predicted the implosion of the UScredit market and urged people to buy gold...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 12 that are worth another look.Two more steel producers in Italy have stopped operations following the recent nationwide extension of the country's coronavirus-related quarantine area, and more stoppages were expected, sources told Fastmarkets on March 12.Ball Corporation is to acquire Tubex Industria E Comercio de Embalagen...Read More

Before their recent surgeon gold regaining $1600, the gold stocks spent much of the past half-year or solargely drifting sideways to lower.  Thathigh consolidation really weighed on sentiment, with greed giving way to apathy.  This sector normally tends to suffer aseasonal slump into mid-March, paving the way for gold stocks’ spring rally.  That’s their second-strongest...Read More

The continued spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) worldwide has weighed on China's tungsten market in the week to Wednesday March 11, sources told Fastmarkets. Ammonium paratungstate (APT) exporters experienced a slow market, while unrecovered downstream manufacturing, such as the automobile industry, in China also dragged the domestic tungsten market price down.China APT export price move...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month price for nickel fell by more than 5% on Thursday March 12, a trading day that saw a 16,000-tonne rewarranting, with the price reaching a high of $12,495 per tonne then crashing to a low of $11,735 per tonne, before closing at $11,830 per tonne.Almost 13,700 nickel lots were traded over the day, which was marked by the rare rewarranting of more than 16,000 ton...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has outlined further contingency plans for metal warranting against the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, ensuring that its Special Committee has a broad range of powers to maintain an orderly market.The LME has put precautionary measures in place to contain the spread of the virus at its open outcry trading ring, issuing a split-team policy, the potential to transition t...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were stable on Thursday March 12, though concerns about demand and weather-related worries continue to cloud outlook, Fastmarkets heard. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $159.56 per tonne, up $1.34 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $164.86 per tonne, down $0.81 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $144.01 per tonne, unchangedHard cok...Read More

The benchmark alumina price remained above $300 per tonne on Thursday March 12 but liquidity on a fob Australia basis remained low. Fastmarkets calculated the daily alumina index, fob Australia at $303.17 per tonne on Thursday, little changed from $304.63 per tonne the previous day. The index has been above $300 per tonne since February 27. Key drivers:  Liquidity remains low but partici...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have gone down in the latest deal for a Baltic Sea cargo, with steel producers still trying to cover their urgent needs with short-sea deals instead, sources said on Thursday March 12.A steel mill in the country was heard booking a Baltic Sea cargo from Poland at the beginning of the week at $273-273.50 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20). The cargo breakdown was...Read More

Strong competition from exporters has propped up brass scrap prices in the United States, despite the Comex copper price falling around $2.50 per lb, Fastmarkets understands.Export competition "is pulling the brass scrap prices up," a copper scrap seller said.A copper trader agreed, adding that "the copper spreads are the same, but brass scrap is going opposite to copper scrap."Indeed, most copper...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has outlined further contingency plans for metal warranting against the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, ensuring that its Special Committee has a broad range of powers to maintain an orderly market.The LME has put precautionary measures in place to contain the spread of the virus at its open outcry trading ring, issuing a split-team policy, the potential to transition t...Read More

Ball Corporation is to acquire Tubex Industria E Comercio de Embalagens, an aluminium aerosol packaging business, along with associated contracts and other related assets, it announced. Tubex has a plant near Sao Paolo, Brazil with eight extruded aluminium aerosol can lines producing personal care packaging for both global and domestic customers. "As the demand for sustainable aluminium packa...Read More

Aurubis' copper refining facility in Belgium has to operate at 50% of its full capacity due to an earlier incident, diverting intermediate-product copper anodes to the spot market, Fastmarkets has learned.Last November, a transport crane collapsed in the electrolysis section of Aurubis' copper tankhouse in Olen, Belgium, which transforms anodes into cathodes of 99.995% copper content. The Ole...Read More

The United Kingdom government revealed plans to invest over ?1 billion ($1.3 billion) on green transport, including ?500 million for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure over the next five years, in its 2020 budget announcement on Wednesday March 11.During the budget presentation, UK chancellor Rishi Sunak committed to make it cheaper to buy low emission vehicles and cutting taxes on cl...Read More

Diamond industry facing severe liquidity crisis as coronavirus spreads to US. Suppliers uncertain about prices as buyers push for deeper discounts. Jewelers holding large inventory and have scaled back polished purchases. Manufacturers are advised to stop buying rough and hold cash until conditions stabilize. Slump in oil price (-32% since Mar. 5) and stock market (Dow -10%) reducing consumer weal...Read More

Market quiet, with very few customers visiting from overseas due to virus. Some traders took vacation over Holi festival. Polished suppliers under pressure as inventories rise and prices soften. Demand down for SI-clarity and better diamonds. Some interest in I1 among local jewelers. Manufacturers have reduced polished production in response to the decline in orders. High gold prices and rupee dep...Read More

RAPAPORT... Israel's diamond regulator has granted temporary concessions to promote shipments to and from countries affected by the coronavirus, after exports slumped in February.Dealers can now spend 90 days inspecting polished goods from certain virus-hit countries without paying import duty, instead of the usual 30 days, diamond controller Ophir Gore said in a letter to Israel Diamond Exch...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies has launched a new platform enabling manufacturers to tap its automated grading systems and issue a report in-house to support the needs of jewelers.The company this week introduced its eGrading innovation via a video campaign on YouTube claiming the concept would "change diamond grading forever." It allows manufacturers to self-execute third-party grading of the 4C...Read More

Two more steel producers in Italy have stopped operations following the recent nationwide extension of the country's coronavirus-related quarantine area, and more stoppages were expected, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 12.On March 11, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree tightening the Italian lockdown from the conditions set out in a previous decree on March 9. While...Read More