Prices for imported steel billet in Egypt increased in the week to Thursday April 16, but market activity remained weak because of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand is weak, and buyers have little interest in placing new orders since Egypt's Ministry of Trade and Industry announced a six-month delay to the proposed reduction in safeguard duties o...Read More

The price for Iranian steel billet exports continued to climb in the week to Wednesday April 15, supported by price rises in other markets which have followed the recent surge of scrap costs globally.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, export, fob ports Iran, was $340-350 per tonne on April 15, narrowing upward by $10 per tonne.A cargo of Iranian billet was sold to Southeast Asi...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Thursday April 16 although futures strengthened following word that Tangshan would likely impose restrictions on blast furnaces.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,430-3,460 yuan ($486-490) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,430-3,460 yuan per tonne, unchangedTrading activity was stable in the morning, which kept rebar prices unchanged.Some sellers r...Read More

*This interview was recorded on March 30, 2020Nassim Taleb, New York University distinguished professor of risk engineering, says a "white swan" event like the coronavirus pandemic was preventable."They're not bailing YOU out, they're bailing out investors and corporations...they are bailing out those who did not have a buffer."Nassim Taleb spent 20 years as a derivatives trader and, after closing...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 16 that are worth another look.Toyota plans further cuts to output at its automotive plants in Japan in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but has also pledged to support ventilator producers in the fight against the rising infection and death rates.Chinese stainless steel producers have withheld their offers since late last...Read More

Mining operations in South Africa may now operate at a reduced capacity of not more than 50% during the country's lockdown and can apply to restart and increase production beyond this level, according to a government minister. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, South Africa's minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, said approvals will come from the minister of mineral resources and ene...Read More

Chinese stainless steel producers have withheld their offers since late last week and this has resulted in a recent surge in prices, multiple sources told Fastmarkets this week. Stainless steel mills including a major privately-held steelmaker resorted to a supply shock to arrest a rapid decline in prices after futile attempts to court customers with price discounts, a stainless steel trader in no...Read More

Great Panther Mining's activities during the year's first quarter are summarized in a ROTH Capital Partners report. In an April 13 research note, ROTH Capital Partners analyst Jake Sekelsky reported that Great Panther Mining Ltd. (GPR:TSX; GPL:NYSE.American) had strong Q1/20 production with limited effects from the COVID-19 pandemic.Sekelsky reviewed what the precious metals miner accomplished du...Read More

Money manager Adrian Day provides updates on some of the resource companies in his portfolio and says he is buying little, but is ready to buy on pullbacks. Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV:TSX; FNV:NYSE, US$113.69), following most of its royalty peers, pulled its guidance for both GEOs (gold-equivalent ounces) and energy. Cobre Panama, which had been ramping up well and accounted for 15-20% of its previ...Read More

These new assets take Black Tusk Resources' project portfolio total to five. Black Tusk Resources Inc. (TUSK:CSE; BTKRF:OTCMKTS; 0NB:FSE) acquired through staking two platinum group element (PGE) properties in Quebec, it announced in a news release.The Vancouver-based company bought the assets "in response to a world shortage as well as recent record-setting prices of rhodium, platinum and pallad...Read More

German carmaker Volkswagen has become the first European car manufacturer to announce the restart of operations in the region following several weeks of suspended activity under lockdown measures brought in to help stem the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.VW announced on March 15 that it would suspend output at its production site in Bratislava, Slovakia, on March 23 but did not give a scheduled r...Read More

Oil futures remained at their lowest since 2002The Dow finished the volatile day slightly higher, a majority of gains pared by another brutal jobs report, which showed 5.2 million unemployment claims in the past week alone. Though earnings data surrounding most stocks also remains dim, the Nasdaq managed to end the day up nearly 140 points thanks to a lead in tech, while the S&P 500 finished marg...Read More

Toyota plans further cuts to output at its automotive plants in Japan in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but has also pledged to support ventilator producers in the fight against the rising infection and death rates.As part of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association's national initiative to help the country increase medical equipment supplies, the world's leading car manufactur...Read More

Mylan NV named a new executive chairmanMylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL) is down 0.7%, last seen trading at $15.39, amid news that the pharmaceutical company named Chairman Robert Coury to be the new executive chairman, the second time Coury has been appointed to the position. Coury was previously CEO of Mylan from 2002 to 2012 before becoming executive chairman from 2012 to 2016. In this capacity, he will wo...Read More

Brazilian mining output fell by 16.96% year on year in the first quarter of 2020, due to heavy rains and the impact of the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to data released by the country's national mining institute Ibram. Total mine output reached 220.44 million tonnes in the January-March period, Ibram said on Wednesday April 15, compared with 265.45 million tonnes i...Read More

Toyota plans further cuts to output at its automotive plants in Japan in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but has also pledged to support ventilator producers in the fight against the rising infection and death rates.As part of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association's national initiative to help the country increase medical equipment supplies, the world's leading car manufactur...Read More

Due to several recent events, including a price war initiated by Russia, the price of oil has declined to record-low levels these past couple of weeks. Subsequently, the price decline resulted in a massive worldwide panic which pushed the price down even further. While the panic might reasonable and based on a real fear of what the situation might lead to, there are still ways that investors can p...Read More

By: RambusI would like to show you some very long term charts for the PM complex I used to look at the big picture and big reversal patterns. I like to use the quarterly line chart as it takes out much of the noise a quarterly bar chart can make. A quarterly line chart only uses the quarterly close so the symmetry isn't there but the big reversal patterns still show up. Also I will switch back t...Read More

By: Ira EpsteinMasks are here for long to come. See what the Presidential briefing says. In Gold, Higher-highs, higher-lows. Support for June above $1670..Read More

By: Gary SavageI warned several weeks ago that this would be a V-shaped recovery followed by a regression to the mean. Every Central Bank around the world..Gary Savagehttps://blog.smartmoneytrackerpremium.com/Read More