China's cold-rolled coil producers are incurring losses amid falling prices, even though the automotive industry - a key downstream consumer - experienced a rebound in sales and output in March.The country's auto sales totaled 1.43 million units last month, more than four-and-a-half times of February's 310,000 units, while output was 1.42 million units, about five times of the 285,000 units produc...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

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

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

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

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

By Daniel R. Amerman, CFATwo extraordinary and unprecedented actions are being taken in the attempt to contain the economic damage from the national shutdown, and thereby attempt to prevent a depression. Each are on a scale we have never seen before, and each are almost certain to be very long lasting. Even if the actions are "successful" - a depression is prevented and a severe recession is sho...Read More

The Covid-19 pandemic has rapidly hit global electric vehicle (EV) production and sales, and so the broadly anticipated reshuffle of China's EV battery supply chain is likely to speed up in 2020. Many already believed the EV subsidy policy in China that had been scheduled to end in December 2020 would squeeze out some companies in the EV battery supply chain, including producers of precursors, cat...Read More

By Stefan GleasonThe metals markets are being pulled in multiple directions simultaneously like never before. The global virus-triggered economic freeze has caused industrial demand for all commodities to crater.At the same time, mining output is also crashing as virus fears force many mines around the world to suspend operations.What is the "right" equilibrium price for copper, silver, gold, an...Read More

Wednesday's session played out as a range day. Most of the downside action occurred during Tuesday night, and Wednesday's regular trading hours were spent bouncing from our key support zone in the 2750 area back to the middle of the range towards 2785/2800 on the Emini S&P 500 (ES). As we demonstrated in real-time in our ES Trading Room at ElliottWaveTrader, it was just a textbook feedback l...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

Jobless claims topped expectations yet again this weekThe Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is modestly lower at midday, despite having pared harsher triple-digit losses from the morning. Weighing on the Dow is another batch of weekly jobless claims that topped estimates, meaning it took just four weeksto erase all employment gains experienced in the last 11 years since the Great Recession. C...Read More

Abbott posted a first-quarter earnings and revenue beatAbbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is up 4.7% to trade at $95.20 -- recovering from its earlier dip -- following its first-quarter earnings report. The company reported profits of 65 cents per share and revenue of $7.73 billion, beating Wall Street's estimates. Abbott also said a recent ramp up in coronavirus testing would help it weather throug...Read More

The pharmacy firm reported a wider-than-expected loss for its fiscal fourth quarterIt's been a dismal day so far for pharmacy name Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD), after stepping into the earnings confessional early this morning. The firm posted fiscal fourth-quarter losses of 37 cents per share, which was wider than analysts' estimates, while the reported $5.73 billion in revenue was higher than...Read More

When a tailings dam ruptured in the state of Minas Gerais in southeast Brazil last year, it was a harsh reminder for the mining sector that it needs to consistently operate within the parameters of strict controls and stay alert to potentially tragic risks.The disaster - at Vale's Feij??o mine in Brumadinho - led to the deaths of 270 people after the ruptured dam flooded a nearby community. Just o...Read More

Streaming name Netflix will report earnings next weekNext week will bring a slew of notable earnings, including the likes of blue chips Visa (V), IBM (IBM), Intel (INTC), Coca-Cola (KO), and American Express (AXP). Netflix (NFLX) and Snap (SNAP) will also step into the earnings confessional, while weekly jobless claims will remain in focus as Wall Street closely follows the economic fallout of COV...Read More

The equity has shed nearly 8% in 2020Shares of e-commerce name Square Inc (NYSE:SQ) are down 4.6% to trade at $58.54 after receiving a downgrade to "underperform" from "market perform" by Raymond James. Though SQ has been performing above what usually calls for a downgrade from the brokerage, they cited significant risks due to coronavirus that could take the company a long time to recover from. S...Read More

Reports that Hertz is seeking a government bailout to avoid bankruptcy are rocking the car rental stock Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HTZ) is down 10.5%, last seen trading at $5.17, amid reports that the car rental concern is seeking aid from the U.S. government to avoid bankruptcy. HTZ recently tried to buck car rental sector's selloff, however, the company is potentially looking at a budget...Read More

Bank of New York Mellon posted first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts' estimates Financial name Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK) is up 6.4% at $36.88 after posting first-quarter earnings of $1.05 per share, and revenue of $4.11 billion, both of which came in higher than analysts' estimates. The investment bank cited increased fee revenue and higher transaction volumes for the...Read More