Keith Weiner, Monetary MetalsThe price of gold dropped $31, and that of silver fell even more by proportion, $2.14. The gold-silver ratio hit a hit of over 126 before closing the week around 119. This exceeds the high in the ratio last hit in the George H.W. Bush recession.Last week, we were warming up to silver, if not recommending it. We said:"While we would not recommend betting on silver wit...Read More
Strengths? The best performing metal this week was gold, down just 2.04 percent. BullionStar, a bullion dealer in Singapore, has seen a record number of orders, order revenue and number of visitors to its center over the past month, according to a post on its website and as reported by Bloomberg. "We have managed to replenish a bit of gold on Saturday but it's very difficult to...Read More
Dave KranzlerThe biggest bill of sale sold to the public after the great financial crisis was that the legislation enacted forced the banks to maintain a higher level of integrity in their business dealings. But nothing could be further from the truth. The various pieces of legislation enacted after the 2008 de facto banking system collapse ultimately made it easier for the TBTF banks to move th...Read More
Clint SiegnerA huge spike in demand for physical precious metals has decimated available dealer inventories. The vast majority of gold and silver coins, rounds, and bars are either out of stock or come with extended shipping delays.Premiums are spiking higher. Dealers have raised bid premiums - the amount offered above the spot metal price - dramatically along with ask premiums.The market...Read More
The pros who confidently bought the dips for more than a decade are now quietly selling the rallies. During the bull market, accumulating stocks on weakness was a no-brainer, as easy a ticket to big profits as investors will ever enjoy. But the bear market has ended this rare opportunity. Instead, the Masters of the Universe have been unloading as much stock as they can into every rally. This ta...Read More
By Avi Gilburt, ElliottWaveTrader.netSo, how many of you followed reckless bulls into this mess?I know many of you took me to task for missing some of the rally in the SPX. But, as I had been trying to warn you, the IWM and the EEM, as well as a host of other charts, were warning me that something was just not right about the move in the SPX. Then, when I publicly posted that I was shortin...Read More
There are two things which we all need to focus w.r.t to corona virus:Positive: China could be corona "virus free" in the next two weeks to four weeks. This will be very bullish for crude oil demand and industrial metal demand.Negative: One needs to closely watch the corona virus spreads in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. These are world's most densely populated zone with inadequate m...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 23 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal is idling two blast furnaces, in Indiana and Canada, due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and its impact on end markets.South Africa will enter a 21-day nationwide lockdown from midnight on Thursday March 26 and ordered the country's metals and mining operations to...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
Most of the world's markets for steel billet have been affected by negative sentiment after strong decreases in the prices for ferrous scrap. Buyers in China, however, were importing material while their domestic prices were rising.Import prices of ferrous scrap in Turkey fell last week, with a day-on-day drop of $23.90 per tonne on March 18, and further price cuts were expected.Fastmarkets' daily...Read More
CIS export rebar and wire rod prices remained largely unchanged in the week to Monday March 23 with trading activity being limited.Lower levels of trade followed the slowdown of demand in most markets due to the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic."The market is very weak at the moment. If last week there was some activity, today and in the next two weeks it will all be quiet," one trader...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 23 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal is idling two blast furnaces, in Indiana and Canada, due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and its impact on end markets.South Africa will enter a 21-day nationwide lockdown from midnight on Thursday March 26 and ordered the country's metals and mining operations to...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
Thyssenkrupp has made changes to its executive board following the recent sale of its elevator unit, the company said on March 20.Martina Merz has been permanently appointed as chief executive officer of Thyssenkrupp AG for a three-year term from April 1, following her appointment in October 2019, which followed the resignation of interim ceo Guido Kerkhoff.Merz was delegated to the group exe...Read More
Hermes Belous Freire has joined Sumitomo Corp as sales manager for cobalt briquettes. Belous Freire is currently based in Switzerland as a consultant, but will relocate to...Read More
The copper price is coming off its worst week in almost a decade, but analysts feel there could be more downside for the metal as novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) lockdowns globally wreck demand prospects. The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price closed at $4,810 per tonne on Friday March 20, down 11% from the start of the week and hit a three-year low of $4,371 per tonne on Wednesday. Gove...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 three-month nickel price continued its downturn up to the close of trading on Monday March 23, falling over 3.5% and dipping below nearby support levels, while tin futures failed to hold on to Friday's gains. Nickel's underlying price on the LME closed at $10,880 per tonne on Monday afternoon, its lowest closing price since December 2018, while turnover was high at more t...Read More
The copper price is coming off its worst week in almost a decade, but analysts feel there could be more downside for the metal as novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) lockdowns globally wreck demand prospects. The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price closed at $4,810 per tonne on Friday March 20, down 11% from the start of the week and hit a three-year low of $4,371 per tonne on Wednesday. Gove...Read More