BAR is unchanged from a week ago, comforting our cautious expectations.Gold's spec positioning lightened marginally in the week to Aug. 13, keeping us cautious in the immediate term.Gold ETF inflows continued in the week to Aug. 19, mainly driven by increased market fears proxied by the rising VIX.BAR: We stay on the sidelines, willing to reassert upside exposure in case of a drop to $14.20/sh...Read More

The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Wednesday August 21, gaining by 2.3% on low turnover, while a steady decline in tin futures continued to prompt market concerns.Zinc futures began the day trading at around $2,230 per tonne before a strong bout of buying saw the metal close at $2,288.50 per tonne, its highest price since August 13.Volumes...Read More

Gold has consolidated a bit in the recent week, but is still trading at ~$1,500/oz.At ~$1,500/oz gold, project economics and the ability to generate free cash flow should improve drastically for the higher-quality gold projects out there.My current top 5 developers at $1,500/oz gold are (in order of closest to declare commercial production): Victoria Gold, West African Resources, Orezone Gold, Car...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday August 21.Please click...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices remained largely stable on Wednesday August 21, with buyers taking a wait-and-see approach.A branded cargo of premium hard coking coal was offered at $150 per tonne fob Australia on the Global Coal trading platform during the day, sources said.Steel mill sources in India highlighted the bleak downstream market conditions in the South Asian country, citing a liquidity cr...Read More

By all accounts, Newmont's recent Q2 EPS report was disappointing and a big miss.That said, there is a clear line-of-sight toward acquisition synergies and, of course, a strong course for its primary product, gold.In spite of the messy Q2 report, I reiterate my $45 price target. That equates to a ~16% gain from here.Potential upside catalysts to my PT are: better and faster than expected syner...Read More

If we look at certain indicators in the silver market, the price is setting up for a big move...by Steve St Angelo of SRSrocco ReportIf we look at certain indicators in the silver market, the price is setting up for a big move. It seems as if mainstream investors are now becoming more worried about the stock and bond markets. With almost $17 trillion in negative-yielding debt in the world, the...Read More

Rest assured, there are plenty of dollars (and other fiat currencies) to chase after ounces of silver...by Matt From Silver Fortune via Silver FortuneRest assured, there are plenty of dollars (and other fiat currencies) to chase after ounces of silver. Read More

The price of steel rebar in the domestic market of Southern Europe was unchanged this week amid the seasonal summer slowdown, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was unchanged week on week at ?,?470-485 ($521-538) per tonne on Wednesday.Market activity is typically much reduced....Read More

Domestic prices in Europe for hollow steel sections remained unchanged this week due to the seasonal summer pause in trading, but imports continued to flow into the region, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was unchanged week on week at ?,?615-630 ($682-699) per tonne on Wednesday.D...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 21 that are worth another look.Swiss trading house Trafigura has begun blending copper concentrates in Malaysia, with small batches of output being offered to the market, Fastmarkets has learned.Zinc premiums in the United States widened upward in the week to Tuesday August 20 despite dampened consumption from stee...Read More

Despite further price increases for stainless steel scrap in the United States, market participants were pessimistic, pointing to low order volumes from the consuming mills and still-short lead times for finished steel products."Since this market is a moving target, it's difficult to price the broker/processor prices on a daily basis," one broker said."I see no reason for London Metal Exchange nic...Read More

Nickel premiums in China fell due to a widened arbitrage loss in the week to August 20 while European and United States premiums held during the quiet summer period despite a tightening forward curve and London Metal Exchange price volatility. Chinese premiums decline with traders not prepared to purchase material at a negative arbitrage, which widened to a loss of 6,000 yuan per tonne on Tuesday...Read More

Zinc premiums in the United States widened upward in the week to Tuesday August 20 despite dampened consumption from steel mills, while lead premiums drop in India and Southeast Asia, unaffected by Nystar Port Pirie outage. US zinc premium widens upward, pushed higher by smaller spot tonnages traded at higher levelsSoutheast Asia lead premiums drop despite increased spot demand amid Nyrstar Port...Read More

Export prices for Chinese stainless steel remained flat week on week despite the uptrend in the nickel price because producers are unable to achieve any price hikes due to poor market demand, market sources said.Uncertainty around whether Indonesia would bring its ban on exports of unprocessed nickel ore forward, which is currently scheduled for 2022, contributed to the recent surge in the London...Read More

Alexander Khodov has joined Trafigura as the Singaporean commodity company's lead nickel and cobalt market analyst, a source close to the matter confirmed on August 21. Khodov joined Trafigura on August 19 after having previously spent three years...Read More

Industrial quality low-carbon wire rod prices in the United States have hit a 19-month low to stand at pre-Section 232 levels, with the cost of imported wire rod also down amid fresh offers for material originating from Mexico, Europe and Asia.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US, fell to $31.50-32.50 per hundredweight ($630-650 per short ton) on...Read More

ArcelorMittal has increased its offer price for October-delivery hot-rolled coil across Europe, effective immediately, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 21.ArcelorMittal's new offer for hot-rolled coil is ?,?510 per tonne ex-works in the Ruhr area of Germany. The steelmaker decided to increase offers due to an expected recovery of market activity.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessm...Read More

Iranian export billet and slab prices remained unchanged in the week to Wednesday August 21, market sources told Fastmarkets.Iranian billet was on offer to foreign customers at $385-387 per tonne fob.In Southeast Asia, Iranian billet was available at $425 per tonne cfr - equivalent to $385 per tonne fob - with several bookings reported at or above that price.Fastmarke...Read More

RAPAPORT... Three major trade bodies have asked the organizer ofthe Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair to delay the show until the political climate in the municipality ismore stable. "Currently 30% to 40% of the exhibitors are demanding tocancel [their] participation regardless of whether the situation improves," theorganizations explained in an appeal sent on Wednesday to Informa Markets, w...Read More