The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange closed below the $4,800-per-tonne psychological threshold on Friday March 27, finishing at the day $4,790.50 per tonne with a turnover of just 11,475 lots.The underlying price hit an intraday high of $4,866.50 per tonne and a low of $4,768.50 per tonne on Friday.Copper's total LME on-warrant inventories remain high, at 177,025 tonnes o...Read More
A summary of the full-year financial performance of Chilean copper producer Codelco in 2019, as stated in its earnings report on Friday March 27.In brief Heavy rainfall in northern Chile alongside a strike at the Chuquicamata division reduced output during the first half of 2019, but activities recovered during the last half of the year. Codelco produced 710,000 tonnes in copper content durin...Read More
The Zambian government will remove the 5% import duty on metal concentrates to ease the pressure on copper and cobalt producers during global lockdowns imposed to halt the spread of the Covid-19 virus and and sharp declines in commodity prices. This is among a series of relief measures announced by the country's finance minister, Bwalya Ng'andu, on Friday March 27, in an official statement which a...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
The copper concentrate spot market has become active in Europe, Japan and South Korea as smelters look to cover tonnages disrupted by shutdowns and logistics hitches. Chinese smelters remain well covered.Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific dropped to $63.20 per tonne / 6.32 cents per lb, down from $66.70 / 6.67 cents, its lowest since February 7.Impact of virus-led lockdown...Read More
Fastmarkets reviews the week's developments in South African ores and alloys supply following the lockdown order from President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday March 23 amid the spread of Covid-19. Mines and smelters across the country were ordered to shut down by midnight on March 26. South Africa's largest manganese miner declares force majeure Miner Tshipi e Ntle declared force majeure on mangan...Read More
Bob Moriarty ArchivesMar 27, 2020We have entered a depression that is going to turn our world upside down. Before it ends the general stock market will be down 85-92%, banks will close and governments fall. People still do not realize the impact of the Coronavirus. It will kill tens of millions of people in the world before it fades away. It will change how we physically interact with each other.T...Read More
A summary of the full-year financial performance of Chilean copper producer Codelco in 2019, as stated in its earnings report on Friday March 27.In brief Heavy rainfall in northern Chile alongside a strike at the Chuquicamata division reduced output during the first half of 2019, but activities recovered during the last half of the year. Codelco produced 710,000 tonnes in copper content durin...Read More
Adam HamiltonArchivesMar 27, 2020 The carnage in the silver miners' stocks has been apocalyptic, fueled by the astounding COVID-19 stock panic. As terrified traders frantically dumped everything and ran for the hills, silver and its miners' stocks crashed. That catastrophic anomaly has potentially created epic contrarian buying opportunities. The silver miners' recently-reported Q4'19 results reve...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
First up, the slump in the Aussie dollar from last (calendar) year's average of US69c to below 60c has softened the blow of mineral commodity price falls (gold is a reserve asset and is doing its ownRead More
The company, which recently had to ensure the market it had no ticking debt time bomb lurking in its accounts, said the decision was made to maximise its liquidity in the uncertain age of COVID-19. The dividend pause was considered a prudent measure, and follows other companies in the mining contracting space including Perenti Global, Downer EDI, Lycopodium and Austin Engineering. ...Read More
The Zambian government will remove the 5% import duty on metal concentrates to ease the pressure on copper and cobalt producers during global lockdowns imposed to halt the spread of the Covid-19 virus and and sharp declines in commodity prices. This is among a series of relief measures announced by the country's finance minister, Bwalya Ng'andu, on Friday March 27, in an official statement which a...Read More
The price of austenitic alloy steel scrap in Europe plunged this week because of a sharp drop in demand, despite a lack of availability, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 27.The low demand has stemmed from a mixture of closures and reduced output rates at stainless steel mills, meaning a reduction in their feedstock requirements. In Italy, all mills have suspended operations following a gov...Read More
Gold COT Report - Futures Large SpeculatorsCommercialTotal LongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort 317,40535,48950,438154,761456,470522,604542,397 Change from Prior Reporting Period -18,885-1,270-3,626-28,187-54,782-50,698-59,678 Traders 18073785254268172 Small Speculators LongShortOpen Interest 51,32131,528573,925 -8,847133-59,545 non reportable posit...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinRead More
The price of ferrous scrap imported into India plummeted this week after the announcement of a 21-day lockdown across the country, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 27.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $247 per tonne on Friday. This was down by $44 per tonne from $291 per tonne one week earlier and at its lowest since October 24, 201...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the UK dropped by more than 23% in the week to Friday March 27, after a fall of almost 19% the previous week, and now stands at its lowest level since September 2016.The slump follows a collapse in demand for steel from car makers in the UK and Europe, with many car makers suspending output until further notice. Much of the UK's steel producti...Read More
Shares in the gold miner lost 15% Thursday after it deferred the payment of its interim dividend and withdrew full-year guidance due to the impacts of the outbreak.Read More
Markets are looking quite mixed this morning, Friday March 27, with most Asian-Pacific equity indices up, the pre-market Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) down by 1.1%, while base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange are up and gold is down from recent highs.It is not surprising the markets are mixed as it is confusing that the DJIA rallied by 6.4% on Thursday...Read More