The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) is petitioning the US Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) to include metals transport in its expanded national emergency declaration, which provides regulatory relief to commercial vehicle drivers amid the Covid-19 outbreak."ISRI is requesting emergency relief for the transportation of ferrous and no...Read More
Nationwide lockdowns and restrictions on activity to contain the Covid-19 pandemic could reduce the supply of iron ore in the seaborne market by around 18 million tonnes this year, according to mining company Vale.The Brazilian company gave its estimate in a presentation filed with the country's securities commission, CVM, on Tuesday March 31.Government actions intended to limit the spread of the...Read More
The Turkish steel mills have gone quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets after the recent sharp fall in prices, with more mills shutting down their operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sources said on Tuesday March 31.Two steel mills booked Baltic Sea cargoes late last week at around $206-207 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), which sent the daily scrap indices down by $23.42 per tonne at the beg...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market stabilized on Tuesday March 31 after the prior day's loss of more than $3 per tonne, attributed to a rebound in China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) and a slight boost in trading volumes. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.32 per tonne, up $0.34 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.08 per tonne, up $0....Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices fell across the board on Tuesday March 31, with market participants expecting further price declines due to weak demand outside China. Fastmarkets Indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $146.17 per tonne, down $1.56 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $154.25 per tonne, down $1.29 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $131.01 per tonne, down $3 per to...Read More
Vietnam will come under a 15-day lockdown from April 1, the country's health ministry said on Tuesday March 31. "The situation is very fluid now and there is no telling what may happen from now on," a ferrous scrap trader in the country told Fastmarkets on Tuesday.All cities in Vietnam will stop public gatherings and shut non-essential public services until April 15. Inbound flights have also been...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices continued to fall on Tuesday March 31, leaving market participants with the expectation that some flat steel producers would be making losses for some time.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,280-3,290 yuan ($462-463) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,250 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonnePrices fell further during the day...Read More
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rebounded to 52 in March, after 35.7 in February, which means 52% of purchasing managers reported conditions were “better” in March than they were a month earlier. This has provided some support to the base metals this morning, Tuesday March 31.* Asian-Pacific equity indices and pre-market western futures were mixe...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices decreased further on Tuesday March 31 amid declining futures, though the pessimism among market participants decreased following the release of a higher manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) as well as that for the steel sector. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,420-3,440 yuan ($482-485) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,340-3,370 yuan...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 21 points in pre-opening comments. The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at U.S. 70.27 cents following release of Canada's GDP at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a gain of 0.2% versus an increase of 0.3% in December. Actual was a gain of 0.1%.Conagra gained $1.53 to $29.76 after issuing positive fiscal fourth quarter...Read More
PRIVATE BLOG - Gold for the Close of the 1st QuarterPrivate blog posts are exclusively available to Socrates subscribers. To sign-up for Socrates or to learn more, please visit Ask-Socrates.com.https://ask-socrates.com/Read More
First Cobalt (TSXV: FCC; US-OTC: FTSSF) has produced a battery-grade cobalt sulphate for the second time in a row but using a different feed source, the company says.The second set of tests yielded battery grade cobalt sulphate assaying 21.4% cobalt derived from a cobalt alloy feed, and was produced at the company's hydrometallurgical refinery in Ontario, 600 km from Canada's border with the U.S.,...Read More
In early March, BHP (NYSE: BHP; LON: BHP) Chairman Ken MacKenzie said the mining giant was in a strong position should COVID-19's impact on the market create M&A opportunities."On balance, the business is in very good shape," Reuters reported MacKenzie as saying during the Australian Financial Review summit in Sydney on March 10. "I'm not sure if there will be any opportunities that will come from...Read More
Glencore (LON: GLEN) is postponing a decision on whether to proceed with a cash dividend of 20 ? per share totalling US$2.6 billion in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic."When the board is in a better position to consider COVID-19's updated impacts, the economic outlook, and the company's prospects, expected alongside release of the group's interim results in Q3 2020, it will then decide what level...Read More
This episode features a keynote speech by Pretium Resources president and CEO Joe Ovsenek at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto. Ovsenek discusses the history of the Brucejack mine from concept to production over more than 20 years. He also warns miners to beware of royalty deals at the early stage of mine development, and mentions how the company hop...Read More
Raymond James has updated its metal price forecasts for the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Its new full-year forecast for gold in 2020 is US$1,594 per oz., down from its previous forecast of US$1,638 per oz., while its silver price forecast stands at US$16.19 per oz., down from US$19.20 per oz.The brokerage is maintaining its 2021/2022 gold price forecast at US$1,600 per oz. and forecasts silve...Read More
So far, most cases on the U.S. West Coast are linked to a strain first identified in Washington state.Read full newsRead More
Mining operations in the Philippines' southern province of Surigao del Norte, home to most of the country's nickel mines, will be suspended from April 1 as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, two mining companies said on Tuesday.Read full newsRead More
The world was badly in need of laughter, and China just delivered.Read full newsRead More
'We have been receiving reports of people taking advantage of the current situation'Read full newsRead More