The Covid-19 pandemic is a unifier in that it impacts all. But sub-Saharan Africa is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis that threatens to throw the region off its stride, reversing the development progress of recent years and hitting the mining sector hard.The mineral-rich region - which comprises 46 of the 54 countries in the continent below the Sahara - is expected to see its eco...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
The Chinese domestic spot battery-grade lithium carbonate price fell by 2.7% on Thursday April 16 after buyers dropped offers again to stimulate a reluctant market, while the Asian seaborne market finally ended its steady streak.China's battery-grade lithium carbonate price resumed trending downward due to weak buying appetite. The price of Chinese industry-grade lithium carbonate, produced using...Read More
Steel mills in India have kept the price for hot-rolled coil stable for April sales while starting shipments to direct users despite the nationwide lockdown intended to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic."We have been using railways since late last week to transport HRC to our direct customers and to warehouses closer to the point of consumption," an official from a private sector mill sa...Read More
Today is Friday, April 17, 2020, and this is your daily gold market update. Let's look at the latest price of gold, value of the dollar, gold/silver ratio, Commitment of Traders data, and exchange-traded fund (ETF) prices to get a sense of how the yellow metal is faring today.Gold PriceThe price of one troy ounce of gold in U.S. dollars today is $1,723.40. It's up 0.29% from yesterday and up 35.26...Read More
Prices for flat steel in Turkey were mixed in the week to Friday April 17, with some prices moving higher and others lower, while demand improved slightly from last week, market participants said.Demand strengthened because stocks among buyers were low, Turkish sources said.Scrap prices continued to increase during the week on reduced availability. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2...Read More
Today is Friday, April 17, 2020, and this is your daily energy stocks roundup. Today we're looking at the valuations of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Callon Petroleum (NYSE: CPE), and Enerplus Corporation (NYSE: ERF).ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP)ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a $33.47 billion company today with a one-year return of -33.77%. Let's look at its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, its enterprise...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have moved down again due to low market activity and decreasing import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 17.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?453.33 ($492.61) per tonne on Friday April 17, down by ?,?1.67 per tonne from ?,?455 per tonne on April 16.Domestic HRC prices in t...Read More
Here is what's new today on INK Ultra Money. If you are not already a Canadian Insider Club Ultra member, join now for full access to premium content and much more. If you do not want to make an annual commitment, sign up for Advantage Ultra at our sister site InsiderTracking.com where you can take out a monthly subscription for the ultra low rate of US$9.99 per month plus tax.1. The deep structu...Read More
More Italian steel producers have resumed operations in the week ended Friday April 17 despite the Covid-19-related lockdown in the country being extended until May 3.European steelmakers have been reducing output and temporarily idling equipment due to the poor demand resulting from lockdown orders and other quarantine measures implemented across the region with the intention of preventing the sp...Read More
Prices for steel rebar in Poland were unchanged over the past seven days, while demand slowed down toward the end of the week, sources told Fastmarkets on April 17.Trading activity in the Polish rebar market declined at the end of the week end, with most buyers already well stocked for material, sources said.Additionally, construction activity was also reported to be slightly weaker due to the ong...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices increased on Friday April 17 amid strong demand, although futures prices dropped after China's first-quarter economy data was released, Fastmarkets heard. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,450-3,480 yuan ($488-492) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,450-3,480 yuan per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneChina's gross domestic production (GDP) dropped by...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom inched up over the past week following an ongoing shortage of supply and rising global markets, sources said on Friday April 17. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK moved up by ?5 per tonne to ?50-60($62-75) per tonne on April 17, up from ?45...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States was dead during the week to Friday April 17, with buyers showing little interest in purchases while suppliers were not in a rush to stimulate sales by lowering offers to other outlets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was stable week on week at $285-290 per tonne on Friday."The steel mills [which are the m...Read More
UK suppliers of steel scrap to domestic consumers have reported a decrease in their prices in the latest monthly settlements in April, following poor market conditions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 17.Fastmarkets assesses the prices of trend-indicating grades in the UK such as HMS 1&2 (old steel) and OA plate and structural (P&S) scrap.The pr...Read More
Prices paid for Brazil-origin steel slab in export deals have narrowed in the week ended on Friday April 17, with recovering demand in Asia and Europe resulting in increased numbers of deals, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of the price of steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil narrowed to $320-345 per tonne on Friday, from $310-355 per tonne a week before.New bids and orders for Bra...Read More
By Gary SavageGary Savagehttps://blog.smartmoneytrackerpremium.com/Read More
Gold COT Report - FuturesLarge SpeculatorsCommercialTotalLongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort286,61734,11633,338116,839397,247436,794464,701Change from Prior Reporting Period 6,7373,1783,517-2,0462,7518,2089,446Traders19566684954275160 Small Speculators (C) GoldSeek.com LongShortOpen Interest 53,17125,264489,965 1,7074699,915 non reportable positionsChange from the pr...Read More
By Richard (Rick) MillsImagine, if you will, there was no coronavirus. No haz-mat suits, medical masks & gloves, no make-shift morgues. No terminally ill patients hooked up to ventilators, no horrible deaths without love ones close, no lockdowns, no social distancing, no deserted streets, no bailouts, no emergency wage supplements, just a regular spring with birds chirping and flowers blooming....Read More