A slight increase in trading activity in northern China led to prices for hot-rolled coil edging up on Wednesday August 7, while those in the eastern region were supported by a trading spurt in the latter half of the day.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,690-3,700 yuan ($524-525) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,740 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were unchanged on Wednesday August 7 amid a fluctuating futures market clouded by a lot of pessimism generated by trade tensions between the country and the United States.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,770-3,800 yuan ($536-540) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,730-3,760 yuan per tonne, unchangedEarly gains in the futures market led some buyers to...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly down during morning trading on Wednesday August 7, with nickel down by 1.2%.The three-month nickel price was most recently trading at $14,765 per tonne, down by $180 per tonne from Tuesday's closing price of $14,945 per tonne. "[On Tuesday] nickel peaked at just over $15,000 per tonne on continued fears over Indonesian exports...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 11 points in pre-opening trade. Walt Disney dropped $5.86 to $136.01 after reporting lower than consensus fiscal third quarter earnings. Weight Watchers (WW $21.01) is expected to open higher after reporting higher than consensus second quarter earnings. The company also raised guidance. CVS Health advanced $2.41 to $...Read More
Cobalt market participants expect a further uptick in cobalt hydroxide payables, following the news that Glencore intends to temporarily shut down its Mutanda project in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Fastmarkets learned at Antaike's Battery Materials Conference in Guiyang, southwest China, being held August 7-8.But the slow response of the downstream battery sector may hinder any immediate s...Read More
A growing trade spat in East Asia could disrupt the trade in lithium cobalt batteries, flurochemicals, and minor metals. Rising trade tensions between Japan and South Korea threaten to disrupt the lithium cobalt battery market in East Asia in a rapidly developing sideshow to the United States-China face-off. By removing each other from import white lists, the Japan and South Korea threaten supply...Read More
Cobalt prices in the Chinese market, including cobalt metal and sulfate, rose quickly on Wednesday August 7, with sentiment strengthening after concerns of near-term supply surplus eased to a large extent.Earlier in the day on August 7, Glencore announced it will shut its Mutanda copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the end of 2019 for care and maintenance, mainly as...Read More
The publication of Fastmarkets' alloy grade and standard grade cobalt price assessments for August 7 were delayed because of extenuating circumstances - namely, an unusually high level of market activity related to industry developments.Glencore's decision on Wednesday 7 to shut its Mutanda copper-cobalt mine by the end of 2019 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) triggered an unusually h...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' Wednesday August 7 pricing session in Europe:Key drivers Ferro-titanium suppliers increase offer prices, with the range moving slightly higher at the top end, although overall business conditions are quiet given the time of year. At present there is tight availability on a spot basis and an increase in buying inquiries for August and September, although consumer demand i...Read More
QUESTION: Marty, Socrates has done an amazing job forecasting gold all by itself. What I find stunning is gold is rising but so is the dollar. This once again points out that all this gold analysis that it will soar because the dollar is fiat and will go to zero seems really absurd. You have warned that during the early stages gold will rise with the dollar. That is unfolding yet it is going unnot...Read More
Australia-listed miner Centaurus Metals Ltd has reached an agreement with Vale to acquire the latter's Jaguar nickel sulfide project in the Caraj??s mineral province, northern Brazil, it said on Tuesday August 6. The agreement, requiring an upfront cash payment of $250,000, also included an asset swap between the two companies. Centaurus will transfer the Salobo West copper-gold project, also in t...Read More
Eastern China's Delong Nickel Industry plans to commence construction of the second phase of its stainless steel mill project in October. This phase would involve the setting up of nickel pig iron and crude stainless steel facilities, according to...Read More
Currency manipulator!Today we point an indignant and accusing finger at the latest currency manipulator.Let all proper authorities take notice.The accused is not China - incidentally.But we cannot proceed without first noting another manipulated market...The stock market presented a distressed scene this morning.Plunging bond yields are the explanation widely on offer (falling yields reflect a poo...Read More
Ferro-chrome market conditions will remain challenging in the near term due to oversupply and macroeconomic factors, Glencore warned on Wednesday August 7.The trader-miner noted an average charge chrome price of 81 cents per lb in the first half of 2019, referencing Fastmarkets' ferro-chrome index 50% Cr import, cif Shanghai, $/Ib contained Cr, down by around 16% year on year.The index has held at...Read More
One of the crucial insights in currency trading that many investors fail to grasp is that currencies don't go to zero, and they don't go through the roof. That's a generalization, but an important one. Here are the qualifications:This observation applies to major currencies only - not to currencies of corrupt or incompetent countries like Venezuela or Zimbabwe. Those currencies do go to zero throu...Read More
Thickened tailings deposition for closureSPONSOREDsrk consultingNew mineral sands miner polishes its ImageSPONSOREDimage resourcesAustralian Vanadium targets growing energy-storage and steel marketsSPONSOREDaustralian vanadiumSaturn's high-grade discovery gives Apollo Hill a rocketSPONSOREDsaturn metalsLast week saw two deals of reasonable scale in the precious metals space. The first was mid-...Read More
Thickened tailings deposition for closureSPONSOREDsrk consultingNew mineral sands miner polishes its ImageSPONSOREDimage resourcesAustralian Vanadium targets growing energy-storage and steel marketsSPONSOREDaustralian vanadiumSaturn's high-grade discovery gives Apollo Hill a rocketSPONSOREDsaturn metalsMy beloved son and heir, now in his early teens is, to his credit, showing some interest and...Read More
Low cobalt prices and higher taxes under the new mining code in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have combined to make Glencore's (LON: GLEN) Mutanda cobalt and copper operation uneconomic, the company says.Mutanda - the world's largest cobalt mine - will transition to care and maintenance by year-end. Last year the mine produced 27,000 tonnes cobalt (20% of the world's supply of the metal) an...Read More
Semafo (TSX: SMF) has cut 2019 production guidance for its Mana mine in Burkina Faso by 40,000 to 50,000 oz. gold, following a pit-wall failure in the northern part of the Wona pit on August 2.The intermediate gold producer now expects the mine will produce between 130,000 and 140,000 oz. gold this year, down from its earlier guidance of 170,000 to 190,000 oz. gold.According to Semafo's 2019 mine...Read More
Sales of electric vehicles in Canada are up 30 per cent this year. Bloomberg Intelligence's Nick Albanese looks at what's behind the increase.Read full newsRead More