Seaborne iron ore prices continued to follow the downward trend on Tuesday April 16, while the seaborne spot market remained thin. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $94.78 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.64 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $93.56 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.64 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $96.70 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.87 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Pr...Read More
The cfr China segment of the seaborne premium hard coking coal market picked up some strength on Tuesday April 16 after a steelmaker snapped up several available cargoes.A Panamax shipment of a top Australian brand that is on its way to China was sold at $203.50 per tonne cfr China, both counterparties confirmed to Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 16.A Capesize shipment of premium mid-vol hard coking...Read More
Australian miner Rio Tinto has reduced its 2019 iron ore production guidance to 333-343 million tonnes, from 338-350 million tonnes, 100% basis, as estimated at the end of fourth quarter of 2018.The lower production guidance was due to a slower ramp up and ongoing disruptions to shipments caused by weather and other disruptions, the miner said. Most of Rio Tinto's iron ore output originates from t...Read More
A summary of Rio Tinto's production results for the three months ended March 31, 2019, as well as its full-year production guidance.In brief Iron ore production at the company's Pilbara operations in Western Australia totaled 67 million tonnes (100% basis) in January-March 2019, 9% lower than the same period of 2018 after production was disrupted by tropical cyclone Veronica in March and a fire at...Read More
Engelhart Commodities Trading Partners (ECTP) moved closer to exiting London Metal Exchange warehousing operations on Tuesday April 16, with the sale of its European sheds and stocks to Dutch logistics company Kloosterboer.The purchaser is well known for its juice-processing facilities but as yet has only a small presence in the metals markets."Kloosterboer is now especially active in fruit juice,...Read More
Fastmarkets' alumina index fob Australia fell to its lowest in over two months on April 16 due to continued extra cargoes in the market and positive news surrounding Alunorte's restart.The daily fob Australia alumina index fell to $354.85 per tonne today, down 3.9% from the previous day and 11.3% lower week on week from when the index was at $411.29 per tonne.Key driversIndex pushes lower after a...Read More
The Comex copper price staged a modest rebound in US morning trading on Tuesday April 16 with the market waiting for a new catalyst to sustain solid price direction. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded 0.35 cents to $2.9385 per lb. The contract has been unable to set solid price momentum over the past few weeks with prices rising...Read More
The Fanya Exchange will auction 34.64 tonnes of the indium stock it holds in its warehouse on April 24, after the first auction in January failed to attract any bidders. The stock will be auctioned via Alibaba judicial online platform at 10am Beijing time on April 24 and 10am Beijing time on April 25. The starting price of this new lot is 1,080 yuan ($160) per kg, excluding VAT and storage costs....Read More
Trading across most of the metals is relatively quiet in early morning on Tuesday April 16 and the market seems to be waiting for fresh direction, which we think means the market is waiting for a US/China trade deal. Before that, today's ZEW and US industrial production data may provide direction, as too will tomorrow's Chinese GDP data. Asian equities are stronger this morning, suggests a ri...Read More
The UG2 chrome ore price fell again on Friday April 12 after activity lessened due to market participants waiting for Chinese mills' next ferro-chrome tender releases; meanwhile falling demand pushed down the high-carbon ferro-chrome assessment in Europe. UG2 and Turkish lumpy ore prices in China drop Domestic alloy price in China weakens Alloy markets in Japan, South Korea, Europe fa...Read More
China's largest steel mill, Hebei Steel, has concluded its ferro-silicon tenders for March and April at levels below those released at the start of the year and close to alloy production costs. Hebei Steel's latest tender price for April is 6,250 yuan ($932.14) per tonne, for about 2,775 tonnes of ferro-silicon, according to sources. Hebei Steel's tender price for March was 6,200 yuan per tonne fo...Read More
Global stock and bond markets continue to be driven by the macros of a possible trade deal, accommodative central banks, weaker earnings, continued stock buybacks, and rising government debt.Gold is driven by these same macros, but it has the additional price driver of seasonal Chindian physical market demand.It's currently the soft season for physical demand, but the rest of the price drive...Read More
Marijuana and tech stocks maybe the hottest new investments that have created multiple millionaires in recent years, but it is junior gold miners that offer similar if not more potential with less risk for investors seeking outsized returns. The heady days of the 70s and 80s when massive mining booms were minting millionaires virtually overnight may have come to an end, but there are many gold pro...Read More
Looking for a reliable income producing investment that bolsters the defensiveness of your portfolio and helps to hedge against risk as well as growing economic uncertainty? Look no further than precious metals streamers.The latest sharp pullback in gold and silver has created an opportunity for investors to boost their exposure to precious metals and protect their portfolios against a looming e...Read More
From electric vehicles to insecurity about recession to a novel spin on Brexit investment, there's a lot to be said for getting into precious metals. Let's break down the stats for several of the best gold stocks before heading over to two tech-centric plays for a capital gains investor.Brexit investors should be going for gold With a temporary reprieve from Brexit, the British economy is still c...Read More
Global stock and bond markets continue to be driven by the macros of a possible trade deal, accommodative central banks, weaker earnings, continued stock buybacks, and rising government debt.Gold is driven by these same macros, but it has the additional price driver of seasonal Chindian physical market demand.It's currently the soft season for physical demand, but the rest of the price drive...Read More
The current stock market is the most dangerous stock market I have seen in my 34+ year career as a financial markets professional. This includes 1987, 1999-2000 and 2007-2008. The run-up in stocks has been largely a product of momentum-chasing hedge fund algos on behalf of the large universe of sophisticated hedge funds which are desperate for performance. In the context of the obviously deteriora...Read More
FOR SEVERAL YEARS WE HAVE STATED THAT THE PRICE OF GOLD IS BEING MANIPULATED BY THE BANKERS, CENTRAL BANKERS AND BROKERAGE HOUSES. WHY DO THEY DO IT? BECAUSE IF GOLD MOVES MUCH ABOVE THE $1300 RANGE IT IS AN INDICATION THAT INFLATION IS MORE THAN THE 1% TO 2% IT IS REPORTED TO BE, INTEREST RATES WILL RISE AND IT WILL CAUSE THE STOCK MARKET TO DECLINE. SO THE MANIPULATION W...Read More
Vale (BZ: VALE3) said earlier a court ruling meant it could fully restart its Brucutu operations, which would return 30 million tonnes of production annually, however it did not lift its revised sales guidance due to heavy rains in March and April impacting production elsewhere. Vale closed 3.45% higher in Brazil but Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) was down 6.7% at...Read More
The pair petitioned the US Department of Commerce under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 in January 2018, seeking a 25% quota in America's nuclear market for domestic production and a "buy American" policy for US government entities that use uranium. They said the DOC had submitted its report to the White House on April 14 and president Donald Trump had 90 days from then to act...Read More