SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – SMM expects prices of nickel ore to continue its decline in the short term as supply grows.Nickel ore exports from the Philippines are rising as the weather improved from mid-March, an SMM survey showed.High-grade nickel ore with 1.8% Ni traded at $53.5/wmt cif this week, down some $2/wmt from the previous week. For editorial queries, please contact D...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar dropped below 90 at one point and then hovered around 89.7 as the Federal Reserve anticipated hiking interest rates three times in 2018, below market expectations of four hikes. Nonferrous metals rose due to the weak US dollar and higher oil prices....Read More
Ivanhoe said it was continuing strategic discussions with "several significant mining companies and investors" about its three African development projects, two of which are in the DRC, and said several investors that expressed interest had "no material limit on the provision of capital".The company has appointed five mine financing institutions to arrange debt financing to develop its 64%-owned P...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar dropped below 90 at one point and then hovered around 89.7 as the Federal Reserve anticipated hiking interest rates three times in 2018, below market expectations of four hikes. Nonferrous metals rose due to the weak US dollar and higher oil prices....Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar dropped below 90 at one point and then hovered around 89.7 as the Federal Reserve anticipated hiking interest rates three times in 2018, below market expectations of four hikes. Nonferrous metals rose due to the weak US dollar and higher oil prices....Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper rebounded from the $6,700/mt level overnight as long positions entered the market. Copper prices are expected to rebound if China's economic data remain strong and the global bearish sentiment eases. We see LME copper trading at $6,800-6,860/mt today, with the SHFE 1805 contract trading at 51,000-51,600 yuan/mt. Spot discounts are seen smaller a...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper rebounded from the $6,700/mt level overnight as long positions entered the market. Copper prices are expected to rebound if China's economic data remain strong and the global bearish sentiment eases. We see LME copper trading at $6,800-6,860/mt today, with the SHFE 1805 contract trading at 51,000-51,600 yuan/mt. Spot discounts are seen smaller a...Read More
What we have seen so far are just the opening shots of the coming trade war. Think of it as the Battles of Lexington and Concord that opened the Revolutionary War. Much larger tariffs and penalties are waiting in the wings.Trump will soon receive a report under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. That report has been almost a year in preparation and will reveal that China has stolen over $1 tril...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper rebounded from the $6,700/mt level overnight as long positions entered the market. Copper prices are expected to rebound if China's economic data remain strong and the global bearish sentiment eases. We see LME copper trading at $6,800-6,860/mt today, with the SHFE 1805 contract trading at 51,000-51,600 yuan/mt. Spot discounts are seen smaller a...Read More
As you know by now, the Fed raised its target rate yesterday.I'll have more to say about that in the days ahead. But today I want to address some news that could have even larger ramifications for markets and the economy. The mainstream media haven't given it nearly the consideration it deserves.What am I talking about?President Trump announced plans today designed to punish China for stealing Ame...Read More
The Colorado School of Mines chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers was named Region 3 Chapter of the Year during the SHPE's Regional Leadership and Development Conference, held March 1-3 at Boise State University.Fourteen Mines students took part in the conference, which seeks to improve chapters' organizational, managerial and technical skills. Andres Guerra, teaching associat...Read More
We're starting to pack for a spring break trip to El Salvador next week, where both the air and water are in the 80s.Meanwhile, a few of the families we're friends with are packing for a snowboard trip to Aspen.My daughter would certainly like to be there drinking hot chocolate and toasting marshmallows with the rest of her crew, but she'll happily forgo a couple sweets for something she likes eve...Read More
Colorado School of Mines will launch a first-of-its-kind graduate program in space resources this fall, and 9News Denver recently featured the story on its "Next with Kyle Clark" show.Angel Abbud-Madrid, director of the Center for Space Resources, was interviewed along with two graduate students who work in the Space Resources lab, Jared Atkinson and Hunter Williams. Atkinson is pursuing a PhD in...Read More
For decades, OPEC has been able to hold over our heads the threat of cripplingly-high oil prices. With +30 million barrels per day of the world’s oil production, OPEC’s ability to manipulate the price of the commodity is undeniable.This has led to a maddening amount of our foreign policy being dictated by the only product supplied by this Middle East cartel, thus giving OPEC nations a...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange plummeted at the close on Thursday March 22, while the dollar index staged a recovery.Nickel prices were the worst affected closing 2.7% lower and trading at a low of $13,060 per tonne - its lowest since February 12. The metal is under pressure from poor underlying demand from Chinese stainless steel mills. "Stainless steel prices in China have strug...Read More
Exporters of CIS-origin pig iron have been focusing on the market in the United States, where demand is higher and prices are expected to rise, unlike in the Italian market where prices have reached a peak, sources told Metal Bulletin this week.Metal Bulletin's export price assessment on Thursday March 22 for high-manganese pig iron from the CIS region widened to $370-395 per tonne fob Black Sea,...Read More
Volatility is the key risk to lead and zinc prices for the next few years and traders should begin to hedge their risk, Oliver Nugent, commodity strategist at ING Bank, said on a panel at Metal Bulletin's Lead & Zinc conference in London on Thursday March 22. "Volatility is on the horizon and so much can happen - the lead and zinc prices are especially prone to this," he told delegates at the two-...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market had another quiet day on Thursday March 22, with the country's steel mills absent from trading for a second week, sources said.There has been no significant trading since the mills in the Middle Eastern country stepped back from the deep-sea scrap markets on March 9, when the United States applied a 25% duty on imports of steel products following its Sectio...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Thursday March 22.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange mostly edged higher during morning trading on Thursday March 22, with the dollar experiencing a bout of weakness.The dollar came under pressure on the US Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) slightly dovish tone - the committee did not suggest it was...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday March 22.Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly higher during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with support coming from a weaker dollar following Wednesday's US Federal Reserve meeting.The most-traded May copper contract on the SHFE was at 51,110 yuan ($8...Read More