Aurubis' copper refining facility in Belgium has to operate at 50% of its full capacity due to an earlier incident, diverting intermediate-product copper anodes to the spot market, Fastmarkets has learned.Last November, a transport crane collapsed in the electrolysis section of Aurubis' copper tankhouse in Olen, Belgium, which transforms anodes into cathodes of 99.995% copper content. The Ole...Read More

Noranda Income Fund (NIF) is assessing whether capital investments at its facilities could help improve its production capacity and profitability in light of a decline in the quality of global zinc concentrates.NIF, which owns the Canadian Electrolytic Zinc (CEZ) facility in the province of Quebec, said the decline in concentrates quality has been in terms of the zinc grade and the level of impuri...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 12 that are worth another look.Two more steel producers in Italy have stopped operations following the recent nationwide extension of the country's coronavirus-related quarantine area, and more stoppages were expected, sources told Fastmarkets on March 12.Ball Corporation is to acquire Tubex Industria E Comercio de Embalagen...Read More

A substantial increase to air-freight costs from China into Europe and the US is weighing on negotiations for indium, germanium and gallium, which are usually shipped as air freight on commercial aircrafts, sources said."Since the coronavirus outbreak started, the cost of shipping by air has almost doubled for all air shipments," a Chinese germanium producer said.Air freight rates generally range...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have gone down in the latest deal for a Baltic Sea cargo, with steel producers still trying to cover their urgent needs with short-sea deals instead, sources said on Thursday March 12.A steel mill in the country was heard booking a Baltic Sea cargo from Poland at the beginning of the week at $273-273.50 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20). The cargo breakdown was...Read More

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJIA) closed down by 5.9% on Wednesday, and in the pre-market this morning, Thursday March 12, the DJIA futures are down by around 4.4% - such is the continued fear in the market. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange and on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down across the board by an average of 1% and 1.7% respectively, as of 7:50am London time. A...Read More

The United Kingdom government revealed plans to invest over ?1 billion ($1.3 billion) on green transport, including ?500 million for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure over the next five years, in its 2020 budget announcement on Wednesday March 11.During the budget presentation, UK chancellor Rishi Sunak committed to make it cheaper to buy low emission vehicles and cutting taxes on cl...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 12 that are worth another look.Two more steel producers in Italy have stopped operations following the recent nationwide extension of the country's coronavirus-related quarantine area, and more stoppages were expected, sources told Fastmarkets on March 12.Ball Corporation is to acquire Tubex Industria E Comercio de Embalagen...Read More

The trend in the European market for hot-rolled coil remained blurry due to the lockdown in Italy intended to restrict the spread of coronavirus, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 12.The consequences of the outbreak of 2019-nCoV coronavirus that led to the lockdown have also resulted in stoppages at some long steel producers in the country.But Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil inde...Read More

Chinese hot-rolled coil exporters expressed growing concern over thin trading caused by the global spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) on Thursday March 12, despite improved control of the outbreak within China.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,500-3,520 yuan ($503-506) per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,330-3,340 yuan per tonne, widen...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 12 that are worth another look.Two more steel producers in Italy have stopped operations following the recent nationwide extension of the country's coronavirus-related quarantine area, and more stoppages were expected, sources told Fastmarkets on March 12.Ball Corporation is to acquire Tubex Industria E Comercio de Embalagen...Read More

Two more steel producers in Italy have stopped operations following the recent nationwide extension of the country's coronavirus-related quarantine area, and more stoppages were expected, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 12.On March 11, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree tightening the Italian lockdown from the conditions set out in a previous decree on March 9. While...Read More

Daniel R. Amerman, CFAThe traditional reason for investing in gold is to protect from inflation, but history shows that gold has far more valuable uses than if it were just a mere inflation hedge. In this chapter, using six stages of analysis, we will explore a powerful and highly consistent historical relationship between gold and stocks that offers investors the ability to use gold in ways tha...Read More

Stefan GleasonAs the coronavirus spreads fear, sickness, and death, a specter haunts investors - the specter of deflation.Despite central bankers' attempts to push inflation rates higher, equity and commodity markets are collapsing. Inflation expectations as reflected in tanking U.S. Treasury yields, meanwhile, appear headed toward zero - and perhaps even below."I think that we have a real dange...Read More

By: Ira EpsteinGold 18 week moving average near $1,542, trying to hold the lows here but now need to see what the market does..Read More

A USA Today headline this morning indicated that the Dow was diving as virus concerns counter hope for fiscal steps.U.S. stocks teetered on the edge of a bear market Wednesday as worries persisted over economies reeling from the coronavirus outbreak.""Concerns have grown that a prolonged outbreak may bring on a recession.""Goldman Sachs forecast that the longest ever bull market "will soon end...Read More

Prices for imported steel billet in Egypt decreased in the week ended Thursday March 12 but demand remained soft, sources have told Fastmarkets.Some Egyptian rebar producers increased their prices on February 26.Egyptian rebar producers were still offering rebar at E ?9,600-10,100 ($610-641) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT,...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have gone down in the latest deal for a Baltic Sea cargo, with steel producers still trying to cover their urgent needs with short-sea deals instead, sources said on Thursday March 12.A steel mill in the country was heard booking a Baltic Sea cargo from Poland at the beginning of the week at $273-273.50 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20). The cargo breakdown was...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices moved up on Thursday March 12, with a bid for Brazilian Blend Fines coming in at $92 per tonne cfr China - lower than the previous traded price, but higher than some market participant estimates on Wednesday.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.75 per tonne, up $0.70 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.46 per tonne, up $1....Read More

China has resumed importing steel billet amid an open arbitrage window between international and domestic prices despite high levels of steel inventory within the country, sources told Fastmarkets.An Indonesian steelmaker was heard to have sold 20,000 tonnes of April-shipment 150mm billet produced using a blast furnace at $395 per tonne fob, or about $407-410 per tonne cfr China, based on an estim...Read More