China's domestic hot-rolled coil market fell further on Monday May 13 after trading activity fell, while exporters too lowered their prices.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,020-4,030 yuan ($589-590) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,890-3,900 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneHRC prices in China's major markets fell on Monday after mills lowered their offers by...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia declined over the past week due to sluggish trading activity in the spot market. Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia was $460-470 per tonne cfr on Monday May 13, down $10 per tonne from a week earlier. One shipment of slab produced in Iran was booked at $420 per tonne cfr to Thail...Read More
The weak Turkish lira and renewed trade tensions between the United States and China have dampened demand for imported hot-rolled coil in Vietnam.The Fastmarkets MB weekly import price assessment for HRC in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold into Vietnam - was $530-540 per tonne cfr for the week ending Monday May 13, uncha...Read More
Chile's Compa???-a de Acero del Pac?-fico (CAP) posted a nearly 50% year-on-year decline in first-quarter iron ore shipping volumes due to the suspension of iron ore at the Puerto Guacolda II port, the steel and iron ore producer said last week.CAP was forced to halt operations at the Puerto Guacolda II port, in Huasco, a city in Chile's Atacama Region, after a deadly accident...Read More
Vale plans to invest around $2.5 billion in iron ore dry processing during the next five years in a move that is estimated to switch 70% of output to this method, the Brazilian mining company said on Monday May 13.Over the past 10 years, capital expenditures in Brazil aimed at reaching this goal have totaled $17.5 billion, Vale said. Roughly 60% of the miner's production is currently dry, usi...Read More
ArcelorMittal has discontinued operations at a blast furnace in the city of Divin??polis, in Brazil's south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, which produced pig iron.The blast furnace was stopped on May 8, the company said. The equipment was being leased by ArcelorMittal and will now be returned to the owner, which will decide about future operations, the company said.ArcelorMittal had been operating...Read More
The depreciation of the Turkish lira has continued to drive the prices for domestic ship scrap and auto bundle scrap in opposite directions over the past week, sources said on Monday May 13.All four steel producers in the Izmir region have reduced their buy prices for domestic shipbreaking scrap by $10 per tonne over the past seven days.Three steel mills cut their buy prices for the material to $2...Read More
Seaborne iron ore pellet transaction volumes and prices remained robust in the week ended Friday May 10, while the corresponding figures for iron ore concentrate remained weak.PelletsThe weekly Fastmarkets MB 65% Fe Blast Furnace Pellet Index was $128.58 per tonne cfr China on May 10, up by $0.40 per tonne from a week earlier.A cargo of 64% Fe Indian Jindal pellet traded at $121-122 per tonne cfr,...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices softened on Monday May 13 amid weaker steel markets and an appreciation of the United States dollar against the Chinese yuan.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $96.10 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.14 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $94.78 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.14 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $99.92 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.58 per...Read More
Delegates at the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) annual Iron Ore Week welcomed the SGX's multiple iron-ore derivative contracts launched over the last decade, saying that each contract served specific market requirements, Fastmarkets heard."Iron ore quality depends a lot on geological factors and, unlike copper, it is not a homogenous [product] so therefore it makes sense to have different derivatives...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market maintained its upward momentum on Monday May 13 on steady demand for the steelmaking raw material outside of China.A June-loading cargo of branded materials was traded at $211.50 per tonne fob Australia on trading platform Global Coal during the day, market sources said.A July-laycan cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal was also sold at $203 per tonne fob Austr...Read More
Domestic prices for rebar in eastern China dipped on Monday May 13 amid high selling interest among stockists. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,040-4,080 yuan ($592-597) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,910-3,960 yuan per tonne, unchangedSellers in eastern China lowered their prices slightly to secure more sales in an effort to destock. Many stockists are worried th...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week-long period to Friday May 10.ChinaThe Chinese silicon export market's price range tightened with downstream buyers refusing to pay higher prices amid bearish sentiment. Concurrently, dip-buying and tight upstream supply boosted the low end of the range. The biggest producer in northern China has halted around hal...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week-long period to Friday May 10.China The Chinese domestic antimony price fell significantly on an increase in supply after almost all the private antimony producers in Lengshuijiang city resumed their production after the May Day holiday (May 1-4). Chinese antimony suppliers cut their offers last week to encourage sales in a weak mar...Read More
The lack of any last minute breakthrough in US-China trade talks has led to risk-off this morning, Monday 13 May, with money moving into haven assets.Lack of a US-China trade deal prompts risk-off European equities follow Asian equities lower, US treasury yields weaken Base metals In line with the escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China, most of the three-month base metals...Read More
Predicting where a stock will be in 10 years is a difficult task. Doing so for a mining stock is even tougher.Still, there are several important clues that can help us predict the future more clearly.Take Barrick Gold Corp (TSX:ABX)(NYSE:GOLD) for example. Over the last decade, shares have lost more than half of their value.After its multi-billion merger with Rangold and a new joint venture with N...Read More
Commodity prices are broadly down over the past month, and one has to wonder if it all isn't spelling trouble for certain leading Canadian metals and mining stocks.Negotiations between China and the United States hit another bump in the road with the U.S. announcing on Friday plans for additional tariffs on Chinese imports.But while the absolute dollar amount the new tariffs sounds onerous, they'r...Read More
When this year started, I’d argued that investors should keep gold in their portfolios. Central banks had seemingly capitulated on their rate-tightening paths in late 2018. This spurred a stock market run in the first quarter of 2019. The yellow metal managed to hold steady for much of the year before a dip in April.The deterioration in trade talks between the United States and China has rat...Read More
Stewart Thomsonemail: stewart@gracelandupdates.comemail: stewart@gracelandjuniors.comemail:admin@guswinger.comMay 14, 2019 The short seasonal rally for gold that typically follows India’s Akha Teej holiday (May 7 this year) is in play but this time it is being “juiced” by a major US stock market meltdown! In a game with nine innings, the US business cycle is probably in the eight...Read More