Tin stocks held in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses jumped up by over 16% as of Friday May 10 due to weak demand, while lead stocks also rose by about 10% but inventories for other base metals fell. SHFE tin stocks totaled 8,477 tonnes on May 10, up 1,181 tonnes from 7,296 tonnes on April 30, which reflects a weak domestic market and a closed import window, according to market partici...Read More
The ongoing trade talks between the United States and China kept buyers on the sidelines on Friday May 10, sources said, with market participants expected to wait for clearer price direction before returning.Export prices were flat on Friday, but are expected to continue to face downward pressure due to the depreciation of the Chinese yuan against the US dollar. Falling domestic pri...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher during morning trading on Friday May 10, with price action largely unaffected by the United States' decision to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%. Rebounding by more than 1.6% over the morning session, the LME three-month nickel futures are now trading above $12,000 per tonne, with volumes trad...Read More
Some Chinese ferro-alloys and minor metals prices wavered in a week when the United States raised the import tariff on a number of commodities from China on Friday May 10.The US raised import tariffs on $200 billion-worth of Chinese products to 25% from 10% at noon Asia time on Friday. This followed a threat on Sunday by US President Donald Trump to raise tariffs ahead of a new round of trade talk...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday May 10:Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,000-7,200 per tonne from $7,000-7,300Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $6,900-7,100 per tonne from $7,000-7,200Bismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 43,000-45,500 yuan per tonne from 46,000-47,000 yuanCadmium MB free market min 99.95%, cents/lb: 125-133 per lb from 133-140Ca...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves. Read More
While US-China trade talks continue, the market seems to be clinging on for an eleventh-hour deal this morning, Friday May 10, because key markets are holding up surprisingly well.But, if a deal does not miraculously emerge soon then further disappointment is likely to set in.US raises tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25% China's CSI 300 is up by 3.2%, other Asian equity markets...Read More
US tariffs on a number of Chinese minor metals and ferro-alloys have been increased to 25%, affecting shipments of material from China from today, Friday May 10.Minor metals and ferro-alloys affected by the latest tariffs include: bismuth, cadmium, gallium, germanium, germanium dioxide, selenium, tellurium, silicon, magnesium, mercury, arsenic, rhenium, hafnium, ferro-tungsten, ferro-vanadium, fer...Read More
Stainless steelmaker Aperam has called for the European Commission (EC) to implement "fair trade measures for developing countries that are currently exempt from the safeguard [quota-tariff measures in Europe], such as Indonesia," it said this week."The question of exempting certain developing countries remains to be addressed, in particular in hot-rolled stainless steel," chief executive officer...Read More
Prices in the European domestic stainless steel market were stable this week but decreases are likely either late in May or early in June because of falling nickel prices as well as generally weak market conditions, sources said. Fastmarkets MB assessed the price of grade-304 stainless steel cold-rolled (CR) sheets at ?,?2,240-2,300 ($2,510-2,577) per tonne delivered on Friday May 10, unchanged we...Read More
China's stainless steel prices were unchanged over the past week, with trading activity in the market being described as stable.The Fastmarkets MB domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,000-14,500 yuan ($2,065-2,139) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday May 8, unchanged from two weeks earlier. China obse...Read More
Austenitic alloy steel scrap prices in Europe and the United Kingdom weakened this week because of further falls in nickel prices, sources told Fastmarkets MB.The three-month official nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was $11,900/11,925 per tonne on Friday May 10, down from $13,180/13,200 per tonne a month earlier. This drop of 10% over the preceding month was not initially tracked by aust...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday May 10:Aluminium scrapFloated Frag: ?,?1,010-1,050 per tonne from ?,?1,025-1,060Cast: ?,?910-930 per...Read More
Gay Huey Evans will be the first female chairperson of the London Metal Exchange, replacing Brian Bender when he retires at end of the year, Fastmarkets understands. Huey Evans has spent more than 30 years working in the financial services industry. She is currently a non-executive director of Itau BBA International Ltd, deputy chairperson of The Financial Reporting Council and a board...Read More
Guyana Goldfields (TSX:GUY) has a checkered past, but previous troubles may have made this stock a bargain.In 2016, Guyana stock was trading as high as $10 per share. Today, they’re barely over $1 apiece. With a market cap of roughly $200 million, many investors are calling it quits.To be sure, this stock comes with plenty of risks, but if you dig a bit deeper, an attractive bet emerges. He...Read More
It's always difficult when we have to watch our portfolios experience declines and a loss of value. But if you are well diversified, you are somewhat sheltered from the storm, because a well-diversified portfolio of holdings is designed to do just that.With the markets becoming increasingly jittery and seeing continued downward pressure, gold stocks are a good place to park your money for calm in...Read More
It's not "different this time." The steep, prolonged yield curve inversion reflects the onset of a deep global economic contraction which is now being confirmed by leading indicators such as semiconductor and auto sales. At some point the Fed is going to be forced by the market to cut the Fed Funds rate, as the 1yr Treasury is now yielding less that the Fed Funds target rate. In addition, the...Read More
Bill Holter is currently a writer for Miles Franklin and Jim Sinclair's Mineset where he posts weekly commentaries on gold and financial markets. Prior to joining Miles Franklin in 2012, Bill Holter Worked as a retail stockbroker for 23 years, including 12 years as a branch manager at A.G. Edwards. Later, he left Wall Street to avoid potential liabilities related to management of paper assets. Bil...Read More