Gold’s volatile little brother had aninteresting run thus far, with internet forums buoying its price. But willfundamentals prevail? Where is silver headed?“The Ides of March are come,” saidCaesar. “Aye Caesar; but not gone,” replied the soothsayer. The Ides of Marchquotation is often bandied about in financial articles midway through themonth. Caesar was assassinated...Read More

A year ago this past week marked the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic. It also was the last full week of trading in the financial markets preceding crashes in all markets and a near-complete, albeit temporary, shutdown of economic activity.Subsequent rebounds in stocks, bonds and real estate took valuations to levels as high  or higher (much higher for stocks and gold) than before the turbulenc...Read More

Sector expert Michael Ballanger considers how recent market moves have influenced investment in the precious metals markets. I had not intended to hit the keyboard today, having worked all week to prepare the Special Situations Report on my top-performing Norseman Silver Ltd. (NOC:TSX.V) (whose 65% year-to-date advance and 869% advance since the March 2020 lows has been a pleasant surprise), but F...Read More

The ECB accelerated its asset purchases, but unless the Fed follows suit, gold may continue its bearish trend.On Thursday (Mar. 11), the European Central Bankdecided to accelerate its asset buying under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program :Based on a joint assessment of financing conditions and the inflation outlook, the Governing Council expects purchases under the PEPP over the next quarter...Read More

China released its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 on March 12 following the annual meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).Fastmarkets summarizes five key targets under the new five-year plan that are likely to underpin corres...Read More

Volkswagen has decided to temporarily suspend production in all its Brazilian plants because of the worsening situation of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, the company announced on Friday March 19The stoppage will last for 12 days and will start on March 24. Only essential activities will be allowed in the factories."The measure aims to preserve the health of the company's employees and their...Read More

The never-before-seen measures meted out by China's Tangshan municipal government could cut hundreds of thousands of tonnes per day in steel output and hit raw material demand in 2021, market sources told Fastmarkets. Tangshan's environmental protection office said on Friday March 19 that it is looking to tighten its grip on air pollution in the city, especially after it found that not all st...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 23 that are worth another look.China released its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 on March 12 following the annual meetings of the National People's Congress...Read More

An imbalance between supply and demand and the increases in freight costs boosted global aluminium premiums in the week to Tuesday March 23, with the Rotterdam duty-unpaid price at a multi-year high and the United States Midwest premium reaching its highest since October 2018.Swift increase in Rotterdam amid bullish spot marketUS Midwest continues to rise on tight supplySouth Korea premium chases...Read More

Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico went up another level in the week ended Friday March 19, amid a continuing rally in prime scrap values.Demand for prime grades of scrap continued to rise during the week, with sellers being successful in getting better deals. Price increases from the previous week came into full effect, and there were also reports of fresh price rises from some steelmakers in both th...Read More

A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday March 23.Please click...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 23 that are worth another look.China released its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 on March 12 following the annual meetings of the National People's Congress...Read More

The Shanghai Futures Exchange's plans to list ferro-chrome futures, potentially this year, will bring welcomed hedging opportunities and may weaken the dominance of China's stainless steel mills in the ore and alloy markets, participants told Fastmarkets.While no definite date or specifications of the ferro-chrome futures have been announced, Fastmarkets asked participants what changes these contr...Read More

Usually after a London Metal Exchange discussion paper there is a decent idea of what the outcome is likely to be. But this time around, it seems much harder to tell which path the LME will take. The proposals under debate include the permanent closure of the exchange's open outcry trading floor, known as the ring, which dates back to 1877. They also include the incentivization of electronic trade...Read More

When considering the prospects for the new Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) copper contract, a senior executive at one of the world's largest metals trading companies quoted Hamlet's soliloquy in the Shakespearian play of the same name."In terms of promotion of the internationalization of the renminbi and weakening of the pricing power of the [London Metal Exchange] and CME: 'To be or...Read More

Glencore's succession process continues to make its way through board level.John Mack, an non-executive director and former chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley, will not seek re-election during the company's April 29 annual general meeting...Read More

The economy seems to be recovering, while bond yields are increasing again, sending gold prices down.Not good. Gold bulls can be truly upset. The yellow metal continued its bearish trend last week. As the chart below shows, the price of gold has declined from $1,807 on Monday (Feb. 22) to $1,743 on Friday (Feb. 26). What happened? Well, last week was full of positive economic news. In particular,...Read More

Best case scenario is for silver and gold to rally next week, but you can see...by Michael Ballanger via Streetwise Reports"Man, Powell is such a hitter. He is relentless in his desire to help the underclass of this country. More than anyone. It's truly incredible. . .and joyous!" -March 17 tweet from CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim CramerSince the mid-1990s, I have been forced to observe the antics of...Read More

After gold came down hard last week, it might be in a for a short pause and corrective upswing. What will the yellow metal’s next chapter bring for the miners? How high can they go if gold rallies from here?As gold recently moved very close to my approximate target of $1,700, the senior miners (GDX) ended Friday’s (Feb. 26) session $0.13 above my initial downside target of $31 . And wh...Read More

Feasible? Or inevitable?By Matt from Silver Fortune via Silver FortuneFeasible? Or inevitable?FULL SHOW NOTES AND LINKS HERE Read More