Editor's Note: Gold and silver has been, at best, a frustrating trade. Exclusive to Kitco News, expert trader, Todd "Bubba" Horwitz, chief market strategist and founder of 'Bubba Trading provides a strategy investors can use in a range-bound gold price environment. Sign up before March 10 for the Kitco News Weekly Rundown newsletter to receive Horwitz's exclusive report and trading strategy.(Kitco...Read More
Editor's Note: Gold and silver has been, at best, a frustrating trade. Exclusive to Kitco News, expert trader, Todd "Bubba" Horwitz, chief market strategist and founder of 'Bubba Trading provides a strategy investors can use in a range-bound gold price environment. Sign up before March 10 for the Kitco News Weekly Rundown newsletter to receive Horwitz's exclusive report and trading strategy.(Kitco...Read More
The U.S. dollar continues to struggle as traders gear up for the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony in front of Congress, which will begin on Tuesday, says Jameel Ahmad, global head of currency strategy & market research at FXTM. “The Dollar is under threat of losses once again, with the Greenback at the time of writing currently trending lower against all of its G10 c...Read More
Prices in most locations moved up this week, with Chinese mills out of the market due to the weeklong Lunar New Year and continued strong scrap prices. The market was affected by rising global ferrous scrap prices due to better demand for finished steel products. CIS, Middle East and North AfricaPrices of billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States region continued to show an upward trend l...Read More
Prices in most locations moved up this week, with Chinese mills out of the market due to the weeklong Lunar New Year and continued strong scrap prices. The market was affected by rising global ferrous scrap prices due to better demand for finished steel products. CIS, Middle East and North AfricaPrices of billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States region continued to show an upward trend l...Read More
Lead prices on the London Metal Exchange continued to strengthen and closed 1.4% higher at 5pm London time on Monday February 26, with its cash/three-month spread moving into backwardation. "LME lead has rebounded well... So far, sellers have failed to take its below $2,500 per tonne; buyers now have the chance to push it higher," Metal Bulletin analyst Andy Farida said. "Since the base metals are...Read More
The price difference between lead and zinc on the London Metal Exchange has moved to its widest in over 10 years, with lead lagging significantly behind. At the close on Thursday February 22, the three-month zinc price closed $960.50 per tonne higher than lead. But when the spread - or switch - last moved to over $900 in early 2007, lead staged an incredible fightback and ended up overtaking its s...Read More
Comex copper prices softened in the US morning on Monday February 26 amid a dollar reversal, although market action should be more volatile this week with Chinese investors back from their Lunar New Year holidays. Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 1.95 cents or 0.6% to $3.1930 per lb. "The bulls now have a platform...Read More
Chinese ferro-silicon prices were unchanged on Friday February 23, with suppliers awaiting the return of consumers after the Lunar New Year holiday, while the European and US markets are pausing for quarterly delivery talks to discover the state of availability and demand in the next few months. Chinese market awaits consumers' return Chinese trading reduced to inter-merchant activity ...Read More
China's ferro-chrome market was stable just after Lunar New Year, while market participants predicted prices will rise in the coming week as a result of the country's strengthening stainless sector. Ferro-chrome prices hold in China after Lunar New YearUG2 chrome ore prices edge higher in ChinaHigher ferro-chrome tender prices expected for MarchAlloy prices rise in all other regions Ferro-chrome...Read More
The largest zinc smelter in Europe has sealed an offtake agreement with the operator of Century Zinc Mine for up to 600,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates over five and a half years, Nyrstar said on Monday February 26. Nyrstar, which has long been an offtaker of Century concentrate will receive 250,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates for the first three and a half years of the agreement, rising to 3...Read More
Silicon prices in China and Europe were stable over the past week amid a lull in trading activity, with a number of Chinese participants yet to return to the market following the weeklong Lunar New Year break which ended on Wednesday February 21.Metal Bulletin's Chinese grade 553 silicon metal export price stood at $2,000-2,050 per tonne on February 23, unchanged from the previous week's assessmen...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have remained largely stable over the past week, because most of the steel producers in the country have kept their purchasing prices unchanged.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic auto bundle scrap (DKP grade) was TRY1,230-1,400 ($324-369) per tonne delivered on Monday February 26, widening slightly from last week's TRY1,260-1,390 per tonne.The sligh...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap, now buying for April, and prices have gone up slightly, sources said on Monday February 26.Market participants believed that the strong finished steel market was supporting the steel mills' scrap purchases."Turkish mills are still showing interest in deep-sea scrap. This is mostly because of the strong finished steel market," a source...Read More
China's imports of iron ore rebounded to the second highest ever in January while those for coking coal fell to a seven-month low. Exports of scrap surged on the year, while those for coke, which include semi coke, contracted.Read More
Comex copper prices softened in the US morning on Monday February 26 amid a dollar reversal, although market action should be more volatile this week with Chinese investors back from their Lunar New Year holidays. Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 1.95 cents or 0.6% to $3.1930 per lb. "The bulls now have a platform...Read More
First impressions are that we are off to a bullish start to the week, with the base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange up by an average of 0.6% this morning, Monday February 26.Nickel and lead prices lead the way with gains of 0.9%, followed by zinc and copper prices that are up by 0.6%, with the latter at $7,155 per tonne, while tin and aluminium prices are up 0.4% and 0.3% respectively....Read More
Steel producers in Russia have increased their offer prices for March-rolled hot-rolled (HR) and cold-rolled (CR) sheet, Metal Bulletin has heard."Mills say that they have a good export market; that is why they increased the offers for the local market," one source told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for Russian 4mm HR sheet was 43,000 roubles ($765) per tonne cpt Moscow, inc...Read More
The export market for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) from the Commonwealth of Independent States has grown on restricted supplies and rising prices for semi-finished steel products, sources have told Metal Bulletin."Mills are overbooked and buyers are searching for material," a trader told Metal Bulletin. He added that it was a challenge to find HRC available to purchase, althoug...Read More
Export prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) from Latin America have risen, with Brazilian producers seizing the opportunity presented to them by high global prices and a lack of offers from China.Metal Bulletin's weekly assessment of Latin America's HRC export price reached $630-635 per tonne fob on Friday February 23, up from $570-580 per tonne fob a week earlier, while the...Read More