Editor's Note: Welcome to Kitco's new Bitcoin Daily Technical Alert. Every trading day veteran Kitco technical analyst Jim Wyckoff will provide you with a concise and easy-to-understand near-term technical brief on Bitcoin. Importantly, Jim will glean the short-term charts and technical studies, and then alert you to the signals he sees regarding upcoming potential bigger price moves or price tren...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 23 (SMM) – Global nickel deficit in 2017 stood at 103,400 mt, compared with a deficit of 42,200 mt in 2016, according to a report by International Nickel Study Group (INSG) on Thursday February 22. In December 2017, the deficit was 12,400 mt. For editorial queries, please contact Daisy Tseng at daisy@smm.cn For more information on how to access our research reports, p...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Friday February 23.Most base metals retreated on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday February 22, with the complex caught in a sell-off. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how LME prices looked at Thursday's close:Wieland-Werke plans to acquire Aurubis' rolled-products division later this year, which is intended to ki...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Friday February 23.Most base metals retreated on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday February 22, with the complex caught in a sell-off. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how LME prices looked at Thursday's close:Wieland-Werke plans to acquire Aurubis' rolled-products division later this year, which is intended to ki...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base MetalsGlencore metal traders banked a record $2 billion in profits in 2017 - a year where traded volume of copper, zinc and ferro-alloys grew substantially.Wieland Group will strengthen its position as Europe's largest semi-finished copper products producer by acquiring Aurubis' rolled-prod...Read More
The benchmark cash/three-month spread in aluminium at the start of this week hit backwardation levels not seen since before the Global Financial Crisis, which is a landmark event but not necessarily a signal of a major shift in market dynamics.It is most probably a short-term aberration caused by the potent combination of February date shorts clashing with dominant longs but given added spice and...Read More
Tin was the only base metal to close in positive territory on the London Metal Exchange on Friday February 23, with the rest correcting lower.The three-month tin price ended $75 per tonne higher than the previous close, with unchanged all week at record lows of just 1,860 tonnes."Tin's fundamental backdrop remains positively skewed after the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) reported a marke...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base MetalsGlencore metal traders banked a record $2 billion in profits in 2017 - a year where traded volume of copper, zinc and ferro-alloys grew substantially.Wieland Group will strengthen its position as Europe's largest semi-finished copper products producer by acquiring Aurubis' rolled-prod...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base MetalsGlencore metal traders banked a record $2 billion in profits in 2017 - a year where traded volume of copper, zinc and ferro-alloys grew substantially.Wieland Group will strengthen its position as Europe's largest semi-finished copper products producer by acquiring Aurubis' rolled-prod...Read More
Millions of tonnes of material are likely to be redirected to steel markets outside of the United States if US President Donald Trump levies strict tariffs or quotas on imports after the Section 232 investigation. While US domestic steel prices are expected to spike if the US Department of Commerce's 232 recommendations lead to trade defense measures, there are two schools of thought as to how thi...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices moved upward in the week from Monday February 19 to Friday February 23, amid strong demand for finished steel in countries including Turkey and India, sources told Metal Bulletin.Turkish importsTurkish import scrap markets recorded further price increases this week, shrugging off the negativity surrounding the trade defense recommendations in the United States' Section...Read More
The UK inter-merchant price range for austenitic alloy steel fell by ?10-20 per tonne this week, with the nickel price softening over the week, sources said on Friday February 23.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?950-990 ($1,322-1,378) per tonne delivered on Friday, compared with ?960-1,010 per tonne on February 16."While the scrap pric...Read More
The base metals complex on the London Metal Exchange is mixed this morning, Friday February 23, with prices down by an average of 0.2%. Zinc prices lead the decline with a 0.8% fall to $3,501 per tonne, copper and nickel prices are off by 0.4% with the former at $7,143 per tonne, aluminium prices are bucking the trend with a 0.4% rise, while the rest are little changed. Volume has returned to arou...Read More
Millions of tonnes of material are likely to be redirected to steel markets outside of the United States if US President Donald Trump levies strict tariffs or quotas on imports after the Section 232 investigation. While US domestic steel prices are expected to spike if the US Department of Commerce's 232 recommendations lead to trade defense measures, there are two schools of thought as to how thi...Read More
Indian mills are likely to increase their domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) by about 1,500 rupees ($19) per tonne in March because import prices for the material remain higher than those to local buyers."We are selling HRC in India at a discount compared with international prices. There is scope to increase the domestic price of HRC by at least 1,500 rupees per tonne," an official from an...Read More
Prices for flat steel goods imported into South America were stable this week, with Chinese mills yet to place new export offers in the market after the lunar new year holiday."The Chinese market opened very slow [on Thursday February 22], with most people yet to come back," a Brazil-focused trader said. "We didn't see producers making offers, and we expect new prices to be announced next Tuesday....Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.Iron ore prices strengthened to close to $79 per tonne on Friday February 23 amid expectations of a possible extension of production limitations in China beyond the country's winter heating season, which ends in mid-March.Tangshan's municipal government is seeking feedback from market participants about...Read More
Indian steelmaker JSW Steel is in the final stages of purchasing Italian long steel producer Acciaierie e Ferriere di Piombino (Aferpi), Italian trade union Uilm said on Thursday February 22."The Piombino plant [in western Italy] is destined to go into the hands of an entrepreneur who knows what it means to produce steel. We will start negotiating a business and investment plan after March 31," Ui...Read More
Millions of tonnes of material are likely to be redirected to steel markets outside of the United States if US President Donald Trump levies strict tariffs or quotas on imports after the Section 232 investigation. While US domestic steel prices are expected to spike if the US Department of Commerce's 232 recommendations lead to trade defense measures, there are two schools of thought as to how thi...Read More
Millions of tonnes of material are likely to be redirected to steel markets outside of the United States if US President Donald Trump levies strict tariffs or quotas on imports after the Section 232 investigation. While US domestic steel prices are expected to spike if the US Department of Commerce's 232 recommendations lead to trade defense measures, there are two schools of thought as to how thi...Read More