What do you think is America's most serious geopolitical challenge - China, Russia, Iran, maybe North Korea?None of the above, apparently. According to President Biden's Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, climate change needs to be "at the center" of countries’ national security and foreign policy.Well, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be doing her best to make sure the cru...Read More

While the hologram known as Joe Biden dazzled a sparsely-filled House chamber Wednesday night with a plan to turn the USA into the Big Rock Candy Mountain, events were spinning out of control so fast elsewhere that Rachel Maddow's head was revolving like the demon-possessed little girl in The Exorcist, spewing a pea soup stream of hysteria at her credulous audience.What's got her noggin in a twist...Read More

Spread the lovePRIVATE BLOG - Gold Looking AheadPrivate blog posts are exclusively available to Socrates subscribers. To sign-up for Socrates or to learn more, please visit Ask-Socrates.com.https://ask-socrates.com/Read More

"If a writer is so cautious that he never writes anything that cannot be criticized, he will never write anything that can be read. If you want to help other people you have got to make up your mind to write things that some men will condemn." -Thomas MertonThe dissenting voice is perhaps the most potent force on the face of the Earth.Expressed as an informed opinion, it frequently finds itself at...Read More

The price of austenitic stainless steel scrap in the UK increased this week on an uptick in nickel costs and persistently strong market fundamentals, Fastmarkets heard on Friday May 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, domestic, delivered merchants UK, was ?1,200-1,260 ($1,668-1,751) per tonne on Friday, up from ?1,150-1,230 per tonne a week previously.Th...Read More

Global steel scrap prices surged in the week to Friday May 7 and could well break through the $500 per tonne cfr mark, starting in Asia, market sources have told Fastmarkets.This was due to the continued demand for steelmaking raw materials and the current high prices for alternative iron ore feedstock, they said.Turkish scrap import prices spikeSentiment in US remains bullishPossible $485 per ton...Read More

Today the black crepe hangs from our window. Our heart is heavy, our eyes watery, our legs wobbly…For we are sunk in bottomless grief. Time prints the obituary notice:"The Free Market Is Dead."Alas, it is true - our agents confirm it. The free market is indeed dead, cold and stiff under six feet of earth.Last night the president danced a merry jig upon the grave.He would nose his way into ev...Read More

Export prices for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States rose further in the week to Thursday May 6 due to the bullish sentiment of suppliers and strong markets in the supply chain. Fastmarkets assessed the price for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS at $575-590 per tonne on Thursday, up from $555-565 per tonne a week earlier. "Pig iron prices are dep...Read More

Prices for shredded steel scrap imported into South Asia continued to rise on Friday May 7 but buyers were hesitant about booking material, sources have told Fastmarkets.IndiaFastmarkets calculated its steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $478.96 per tonne on Friday, up from $468.83 per tonne one week earlier.There were no deals heard on the market this week, but offers...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices continued to rise in the latest bookings agreed for June shipments, market sources said on Friday May 7.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo late on Thursday, consisting of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $488 per tonne and shredded and bonus at $498 per tonne cfr.This compared with deep-sea bookings done earlier the same day at $479-480 per tonne cf...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices maintained their upward momentum on Friday May 7, supported by strong demand, and ending the week with a rise of 240-250 yuan per tonne in the east and further growth in the north.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, ex-whs Eastern China, 5,420-5,450 yuan ($837-842) per tonne, up by 40-50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) week...Read More

All base metals stocks - bar aluminium - at Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses gained in the week to Friday May 7 with tin recording biggest increase in percentage terms. Tin stocks totaled 8,256 tonnes this week, up by 593 tonnes or 7.7% from 7,663 tonnes a week earlier. Nanchu warehouse in Guangdong province recorded the largest inflow at 604 tonnes, while SIPG Logistics...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices rose further on Friday May 7 with continuing support from bullish steel prices, refreshing the iron ore indices' record highs again.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $212.25 per tonne, up by $10.37 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.20 per tonne, up by $11.33 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $185.29 per tonne, up...Read More

Copper's futures price reached an all-time high in early trading on the London Metal Exchange on Friday May 7 and aluminium breached the $2,500-per-tonne mark on bullishness in the market caused by supply concerns and firm demand.The red metal's three-month price peaked at $10,253 per tonne on Friday morning, surpassing its previous high of $10,190 per tonne set in February 2011. This was a rise o...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part stronger this morning, Friday May 7, as were broader markets.Friday's United States employment report is in focus because it could prompt Federal Reserve to change tackDow Jones Industrial Average sets new highs after US initial jobless claims fell below 500,000 on Thursday for the first time s...Read More

Towards Sustainable Mining Tailings Guidance Aligns with Global StandardSPONSOREDthe mining association of canadaPAM puts itself in the middle of Thailand 4.0SPONSOREDAuroch powers up nickel explorationSPONSOREDauroch mineralsSaturn still shooting for the stars at Apollo HillSPONSOREDsaturn metalsSpeaking at the RIU Sydney Resources Round-up yesterday, Rosenstreich said he was attracted to the com...Read More

The London Metal Exchange tin cash price rose to an all-time high while a number of other milestones were set on the futures complex for copper, aluminium and lead on May 6. LME copper's three-month price was at $10,092 per tonne at Thursday's close, up by 1.4% from Wednesday's price and was above the $10,000-per-tonne mark for the first time since 2011 one week ago on April 29. LME copper hi...Read More

Fresh political tensions between China and Australia, along with strong steel prices, lent support to the sharp increases in seaborne iron ore prices on Thursday May 6, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $201.88 per tonne, up $9.34 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $202.87 per tonne, up $8.66 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr...Read More

An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Michael Greenfield in...Read More

Towards Sustainable Mining Tailings Guidance Aligns with Global StandardSPONSOREDthe mining association of canadaPAM puts itself in the middle of Thailand 4.0SPONSOREDAuroch powers up nickel explorationSPONSOREDauroch mineralsSaturn still shooting for the stars at Apollo HillSPONSOREDsaturn metalsSpeaking at the RIU Sydney Resources Round-up today, Canaccord analyst Paul Howard pointed to the incr...Read More