Emerita Resources Corp. recently announced encouraging step-out drilling results from its Iberia Belt West property in Spain. The firm is now activating three new diamond drilling rigs to accelerate exploration work. Clarus Securities Inc. commented in a research note that it is maintaining its "Speculative Buy" rating for the company and due to higher commodity market prices is raising its price...Read More

The price of stainless steel in the European domestic market remained unchanged this week, but ongoing tightness could see prices move up before the end of the year, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 19.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet 2mm grade 304 base price domestic, delivered Northern Europe was unchanged week on week at ?,?1,850-1,900 ($2,09...Read More

Eastern China's rebar prices increased slightly on Friday November 19 following futures' gains due to heightened market expectations that banks will loosen loans to housing companies.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,670-4,710 yuan ($732-738) per tonne, up by 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 4,440-4,480 yuan per tonne, down by 80-120 yuan per tonneMarket participa...Read More

The mid-tier and juniorgold miners in their sector’s sweet spot for upside potential have been poweringhigher recently.  They’ve blasted toseveral major breakouts after getting bombed out during gold-futures speculators’taper tantrum on Fed-tightening fears last summer.  These smaller gold miners just finished theirQ3’21 earnings season, revealing whether their fu...Read More

European automotive producers are driving the demand for steel grades involving reduced generation of carbon dioxide, in their attempts to reduce supply-chain emissions, and are teaming-up with steelmakers to explore the emerging green steel prototypes.Pressure to meet climate targetsAn estimated 20% of the automotive industry's emissions come from the manufacturing stage, according to CDP - forme...Read More

China's biggest steelmaker, Baowu, has set up a global alliance with some of the world's major steel producers and miners, to develop and promote a low-carbon steel industry.Announcing the establishment of the Global Low Carbon Metallurgical Innovation Alliance (GLCMIA) at its expo center in Shanghai on Thursday November 18, Baowu said the alliance would work together to accelerate and promote the...Read More

Inflation expectations reached a record high. Is gold preparing a counterattack to punish gold bears?In a classic Monty Python sketch, nobody expects the Spanish inquisition. In the current marketplace, everyone expects high inflation. As the chart below shows, the inflation expectations embedded in US Treasury yields have recently risen to the highest level since the series began in 2003. Houston...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 18 that are worth another look.Swedish steelmaker SSAB has announced a further two partnerships involving its fossil-fuel-free steel, to commence in 2026, the company said in separate announcements this week.Production of key battery raw materials cobalt...Read More

Handan city, a major steelmaking hub in northern China's Hebei province, has issued production curbs on key sectors for the rest of 2021 to fight against air pollution during the smog-prone winter heating season. From Thursday November 18 until the end of the year, steel mills in the city are required to cut their blast furnace (BF) production by up to 100%, depending on the grades assigned to the...Read More

Weaker demand combined with lower offers from all origins, spearheaded by recent Chinese price falls, put further downward pressure on South American flat-rolled steel import prices in the week ended Friday November 19.Despite offers from China continuing to drop - in what was widely considered by market participants to be short-selling from traders - buyers remained hesitant about booking new car...Read More

An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and the latest price moves.Janie Davies, Dalila Ouerghi,...Read More

Importers of ferrous scrap were lured back to market in the week ended Friday November 19 by lower prices, which were precipitated by a period of lackluster buying activity.?EUR?Turkish mills' import prices rebounded by the week's end after deals at lower prices?EUR?US sales halted with exporters reluctant to reduce their selling prices?EUR?Vietnamese buyers were actively seeking more material aft...Read More

An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Jessica Long, Zihao Li and...Read More

Sellers of physical copper are holding out for a higher premium for 2022 contracts in the United States.No major deals were reported by the end of the American Copper Council (ACC) fall meeting in Miami, Florida this past week, although there was talk of a US copper premium in the 10-cents-per-lb range.In the US, Fastmarkets assessed the copper grade 1 cathode premium, ddp Midwest US at 8-9 cents...Read More

Mining and metals companies say they're serious about transitioning to a sustainable economy, but whether they can afford to is another matter.Achieving decarbonization throughout the supply chain is going to require a huge amount of investment in technology to reimagine production processes and redesign existing sites.Last week, the International Aluminium Institute estimated that to decarbonize...Read More

The three-month copper contract is trading near record highs on the London Metal Exchange, cash prices are rising even faster, and inventories are descending toward zero. Try running a hedge book in those conditions.It's been a very real quandary facing the physical trade and industry, which awoke on Tuesday October 19 to find copper's cash to November spread had flared to a backwardation of more...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed, but largely up at the 5pm close on Friday November 19, after a week of choppy trading."We seem to be following a similar pattern to last week," Marex LME desk analyst Alastair Munro said."Macro-inspired weakness during the first part of the week has given way to a bout of short-covering [activity] into the weekend," he added.The three-mon...Read More

The risks that the Chinese government will introduce export duties on steel products will increase if export volumes surge when prices stabilize again after the recent decline, market sources told Fastmarkets over the week to Friday November 19."A sharp rebound in export volumes will draw attention from the central authorities," a Shanghai-based trader said.Fears have emerged that the Chinese gove...Read More

The seaborne low-volatility pulverized coal injection (PCI) cfr price fell further in the week to November 19 amid weak demand; seaborne coking coal prices in both the cfr and fob markets also inched down on Friday.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $422.68 per tonne, down $1.16 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $348.75 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, f...Read More

What are the silver market footprints signaling a rally?by Samuel Briggs via KinesisIn this week's Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire explains the significance of gold rising alongside the US dollar and reveals the silver market footprints signaling a rally. The lifelong wholesaler expertly unpacks Monday's COT report and predicts the gold price sweet spot ahead of BIS Options Expiry.Don't miss...Read More