No new deals were reported in the pig iron export market from Brazil during the week to Friday March 19, with the market remaining firm.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was $520 per tonne on Friday, unchanged since March 5.Offers of pig iron for May-June shipment were reported...Read More

It seems fitting that the year we are expecting to see an unprecedented rise in US government spending and money-printing to spur an economic recovery, marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the gold standard.Done at the time to fight an economic crisis, we are still feeling the effects of this disastrous decision, five decades on.In this article, we explain why President Nixon did what he did,...Read More

Import activity in the South American flat-rolled steel market was nearly at a halt in the week ended on Friday March 19 due to growing uncertainty about the existing Chinese steel export tax rebate.Many importers have temporarily stopped trading China-origin material due to information that has circulated about possible reductions on China's export tax rebate for steel products, either...Read More

The never-before-seen measures meted out by China's Tangshan provincial 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 s...Read More

Aluminium's price on the London Metal Exchange was up 2.2% at the close to $2,265 per tonne on March 19, with the rest of the base metals complex also benefiting from a short-covering bounce on Friday.The light metal came to $2,275 per tonne on Friday at around 4:30pm, its highest level since June 14 2018, when it reached $2,280 per tonne at a time of deep trade tensions between the United States...Read More

The beneficiaries of the London Metal Exchange's proposal to close the ring, incentivize electronic trade and change its margin methodology are likely to be algorithmic traders and banks, a floor trader at the exchange said.Daniel Messinger, deputy head of trading at LME ring dealer Sucden Financial, said that these market participants already have a significant influence on LME trading."It's virt...Read More

The decision requires answering one simple question...(by Half Dollar) I've got to admit, I've been a tiny bit selfish lately.Just a little bit.You see, 'Ol Half Dollar's in the market for a new automobile, again, as one of the two teens in the house is close to getting that License to Freedom, otherwise known as a Driver's License.Let's not get it twisted, however, because a driver's license in 2...Read More

Many are unaware of the risks, especially at a time of market disruption...by John Adams and Martin North from In The Interests Of The PeopleEconomist John Adams and Analyst Martin North examine the various types of products linked to Silver. Not all are created equal, yet many are unaware of the risks within them. especially at a time of market disruption. Read the small print!FULL SHOW NOTES AND...Read More

"...it will be so sudden, that those who abandoned ship..."Michael Oliver with Chris Marcus on Arcadia EconomicsMichael Oliver: Silver to spike as system resetsTo find out why that's happening, click to watch the video now!FULL SHOW NOTES AND LINKS HERE Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese seamless linepipe prices have jumped by $120 per tonne over the past month because of rising costs. With iron ore prices remaining elevated, scrap costs on the rise, and activity at steel mills curbed by environmental measures, steel billet has become difficult to source, bolstering the prices for seamless linep...Read More

An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Charlotte Radford, Cristina Belda...Read More

Global steel scrap prices continued to fall over the week ended Friday March 19, with market participants battling against the disruptions in the bulk freight sector.Turkey goes quiet despite rise in available cargoesUS sellers expect Turkey to return for scrap soonLack of free vessels hobbles Vietnam import businessBuying slows in China amid weaker appetite for scrapSellers to Taiwan resist furth...Read More

Proposed changes to the London Metal Exchange's margin methodology would have detrimental implications for collateral and credit lines, increase transaction costs and brokerage fees, and inhibit scrap recyclers' ability to hedge, according to the non-ferrous division of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI).A number of members had expressed "adamant opposition" to any changes that wou...Read More

Aluminium's price on the London Metal Exchange was up 2.2% at the close to $2,265 per tonne on March 19, with the rest of the base metals complex also benefiting from a short-covering bounce on Friday.The light metal came to $2,275 per tonne on Friday at around 4:30pm, its highest level since June 14 2018, when it reached $2,280 per tonne at a time of deep trade tensions between the United States...Read More

A strike by transport workers in Peru has disrupted the movement of metal concentrate between mines and key ports such as Callao, in Lima. The strike by freight carriers began on Monday February 15, affecting commercial trucking for all products and has emerged due to high fuel and toll costs, among other grievances, according to local media outlet El Comercio. Peru was the world's top exporter of...Read More

An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou and Sybil Pan...Read More

The duty-unpaid aluminium premium in Europe rose to its highest in nearly six years on Friday March 19 due to continued tightness of material and high demand. Fastmarkets assessed aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dup Rotterdam at $160-165 per tonne on Friday, rallying from $145-155 per tonne on the previous day and up 44.44% from $110-115 per tonne at the start of the year. At a current midpoint o...Read More

Operations at the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon in the United Kingdom could restart early next year, its executive team said, while expecting to go public in the second quarter of next year if prices stay as elevated as they are now. Executive chairman Mark Thompson and chief executive officer Max Denning of Tungsten West Ltd (TWL) are looking to raise ?50 million ($69.4 million) over t...Read More

Spot copper concentrate processing charges rebounded for the first time so far this year on Friday March 19, following 11 consecutive weekly declines. Fastmarkets calculated its benchmark copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index, cif Asia Pacific at $28.10 per tonne/ 2.81 cents per lb for the week ended Friday March 19. Last week, the index dipped below $30...Read More

The beneficiaries of the London Metal Exchange's proposal to close the ring, incentivize electronic trade and change its margin methodology are likely to be algorithmic traders and banks, a floor trader at the exchange said.Daniel Messinger, deputy head of trading at LME ring dealer Sucden Financial, said that these market participants already have a significant influence on LME trading."It's virt...Read More