Long-term uncertainty among consumers over end-user demand in Italy benefits downstream distribution network Metal Link who aims to serve consumer needs more quickly than producers who need consumers to have a clear order outlook for around 10 weeks.In an interview with Fastmarkets this month, the aluminium products distribution network said the economic uncertainty caused by Covid-19 offers busin...Read More
Gold has jumped above $1,850 amid expectations of new stimulus, worries about the pace of economic recovery, and concerns about rising tensions between the U.S. and China. Houston, we have a problem! Please take a look at the chart below that presents the U.S. initial jobless claims. What do you see? Yes, you are right! The number of people claiming unemployment benefits has recently risen. To be...Read More
With silver breaking out decisively to the upside, bears are running for cover.We had noted in our July 13th News Alert, “We are paying especially close attention to the bull vs. bear tug-of-war in the silver market around $19/oz. If the bulls yank prices decisively above that level on a strong close, short covering by capitulating bears could help drive a powerful breakout rally.”That...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) expects to increase its iron ore production from the third quarter, after transportation issues reduced output in the first six months of the year, the company's chief financial officer, Marcelo Ribeiro, said on Wednesday July 29.Own output and third-party purchases are estimated to be near the 10-million-tonne quarterly level during the s...Read More
The Technical Secretariat of Anti-Dumping (TSAIP) of the Gulf Co-operation Countries (GCC) has announced its preliminary determination in its steel safeguarding case, the World Trade Organization said on July 23.According to the preliminary results, GCC countries decided that the import of steel products under investigation had increased significantly to the region, which was causing serious harm...Read More
Resource nationalism is one of the key risks miners will face in the increasingly volatile macroeconomic environment worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, global law firm White & Case told Fastmarkets this week. This is due to the stretched national budgets that governments are facing after supporting their economies through monetary and fiscal policies amid the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as increase...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 30 that are worth another look.Brazil's largest flat-rolled steel producer by capacity, Usiminas, is looking to correct the current domestic price discount to imports in the short term, commercial vice-president Miguel Homes said on July 30....Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been fairly stable day on day on Thursday July 30, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at ?,?412.95 ($486.87) per tonne on July 30, up by just ?,?0.45 per tonne from ?,?412.50 per tonne on Wednesday July 29.Thursday's index was based on a deal heard at ?,?41...Read More
Long-term uncertainty among consumers over end-user demand in Italy benefits downstream distribution network Metal Link who aims to serve consumer needs more quickly than producers who need consumers to have a clear order outlook for around 10 weeks.In an interview with Fastmarkets this month, the aluminium products distribution network said the economic uncertainty caused by Covid-19 offers busin...Read More
The price of steel scrap imported into Turkey rose further on Thursday July 30 on new bookings, continuing the trend started on July 29.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked two cargoes, one from the Baltic region and one from Western Europe.The first comprised 27,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $276 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of bonus scrap at $286 per tonne and 3,000 tonnes...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 30 that are worth another look.Brazil's largest flat-rolled steel producer by capacity, Usiminas, is looking to correct the current domestic price discount to imports in the short term, commercial vice-president Miguel Homes said on July 30....Read More
Long-term uncertainty among consumers over end-user demand in Italy benefits downstream distribution network Metal Link who aims to serve consumer needs more quickly than producers who need consumers to have a clear order outlook for around 10 weeks.In an interview with Fastmarkets this month, the aluminium products distribution network said the economic uncertainty caused by Covid-19 offers busin...Read More
The state of the global iron ore supply remains a key risk factor for market participants in 2020 due to mining operations being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, sources said.Market sentiment is mixed about whether the tight supply situation will persist in the second half of 2020, especially after Vale said its output for this year was likely to reach just the lower end of its forecast range."I...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively lower at the close of trading on Thursday July 30, with LME nickel's 1.3% price dip leading the complex-wide decline, while a tightening of copper's forward curve led to thin volumes and a negative close on the day.Weighing equally heavily on the base-metals complex, the US economy shrank by 32.9% over the second quarter...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were subdued during morning trading on Thursday July 30, with thin volumes indicating bearish sentiment, while a low dollar and continued outflows did little to stop copper futures from leading on the downside. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $6,419.50 per tonne, sliding by just under 1% from Wednesday's closing...Read More
Base metals prices were for the most part firmer this morning, Thursday July 30, while broader markets were more mixed.The United States Federal Reserve provided more liquidity to international markets at its meeting that ended on Wednesday, but did not make any major changes. It also said that the path of the US economic recovery would depend on the course of Covid-19 in the country. Given the la...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. We also review our price forecasting accuracy for the second quarter 2020.Q2 2020 price forecast performance review According to the results of Fastmarkets' Apex for the second quarter of 2020 published this week, Fastmarkets' base metals research team was the second most accurate price forecaster for nickel (99.06%), lead...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Comfortable consolidationAluminium appears comfortable consolidating for the moment, and this will leave prices in a stronger position to challenge overhanging long-term trend-line resistance from the May 2018 high, which stands at $1,670 per tonne currently.Copper: Consolidation unlikely to lastCopper reached its...Read More
One of the largest "industrial hedgers" in the COMEX Silver market gets a surprise $765M loan from the Trump Administration?by Bix Weir of Road to RootaKodak, one of the largest "industrial hedgers" in the COMEX Silver market, gets a surprise $765M loan to make pharmaceuticals from the Trump Administration? And the loan was from the "U.S. International Development Finance Corporation?" MY SPIDEY S...Read More
With the silver price up 30% in July, along with reaching the $26 target level, it seems like the next move is a correction lower... by Steve St Angelo of SRSrocco ReportWith silver up 30% for the month, the shiny metal is now back on the Mainstream Media Radar. Yeah, it's been seven long years since silver traded at $24, but now it looks as if it is just in the beginning stages of a new Bull M...Read More