A handful of retail companies impacted by COVID-19 will announce earningsThe second week of May will be chock full of economic data to guide speculators on how the economy is faring amid the current COVID-19 crisis. A new Federal budget will be announced, weekly jobless claims will be unpacked, and the NFIB Small-Business Index will clue in on how larger corporations taking advantage of the genero...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinHow many small to medium sized companies go bankrupt? Restaurants in some areas will not open until late June. How will they survive?The retreat in gold is mild..Read More
It is still a range trade for gold and silver. Crude oil is rising. Copper is firm. There are buyers of physical gold ready to pay a higher premium on corrections. There are investors of gold using every small correction to invest. Gold prices are range trading. Gold bears are not holding ground. Short term silver traders are booking profit on every rise. Long term investors and physical dealers...Read More
Etsy's first-quarter earnings fell below expectations, though the company said its April sales surgedEtsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) last night posted first-quarter earnings of 10 cents per share, which came in lower than analyst estimates, on $228.06 million in revenue, which beat estimates. Etsy also forecast a higher-than-expected 90% surge in sales for its second quarter, adding thatits sales doubled i...Read More
Oil prices are joining in on the rally this morningDow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are eyeing outsized gains this morning, seemingly ready to put yesterday's static trading in the rear view mirror. So far, Wall Street is pushing higher despite weekly jobless claims totaling 3.17 million, topping the expected 3.05 million, making it now eight straight weeks unemployment claims have surpa...Read More
A summary of ArcelorMittal's financial results for the first quarter of 2020. In brief The company blames the Covid-19 pandemic for a notable drop of earnings in the first quarter 2020 year on year, with both volumes and prices severely affected. The company also attributed the fall in sales income to lower average steel selling prices. The company noted a notable drop in industr...Read More
Overnight, Natural Gas broke above the $2.00 price level as we expected. On April 6, 2020, we published our research that Natural Gas was setting up a bottom pattern and that our seasonal analysis suggested April and May should prompt a price rally in Natural Gas pushing price levels above $2.40. The current rally has broken above a price resistance levelnear $2.00 and the rally up to $...Read More
The European Commission (EC) might start an anti-dumping case into imports of hot-rolled coil originating from Turkey, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 7.European steel association Eurofer has lodged a complaint with the EC, alleging that HRC has been exported from Turkey at dumped prices."In April 2020, a new [anti-dumping] investigation was opened into HRC from Turkey," ArcelorMit...Read More
Brazil-based steelmaker Gerdau expects the level of long steel sales in North America and the gap between ferrous scrap costs and finished steel prices to remain stable during the second quarter, when compared with January-March figures.Gerdau chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said the current spread was $422 per short ton in North America, an increase of $20 from the levels seen in Jan...Read More
The European Commission (EC) might start an anti-dumping case into imports of hot-rolled coil originating from Turkey, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 7.European steel association Eurofer has lodged a complaint with the EC, alleging that HRC has been exported from Turkey at dumped prices."In April 2020, a new [anti-dumping] investigation was opened into HRC from Turkey," ArcelorMit...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday May 7 that are worth another look.The European Commission (EC) might start an anti-dumping case into imports of hot-rolled coil originating from Turkey, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 7.Mining companies are looking to trading houses and specialist funds for credit since lower metal prices and enforced shutdowns ha...Read More
By Dave Kranzler"If you own gold, you have money. If you don't own gold, you have a problem" - (James Turk). To that I'll add: If you don't have physical possession of your gold, you do not own goldA significant amount of gold is held as "unallocated," which is when an entity buys gold and establishes an account that is credited with value of the gold purchased. A gold bar is not actua...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinHow many small to medium sized companies go bankrupt? Restaurants in some areas will not open until late June. How will they survive?The retreat in gold is mild..Read More
It is still a range trade for gold and silver. Crude oil is rising. Copper is firm. There are buyers of physical gold ready to pay a higher premium on corrections. There are investors of gold using every small correction to invest. Gold prices are range trading. Gold bears are not holding ground. Short term silver traders are booking profit on every rise. Long term investors and physical dealers...Read More
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a US commodities regulator, is analyzing what led the crude oil price to move into negative territory last month, including an assessment of market participant activities and whether position limits and other regulations might need to change.The move could add impetus to the CFTC's proposal to impose federal position limits in 25 energy, metals and...Read More
The mining industry is set to undergo a paradigm shift in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic that will include a reshaping of corporates, including through "dynamic" mergers and acquisitions, the chief executive officer of Barrick Gold Corporation said.Mark Bristow, whose Africa-focused miner Randgold Resources merged with Canada-based gold and copper giant Barrick last year, said it was a gre...Read More
Aluminium foundry alloy premiums continued their decline in Europe and held steady in the United States on Thursday May 7 on a lack of spot activity, even as automakers began to restart vehicle production in both regions.End-user demand a concern in EuropeAlthough automakers have begun to restart in Europe, market participants said vehicle production remains too low to attract demand for foundry a...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday May 7 that are worth another look.The European Commission (EC) might start an anti-dumping case into imports of hot-rolled coil originating from Turkey, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 7.Mining companies are looking to trading houses and specialist funds for credit since lower metal prices and enforced shutdowns ha...Read More
Charles Li, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) will not seek reappointment at the end of his current contract, the exchange announced on Thursday May 7.It means Li will leave his role as CEO of HKEX, which owns the London Metal Exchange, in October 2021.Li confirmed his full commitment to continuing to lead the organization until that date, or earlier, should a...Read More
Mining companies are looking to trading houses and specialist funds for credit since lower metal prices and enforced shutdowns have restricted cashflow. Peru, Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa are among major mining nations to order mine closures as part of countrywide lockdowns designed to protect against the spread of the Covid-19 disease. Cashflow-limit...Read More