?>>?Physical gold demand has ramped up a lot again since January 2021 as private sector demand from China, India and Asia continues to be strong and increase. However, according to the World Gold Council in recent updates, net buying of physical gold by central banks has started to increase again after not increasing in 2020. Central banks on gold buying spree again? Hungary triples gold reserves...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices and margins for stainless steel producers have risen notably over the past few months in both Europe and the United States, but there are now signs that the rally is petering out.A clear reason for the halt to rising prices comes from the near 20% drop in nickel prices seen in late February/early March,...Read More

Arconic Corp. shares rolled to a new 52-week high after the company reported Q1/21 financial results that included a 15% increase in sequential quarterly revenue and raised FY/21 revenue guidance. Prior to the open of U.S. markets today, aluminum sheet and architectural products firm Arconic Corp. (ARNC:NYSE) announced financial results for the first quarter of 2021 ended March 31, 2021.The comp...Read More

A Research Capital Corporation report notes that Omineca Mining and Metals' work at its Wingdam hard rock property "has helped to better define [its] existing targets, and has expanded the company's inventory of exploration prospects." In an April 29 research note, Research Capital Corporation analyst Bill Newman reported on Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd.'s (OMM:TSX.V; OMMSF:OTCMKTS) operational...Read More

Q1/21 production and processing numbers from MAG Silver and Fresnillo's joint venture project in Mexico are reviewed in a BMO Capital Markets report. In an April 28 research note, BMO Capital Markets analyst Ryan Thompson reported Q1/21 operational results from MAG Silver Corp. (MAG:TSX; MAG:NYSE A) and Fresnillo Plc's (FRES:LSE) Juanicipio project.The analyst highlighted that commissioning of th...Read More

Pakistan rebar producer Amreli Steels has increased its annual production of reinforcing and round bars to 400,000 tonnes per year after Primetals Technologies supplied it with a new bar mill, the companies said.Amreli Steels' mill, based in Karachi, issued a final acceptance certificate in February 2021 for the bar mill from Primetals Technologies. Previously, Amreli Steels' mill had a capacity o...Read More

As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in April 2021.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for January, February and...Read More

As President Joe Biden pushed massive new spendinginitiatives in his address before Congress, investors shrugged off risinginflation risk. They pushed the S&P 500 up to a new record close onThursday.Gold,meanwhile, continues to be capped under the $1,800 level – at least for thetime being.  Silver shows a slight weeklygain and trades a little over $26 per ounce. As trading closes ou...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 4 that are worth another look.Duferco Travi e Profilati, the Italian long steel producer of the Duferco group, has received a loan of ?,?72 million ($86.5 million) from two banks to build a new sustainable steel plant in...Read More

Gold started its decline withoutanyone’s assistance. And when the USDX takes off, that downhill tumble can onlyincrease.The USDX declines and the precious metalssit by idly, twiddling their thumbs. If they had the strength that’s beingtalked about, they should be soaring by now, or getting ready to. So, what’stheir problem?In the previous days, I discussed thesignals coming from...Read More

Mexican steel scrap prices rose marginally in the week ended Friday April 30 amid strong demand, although some market participants believe prices are facing limited upside.Prime grade scrap prices were mostly stable amid tight supply due to a gradual recovery in Mexico's manufacturing sector, which generates scrap.There were increased reports of exports of busheling grades to the United...Read More

Supply tightness continued to drive the Midwest premium in the United States to a new record high on Tuesday May 4, while more bearish sentiment resulted in European premiums being unchanged from the previous week but still at a six-year high level.US Midwest sets new record-high levelRotterdam premiums stable at multi-year highsMJP, South Korea premiums unchanged amid holidays, thin tradingBrazil...Read More

A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday May 4.Please click...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 4 that are worth another look.Duferco Travi e Profilati, the Italian long steel producer of the Duferco group, has received a loan of ?,?72 million ($86.5 million) from two banks to build a new sustainable steel plant in...Read More

Gold had a good day yesterday, but asit hits the $1,770 resistance line, it will be anything but easy for the yellowmetal. The real test has begun.And so, it happened. Gold moved right toits target level that seemed to be the max that it could reach, but that didn’tseem to be the most likely outcome. Just because it wasn’t the most likelyoutcome, doesn’t make it impossible. The &...Read More

The recent rally in the bond yields pushed gold prices down, but this trend won’t continue forever, as the Fed will likely be forced to step in.In March, we saw a continuation of the rally in bond yields that started in February. As the chart below shows, the 10-year real interest rates have soared from -1.06 on February 10 to -0.66 percent on March 23. What is clear from the chart is the st...Read More

The S&P 500 red candle and then some – erased in aday, that‘s what you get with the Fed always having your back. The staircaseclimb certainly looks like continuing without any real breather. Whatever steepascent you compare it to (Jun or early Sep 2020), this one is different in thatit doesn‘t offer but token corrections. Not that it would be reasonable toexpect a steep downs...Read More

Lead's price on the London Metal Exchange reached a fresh year-to-date high and sister metal zinc was trading at its highest since June 2018, supported by the futures complex that continues to be spurred by bullish sentiment. Lead's price reached $2,201 per tonne during afternoon trading on Tuesday May 4, the highest since October 2019 and overtaking its previous year-to-date high of $2,185 per to...Read More

Ignore what centralbankers are saying; instead, watch what they are doing.While they poo-poo goldor pretend it doesn't exist, global central banks have been quietly but aggressivelyaccumulating gold bullion for several years now. The Central Bank of Russia,for example, has been a consistent buyer of gold.Other major central bankshave also been acquiring and holding the metal, although some scaled...Read More

Treatment charges for lead concentrates fell sharply in April after the arbitrage between Shanghai and London prices encouraged more imports into China, sources said.Fastmarkets' lead spot concentrate TC, low silver, cif China assessment was $55-65 per tonne on April 30, a 20-month low and down from an $80-100-per-tonne range in March.Lead concentrates with a low silver content are historically mo...Read More