By Jordan Roy-ByrneThe precious metals sector may have begun a correction on Wednesday. The miners (GDX, GDXJ) sold off after reaching significant resistance levels while the metals are trading just below significant resistance levels. We mentioned these targets in our article last week.GDXJ has pulled back a bit after testing 7-year resistance while GDX has pulled back after hitting a key piv...Read More

Gold COT Report - FuturesLarge SpeculatorsCommercialTotalLongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort295,39443,60639,245133,715423,889468,354506,740Change from Prior Reporting Period 17,6238,6634,0877,69219,33329,40232,083Traders22060846060318172 Small Speculators (C) GoldSeek.com LongShortOpen Interest 59,85121,465528,205 2,064-61731,466 non reportable positionsChange from t...Read More

The mid-tier gold miners in the sweet spot for stock-price upside potential have enjoyed a massive run since mid-March's stock-panic lows. They've already more than doubled in the couple months since! Their just-released Q1'20 operational and financial results reveal whether these huge gains are righteous fundamentally, whether this uptrend is likely to persist, and how COVID-19 shutdowns ar...Read More

By Richard (Rick) Mills"There is a Chinese curse which says 'May he live in interesting times.' Like it or not we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also more open to the creative energy of men than any other time in history." - President John F. Kennedy, in a speech in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1966 JFK's "Chinese curse" meme seems appropriate...Read More

By: Ira EpsteinAbbreviated trading sessions coming up with the holiday coming up. Traders will even up. When you take a look at gold, consolidating into a pattern of..Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the session ending Friday May 22.China The domestic market experienced a small recovery on tight supply following the wave of production cuts among ferro-silicon producers in April. Export...Read More

The market for pig iron exports from southern Brazil went up again in the week to Friday May 22 amid new sales to China.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was $290-295 per tonne on Friday, up by $10 per tonne from $280-285 per tonne a week earlier.Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the session ended Friday May 22.China Domestic ferro-chrome spot prices rose on bullish sentiment after Tsingshan raised its June tender price by 500 yuan ($70) per tonne. The UG2 chrome ore price was underpinned by continuing disruptions in South Africa, with deals reported at higher prices. Market sentiment strengthened...Read More

Miners and processors considering production cuts cannot ignore safety or care and maintenance, including of associated asset infrastructure, the former chief executive officer of Anglo American said.Cynthia Carroll told Fastmarkets during a webinar interview that taking the decision to curtail output in deteriorating demand and pricing environments such as those being seen during the Covid-19 pan...Read More

Negative interest rates? Preposterous! Negative crude oil? Inconceivable! Silver at $61.37 RIGHT NOW, and $1,000 SOON? I know, right? Check this out...I'm starting to think that silver's the next market to go bonkers.Literally.And by bonkers, I mean in a way that would surprise even the Silver Bugs.At least, I'm preparing to be surprised anyway, and yes, I'm a proud card-carrying Silver Bug first...Read More

LME base metals fell at the final hurdle this week, with prices slumping on Friday May 22 after having been on course for their best performing week of the year.Markets reacted negatively to early announcements made during the National People's Congress, China's agenda setting political meeting which started on Friday May 22 after earlier delays."There was a lot about social and technical policy,...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices dipped slightly on Friday May 22 with the opening of China's twin sessions, in which, for the first time since 1994, no gross domestic product growth target was set by the Chinese government. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $97.65 per tonne, down $0.61 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $100.28 per tonne, down $1.35 per tonne. 58% Fe...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices were unchanged on Friday May 22 due to mixed news emerging from a meeting of policymakers in Beijing.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,560-3,590 yuan ($500-503) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,550-3,600 yuan per tonne, up by 130-140 yuan per tonne Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in the morning that there would not be a gross...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The Covid-19 pandemic and the associated impacts on steel production, mining and manufacturing activity, end-use consumption, and trade and transportation continue to dominate ferro-alloy markets. US steel mills are operating at around 50% of capacity, with similarly low operating rates evident in Europe as well. Chinese ste...Read More

Indian mills have achieved a $30 per tonne increase in export prices for hot-rolled coil in the week ended Friday May 22, with international pricing becoming firmer, particularly for Chinese exports.The price of steel HRC (commodity), export, fob main port India, was assessed by Fastmarkets at $420-425 per tonne on May 22, up by $30 per tonne from last week's assessment at $390-395 per tonne."Ther...Read More

The metals and mining industry will need to make permanent, fundamental changes to the way it operates as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the former chief executive of Anglo American told Fastmarkets.Speaking during a webinar interview this week, Cynthia Carroll, who led Anglo American from 2007 until 2013, said this is in stark contrast to the way the sector got back to business in the afterma...Read More

Key data from the Friday May 22 pricing session in London. Key Drivers There were fewer producer offers and more demand from participants looking to secure duty-paid units.The London Metal Exchange aluminium cash/three-month spread recently traded at a $25.50 per tonne contango on Friday, narrower from as wide as wide as $37 at the beginning of the week.Concerns remain about a narrowing contango...Read More

LME base metals fell at the final hurdle this week, with prices slumping on Friday May 22 after having been on course for their best performing week of the year.Markets reacted negatively to early announcements made during the National People's Congress, China's agenda setting political meeting which started on Friday May 22 after earlier delays."There was a lot about social and technical policy,...Read More

Fastmarkets' benchmark copper concentrates treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index rose on Friday May 22 for first time since the beginning of April after more smelters returned to the spot market this week. The index rose to $51.6 per tonne/ 5.16 cents per lb, from $49.6 per tonne/ 4.96 cents per lb a week ago, when it hit the lowest level in eight months. Most Chinese smelters spoken to by F...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves. Read More