An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and color-coated coil increased in the week to Friday June 5 and some producers have stopped accepting new orders because of increasing production costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand is strong due to restocking and expectations that prices will rise further.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, domestic, exw Turkey was $430-440 p...Read More
Magnets...They're pretty much the most boring thing on Earth. They're about as exciting as waiting in line at the post office.But magnets are a huge part of modern life. In fact, you likely rely on high-powered magnets every moment of your day.As the world continues to modernize, more and more of these high-powered magnets will be needed to satisfy the demand for new technologies. And that creates...Read More
Vehicle production increased in Latin America during May, when compared with the all-time lows reported in April, but continued to represent a sharp year-on-year decrease while most plants remained closed or are just starting to reopen following Covid-related halts.Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are the region's top auto producing countries, Fastmarkets understands.MexicoMexican light vehicle output...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe declined slightly day on day on Friday June 5 due to low demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?398.75 ($449.19) per tonne on Friday, down by ?,?1.33 per tonne from ?,?400.08 per tonne on Thursday.Friday's index was calculated based on deals and "workable...Read More
Yesterday, in Real Vision's Daily Briefing (free) Roger Hirst again made the case that the influence of robotic passive strategies such as automatic retirement savings contributions into passive index funds is waning due to layoffs. Meanwhile, the impact of retail investors is growing as many of those laid off and furloughed investors use some of their unemployment benefits to speculate in the st...Read More
The current situation with Middle Eastern oil producers of low production and low prices is not sustainable according to Warren Pies, chief energy strategist for Ned Davis Research. In a must watch interview for oil patch investors, Pies pictures an oil market that remains under stress despite the recent rally. He also updates his playbook as crude oil demand recovers from its lows. He continues...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Poland resumed their decline over the week to Friday June 5 on pressure from buyers with Covid-19-related uncertainty restraining their trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Sources noted a minor increase in trading activity over the assessment week but this was largely from attempts to destock."Stockists are lowering prices just to get rid of the old stock...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products reported a 50.8% year-on-year drop in shipment volumes in April, Eurometal said on Thursday June 4.In first four months of 2020, shipments of flat steel products by European steel service centers decreased by 18.5% year on year. Eurometal does not disclose product volumes.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe ...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices snapped over a week of increases on Friday June 5 due to heavy rain in the country's southern region and high temperatures in the north sapping demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,600-3,630 yuan ($508-512) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,700-3,730 yuan per tonne, up by 100 yuan per tonneAdverse weather condi...Read More
China continued to show strong demand for pig iron in the week ended Friday June 5, supporting a global uptrend in prices for the raw material.Four cargoes of pig iron with a total volume of at least 180,000 tonnes were bought for the Chinese market from Brazil and the Commonwealth of Independent States during the week.One booking of Russia-origin material was heard at $334 per tonne cfr. Another...Read More
Pig iron exporters in Brazil achieved higher prices in the week to Friday June 5 in deals to China, market sources said. Fastmarkets' assessment of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was unchanged at $295-300 per tonne on Friday, but this week the top end of the range reflects a deal achieved at this price rather than offers last...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom moved up for the second consecutive week on Friday June 5, driving by ongoing tight material availability. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK was ?65-80 ($82-100) per tonne on Friday, up from ?60-70 per tonne on May 29. This is the second wee...Read More
Gold COT Report - Futures Large SpeculatorsCommercialTotal LongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort 272,19653,16237,007108,654365,277417,857455,446 Change from Prior Reporting Period -15,9522,928-2,944-23,323-41,022-42,219-41,038 Traders 20260715556284161 Small Speculators LongShortOpen Interest 57,88820,299475,745 -1,410-2,591-43,629 non reportable pos...Read More
"Well, now that we have seen each other," said the unicorn, "if you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you." - Lewis Carroll, "Through The Looking Glass""The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." - Keyser S?ze, "The Usual Suspects"By: Dave KranzlerThe employment report is a complete fraud. But as long as the market and it's army of mainstream story-tell...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices snapped over a week of increases on Friday June 5 due to heavy rain in the country's southern region and high temperatures in the north sapping demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,600-3,630 yuan ($508-512) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,700-3,730 yuan per tonne, up by 100 yuan per tonneAdverse weather condi...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinGold is in a correction, but strong supports in the $1,600's:Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market climbed over the past week due to robust demand from Chinese importers.Market participants said China's appetite for imported billet returned after domestic steel prices increased in response to costlier iron ore and production cuts in the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr Southeast...Read More
Michael weighs in on the massive increase in the Fed's balance sheet over the last several months, amounts that make the stimulative response to the Great Recession a decade ago look like chump change. But with that said he shares why he doesn't see the dollar collapsing - at least not against other fiat currencies - and also talks about the critical importance of ditching passivity when it comes...Read More