Our bottomless disfaith in experts is validated yet again…These wiseacres informed us April would turn in over one million fresh jobs. How many fresh jobs did April turn in?266,000 - wrong by a factor approaching four - the miss of all misses."This is a big miss that changes how we think about the recovery," moans University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers.Perhaps it does.Economist Nick...Read More

I see the same question in forums, threads, articles and emails: what can I do to protect myself and my family from whatever lies ahead?Given the uncertainties and extremes that are so evident, recognizing risk is a useful first step, a recognition that is very much out of fashion.If we glance at the charts of margin debt (loans taken against one’s stock portfolio) which is at record highs,...Read More

Is the gold skid over? There are encouraging signs that the answer is yes. And, that's great news for patient gold investors (especially those who bought the lows, as I recommended to my subscribers a few weeks ago).First, some facts. Gold hit an all-time high of $2,069 per ounce on August 6, 2020. Since then, it has been on the skids, despite occasional rallies. The low in this cycle was $1,678 p...Read More

Base metals' prices on the London Metal Exchange recovered on Tuesday May 11 morning, after falling for the first time since the start of the month on Monday amid a rise in inflation fears for United States equities, which meant the Nasdaq index fell to its lowest since March 31."Record high copper, steel and iron ore prices, among other commodities, stoked inflation fears and pushed Wall Street l...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices stopped rising on Tuesday May 11 due to rain sapping demand a day after the market surged, due participants still have a bullish outlook. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 6,000-6,030 yuan ($934-939) per tonne, unchanged Rain affect parts of eastern China and disrupted construction activity and stalled the transportation of rebar, which resulted in a drop in trading c...Read More

The so-called "Suez Armada" of vessels that were delayed by the unintentional blockage of the Suez Canal has now been processed by the Port of Rotterdam, but the port was still "extremely" busy and there were challenges ahead for the shipping sector, speakers said during the Supply Chain Talks digital event on Wednesday May 5.The blockage of the waterway between March 23 and 29 created havoc for g...Read More

The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...Read More

The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade,...Read More

The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...Read More

The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets...Read More

European manganese flake prices climbed above $3,000 per tonne in the week ended Friday May 7 amid tightening prompt inventories and continuing shipping delays.Fastmarkets' price assessment for manganese, 99.7% electrolytic manganese flake, in-whs Rotterdam, rose by 5.3% to $2,900-3,100 per tonne on Friday, up from the mid-week assessment of $2,800-2,900 per tonne. The market was now trading at it...Read More

Most stainless steel sheet prices in the United States rose in May, driven by higher alloy surcharges, while tightening supply has prompted many buyers to seek out new sources to meet their needs, according to market participants.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for stainless steel 304 cold-rolled sheet, fob mill US was at $160 per hundredweight ($3,200 per short ton) on Monday May 10, up by...Read More

The European manganese alloys markets extended their rally over the week ended Friday May 7, marking a general run higher in prices since March, trade sources told Fastmarkets.This came against domestic production cuts, strengthening demand from steelmakers and more expensive replacement costs for alloys from overseas, which combined to elicit short-covering.Industry sources reported an increase i...Read More

McEwen Mining (TSX: MUX; NYSE: MUX) has reported the latest drill results from the Stock West target, part of the company's Fox Complex in northern Ontario, about 45 km east of Timmins.Highlights included drillhole S20-149, which intersected 25.7 metres grading 6.08 grams gold per tonne starting from 476 metres, including 0.6 metres of 28.3 grams gold. Hole S20-138a returned 14.3 metres grading 8...Read More

Coeur Mining (NYSE: CDE) is acquiring a 17.8% stake from Orion Mine Finance in Victoria Gold (TSX: VGCX), which owns and operates the Eagle gold mine in the Yukon. The acquisition of 11 million Victoria shares at $13.20 per share represents a 5% discount to the stock's trailing, 30-day volume-weighted price as of May 7. In return for the Victoria shares, Orion will receive 12.8 million Coeur shar...Read More

This week's episode features Barrick Gold's Q1 2021 conference call with president and CEO Mark Bristow, who discusses the company's move towards sharing more revenue and employment opportunities with local communities. He also expands on the company's strategy to focus on tier 1 and tier 2 mines, the increase in the dividend, and the efforts to be an industry leader on ESG.All this and more with...Read More

European secondary aluminium ingot prices have started to move up after an extended period of volatility, following increased demand from the domestic market and for exports to Asia.A recent surge in demand from China has pushed European ingot prices up for the first time in 10 weeks. Fastmarkets' price assessment for aluminium pressure diecasting ingot DIN226/A380, delivered Europe was ?,?1,860-1...Read More

The Zambian government has reinstated the mining licence for GoviEx Uranium's (TSXV: GXU; US-OTC: GVXXF) Chirundu property, part of the junior's Mutanga project.The licence was cancelled in July 2020 and its reinstatement is subject to the completion of exploration and development milestones that will advance the licence towards a final feasibility study. "The Zambian Government has indicated its...Read More

Turkish domestic scrap prices increased further during the week to Monday May 10, in line with rising imported scrap and export finished steel values, market participants told Fastmarkets.Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have risen in the most recent bookings for June shipments.Last week, one steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo late on Thursday at $488 per tonne for HMS...Read More

Streaming and royalty financing deal flows are predicted to grow significantly over the next decade, and move beyond the precious metals market. Gold and silver now make up 96% of the royalty market share, with cobalt, palladium and copper making up 4% between them.Despite streaming and royalty deals only making up a fraction of overall debt and equity financing in the mining industry, the current...Read More