For the past several years, I have been slowly building up a physical gold position. But in the past several months I haven't bought any physical bullion.No coins. No bars. Nothing.That's simply because, since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, prices and (especially) premiums on gold bullion have been quite high. So I've been holding off on acquiring any more.However, following the flash crash...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday September 6 that are worth another look.Continued low demand for aluminium in Japan, unchanged since August, has weighed on fourth-quarter negotiations for the main Japanese ports (MJP) aluminium premium, which started around August 24. Multiple sources reported on Monday September 6 that the first producer to extend the offer of $2...Read More
Base-metals prices on the London Metal Exchange moved in different directions at the close of trading on Monday September 6, with aluminium continuing to reach new highs, while metals such as lead and tin ended the day on the back foot.Lead's three-month price was $2,275.00 per tonne on Monday at 5pm, dropping from last Friday's price of $2,310.50 per tonne.The metal reached a year-to-date peak of...Read More
Bob Moriarty ArchivesSep 6, 2021In response to the clusterfuck going on in Afghanistan recently a US MarineLieutenant Colonel posted a video asking why no one had been held responsible for the biggest military failure in American history surrounding the poorly planned and executed withdrawal. He demanded accountability. So his superiors fired him. He has since resigned leaving a multi-million doll...Read More
Continued low demand for aluminium in Japan, unchanged since August, has weighed on fourth-quarter negotiations for the main Japanese ports (MJP) aluminium premium, which started around August 24.Multiple sources reported on Monday September 6 that the first producer to extend the offer of $230 per tonne has put back its quarterly negotiation deadline by one week to September 10, but it will not l...Read More
Brazilian exports of alumina increased by 7.25% year on year in August, due to volumes from Alunorte more than offsetting the drop reported by Alumar, according to data published by the economy ministry on Monday September 6.Alumina exports totaled 607,160 tonnes during August, up from 566,101 tonnes a year before. On the other hand, volumes were down by 18.37% in comparison with 743,794 tonnes in...Read More
Aluminium closed up 1.49% on the London Metal Exchange to US$2,757.25, having reached $2,775.50/tonne in early trading yesterday.It was the first day back in the LME Ring yesterday for members of the open outcry trading system after an 18-month suspension due to COVID-19.In a mixed finish for base metals, copper gained 0.22% and nickel fell 0.78%.Gold softened slightly to $1,822 an ounce on the sp...Read More
The latest data for the global manganese ore market for theweek ended Monday September 6, 2021.Read More
The gap between seaborne and portside manganese ore prices, which had lasted throughout most of this year, came to a closing point in the week ending Friday September 3 after seaborne prices weakened once again, whereas port markets remained resilient.Traditionally in the manganese market, seaborne prices are lower than portside prices to incentivize buying interest. But the situation reversed thi...Read More
The European manganese alloys markets, currently trading around 13-year price highs, were likely to rise further - at least in the short term - due to firm fundamentals of tight availability and strong demand, Fastmarkets heard on Monday September 6.Other factors such as an acute shortage of shipping containers and record high freight rates were also making replacement costs very expensive, while...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices dropped over the past week amid weakening imported scrap values, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday September 6.Turkish mills continued their deep-sea scrap purchases last week, albeit at a slow pace.Fastmarkets' index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was calculated at $ 440.25 per tonne on Friday September 3,...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths on the morning of Monday September 6, after a weaker-than-expected US jobs report on Friday sent out mixed signals.But base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally stronger this morning while they tracked the gains seen on the LME on Friday, which came despite the disappointing data from the United States...Read More
Australian miner Eastern Iron Ltd has signed a partnership agreement with Yahua International Investment and Development Co. Ltd. to acquire and develop lithium projects, Eastern Iron said on Monday September 6.Yahua is a a subsidiary of Chinese lithium producer Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group Co. Ltd.Under the terms of the non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Eastern Iron and Yahua...Read More
Domestic prices for cobalt metal in China have strengthened since mid-August despite weak downstream demand due to tightening supply and high production costsFastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt 99.8% Co min, ex-works China was at 360,000-383,000 yuan ($55,775-59,338) per tonne last Friday September 3, up by 3,000-5,000 yuan per tonne from 355,000-380,000 yuan per tonne on September 1. Prices...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday September 6 that are worth another look.Continued low demand for aluminium in Japan, unchanged since August, has weighed on fourth-quarter negotiations for the main Japanese ports (MJP) aluminium premium, which started around August 24. Multiple sources reported on Monday September 6 that the first producer to extend the offer of $2...Read More
Hot-rolled coil markets across Europe remained quiet on Monday September 6, with sentiment was increasingly bearish because of the decline in demand from the automotive sector, sources told Fastmarkets.Opinions differed between mills and buyers on the future direction of HRC prices, with trading activity in both Northern Europe and Italy remaining slow on Monday.Buyers were expecting prices to dro...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe and Italy were broadly flat during the week ended Friday September 3 amid subdued trading activity, with buyers holding back from making deals and mills refusing to accept lower prices, Fastmarkets has learnt.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?1,138.38 ($1,352.19) per tonne on Fri...Read More
It's safe to say the world would be unrecognizable if American scientists hadn't built an atomic bomb before the Nazis. Even if Hitler chose not to condemn us all to a nuclear wasteland, a Nazi-controlled planet seems only slightly better than total destruction. At the start of World War II, the sheer terror at what the Third Reich could do with one of the most powerful forces in the universe lit...Read More
Export rebar and wire rod prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region continued to decrease in the week to Monday September 6, pressured by competition with Turkish mills, sources told Fastmarkets.Offers of Turkey-origin rebar for foreign customers have slid $10-20 per tonne over the past two weeks, to $670-675 per tonne fob Black Sea.Wire rod was available at $770-790 per tonn...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 August 2021.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for January, February, March, April,...Read More