New COVID-19 cases across the United States are surging faster than ever, especially in states in the South, West and Midwest.Continue...Read More

These five charts show trends in key economic indicators that help track reopening progress in the U.S.Continue...Read More

At least 25% of LSU's football team was in quarantine this week after fears of a coronavirus spreading among the players and staff. Continue...Read More

At a Saturday night rally, Trump recallied that "I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down,' " because more testing would mean more cases were discovered.Continue...Read More

This will lead to a rush into gold which will ultimately trigger a massive wave in silver.Continue...Read More

"Gold investment demand tends to grow into the early stage of the economic recovery, driven by continued debasement concerns and lower real rates." Continue...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday June 19 that are worth another look.Pig iron production at Tata Steel IJmuiden in the Netherlands was stopped on June 19, while the plant's workers went on a 24-hour strike, sources told Fastmarkets.The London Metal Exchange has fined warehouse operator Istim ?30,000 ($37,120) for breaching clauses of its warehouse agreement, the e...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday June 19 that are worth another look.Pig iron production at Tata Steel IJmuiden in the Netherlands was stopped on June 19, while the plant's workers went on a 24-hour strike, sources told Fastmarkets.The London Metal Exchange has fined warehouse operator Istim ?30,000 ($37,120) for breaching clauses of its warehouse agreement, the e...Read More

Brazil's steel use dropped by a quarter year on year in May, after Covid-19 restrictions led to a slump in both supplies and demand, the country's steel association, Instituto A??o Brasil, said this week.Apparent steel consumption in the country totaled 1.35 million tonnes in May, down by 24.8% year on year from 1.79 million tonnes in May 2019, the institute said on Thursday June 18.Flat-roll...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday June 19 that are worth another look.Pig iron production at Tata Steel IJmuiden in the Netherlands was stopped on June 19, while the plant's workers went on a 24-hour strike, sources told Fastmarkets.The London Metal Exchange has fined warehouse operator Istim ?30,000 ($37,120) for breaching clauses of its warehouse agreement, the e...Read More

The London Metal Exchange recently reiterated its willingness to facilitate spot trading of low carbon aluminium. While not a new concept for the exchange, it would serve two important purposes. First, it would provide more transparent, digitalized data on the specification of its aluminium brands and determine whether people are actually paying more for low carbon metal. Second, it would pro...Read More

Just over a year ago, US Section 232 tariffs against imports of aluminium from Canada were removed. Now there are calls to reintroduce them.The American Primary Aluminum Association (APAA), which represents US producers Century Aluminum and Magnitude 7, says that Canadian imports have "surged" since the tariffs were removed and are threatening the viability of the US primary aluminium industry.&nb...Read More

An expected shortfall in Brazilian supply of high-grade iron ore will likely result in 2020 becoming a boom year for Australian miners.While Brazilian miner Vale, a key producer of high-grade iron ore fines and pellets, is maintaining its production guidance despite a suspension of operations at its Itabira mining complex, many market participants in Asia are expecting a shortage of Brazil-origin...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Demand outlook revisedWe are not surprised to see aluminium prices retreat from last week's high after flagging up in recent reports that they had become overbought. 'Sell-the-rally' traders will be targeting the April high now, down at $1,534 per tonne. This week we have reviewed our aluminium demand forecasts fo...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Short-term upside targets achievedLME aluminium's price recovery to $1,600 per tonne has been driven by macro forces acting on all metals, and amplified for aluminium by technical factors after prices became so oversold at the double-bottom lows in April and May. With a 4-million-tonne supply surplus this year, al...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Consolidation needed after technical gainsDespite structural oversupply, the London Metal Exchange aluminium price has enjoyed a technical rebound since the mid-May lows, which was in line with our short-term forecasts. But technical indicators now look overbought and the price must consolidate its recent gai...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Early signs of post-lockdown demand recoveryWith major economies outside China reopening after the easing of their Covid-19-related restrictions on movement and industrial activity, last week's jump in the number of cancelled aluminium warrants on the London Metal Exchange may be an early sign that the post-lockdo...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US prices continue to hold Seamless oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and line pipe prices remained unchanged for the third straight month in June, and we expect them to remain stable through the summer before edging higher on the back of a measured rise in drilling rates.The lack of price movement in recent months does not i...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR?On the back of US steelmakers' $50- to $60-per-ton price hikes in late April, domestic hot-rolled coil prices improved to a monthly average of $493 per ton in May, up from $488 per ton in April. In contrast, both cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized sheet p...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.As we anticipated, rebar prices in Eastern China (ex-warehouse basis) rose in May, coming within 0.6% of our forecast. Strong demand at home meant that Chinese producers were largely absent from the export market, maintaining their offers near $450 per tonne, while import prices into Singapore were set near $400 per tonne cf...Read More