Peter Krauth discusses the confluence of factors that points to the gold bull market having plenty of upside ahead. In investing, as in life, perspective is everything.To some, gold at $1,525 as we started out 2020 seemed expensive. Today, it's trading at $1,940, producing a 27% gain.And yet, from several viewpoints, gold still looks cheap at current prices. Debt, easy money and geopolitical risks...Read More
Technical analyst Clive Maund discusses the dollar's fall and what it means for gold. We now have a very rare setup for gold which is in position to "go ballistic" as the dollar collapses. The dollar is being intentionally destroyed by the Fed, which is creating dollars in vast unprecedented quantities in order to buy up distressed assets on the cheap and in order to pave the way for the new "digi...Read More
Most flat-rolled steel import prices declined in South America during the week ended Friday January 8, reversing a two-month uptrend after remaining unchanged during the year-end holidays.Slower domestic demand in China resulted in some lower offers from mills and some short selling from traders, according to market participants. Additionally, there were reports of many Chinese steelmakers refrain...Read More
Gold ended 2020 at $1,891, partially thanks to monetary policy easing. In 2021, the Fed may not trigger a comparable rally in gold, but it should offer gold prices some support.Welcome to 2021! I hope that it will be a wonderful year for all of you; a much healthier, calmer and normal year than 2020 was. And even more profitable of course! Indeed, at least gold bulls could be satisfied with the la...Read More
Brazilian steel slab export prices soared in the week ended Friday January 8, with buyers showing increased interest in securing orders, and sellers trying to achieve new price levels.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, rose to $750-780 per tonne fob on Friday, compared with $670-685 per tonne fob a week earlier.Brazilian slab producers have been full...Read More
Aluminium primary foundry alloy (PFA) premiums in the United States and Germany climbed on Friday January 8 as demand outpaced limited supply in those countries. United StatesFastmarkets assessed the aluminium primary foundry alloy silicon 7 ingot/T-bar premium, dlvd dup over P1020A Midwest US at 8.5-10 cents per lb on Friday, up by 19.4% from 7-8.5 cents per lb last month.The premium is at its hi...Read More
The uptrend in the pig iron export sector in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued in the week to Friday January 8, despite a seasonally slow market, sources have told Fastmarkets.The weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $550-555 per tonne on January 8, up by $20-25 per tonne week on week from $530 per tonne on December 31....Read More
Three-month zinc and nickel both fell by more than 2% on Friday January 8, with the LME base metals ending the week with pullbacks from the highs reached in the first days of 2021 after a US Dollar Index rebound.Zinc's three-month price was down 2.6% at the 5pm close on Friday at $2,813.50 per tonne, compared with Thursday's closing price of $2,888 per tonne. Nevertheless, the...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices pushed up on Friday January 8 on active trading, with demand for high-grade iron ore fines well supported at the Chinese ports, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $173.06 per tonne, up $1.37 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $173.33 per tonne, up $1.08 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingd...Read More
Base metals forward prices on the London Metals Exchange consolidated on the morning of Friday January 8, ending a week when some reached multi-year rises, due to a recovery in the dollar index. The three-month nickel price was down by 1.2% on Friday at 9am to $17,895 per tonne, while zinc fell by 1.4% to $2,848 per tonne from Thursday's closing prices of $18,109 per tonne and $2,888 per tonne res...Read More
An overview of the new energy raw materials markets and their latest price moves in the past week.Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey in London, Ruby...Read More
Three-month zinc and nickel both fell by more than 2% on Friday January 8, with the LME base metals ending the week with pullbacks from the highs reached in the first days of 2021 after a US Dollar Index rebound.Zinc's three-month price was down 2.6% at the 5pm close on Friday at $2,813.50 per tonne, compared with Thursday's closing price of $2,888 per tonne. Nevertheless, the...Read More
Spot trading of copper concentrates was quiet in the last week of December 2020, with fewer purchases by both smelters and traders.Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) dropped slightly, with offers for copper concentrates to smelters remaining in the mid to high $40s per tonne, while smelters bid $50 per tonne for clean qualities. A combo deal of Bisha and clean...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment charges and refining charges (TC/RCs) fell in the week ending Friday January 8, with more smelters looking for units on the spot market to replace delayed shipments from the Las Bambas copper mine in Peru.This week, several parcels of clean concentrate for first-quarter shipment were sold to Chinese smelters at TC/RCs in the mid to high $40s per tonne, while some secon...Read More
Base metals, with the exception of copper and nickel, registered increases in inventory levels in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses in the week to Friday January 8, with zinc up the most at 22.5%. Zinc inventories totaled 35,008 tonnes, up by 6,427 tonnes (22.5%) from 28,581 tonnes a week earlier. The R&S Logistics warehouse in Shanghai recorded the largest inflow, with stocks up by...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its weekly copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index, which was published incorrectly on Monday January 4 due to a calculation error. Fastmarkets' weekly index for copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific (MB-CU-0287) should have been $44.70 per tonne, instead of $47.80 per tonne as previously published. Fastmarkets' weekly index for c...Read More
Base metals forward prices on the London Metals Exchange consolidated on the morning of Friday January 8, ending a week when some reached multi-year rises, due to a recovery in the dollar index. The three-month nickel price was down by 1.2% on Friday at 9am to $17,895 per tonne, while zinc fell by 1.4% to $2,848 per tonne from Thursday's closing prices of $18,109 per tonne and $2,888 per tonne res...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States climbed during the first week of 2021 after customers on the prowl for spot material came up mostly dry yet again. The new year ushered in the 22nd consecutive week of gains for one hot-dipped-galvanized metric.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US rose to $58.50 per hundredweight ($1,170...Read More
Brazilian automotive production rose by 22.8% year-on-year in December 2020, amid stronger export figures, national carmakers' association Anfavea said on Friday January 8.Vehicle output totaled 209,296 units in the last month of 2020, up from 170,504 units a year before. Volumes, however, were 12.1% lower than 238,200 units in November.Full-year production in 2020 was 2.01 million units, a 31.6%...Read More