Nickel premiums continued to rise in the United States in the week ended Tuesday August 10 due to tight availability, but premiums in other regions remained flat.US premiums up on higher sales despite end to Vale strikeChina's cathodes and briquettes quiet amid firmly closed arb windowQuiet market in Europe.Uptrend continues in US premiumsNickel premiums rose in the United States on continued high...Read More

Future remains golden for Rox ResourcesSPONSOREDrox resourcesCashed-up Karora is doubling gold production at a blistering paceSPONSOREDkarora resourcesZinc-lead discovery helps Zenith double market capSPONSOREDzenith mineralsMining and the lack of external investmentSPONSOREDswannAtalaya reported EBITDA of €51.9 million in Q2, up from €12.8 million a year ago and 5% above estimates by an...Read More

Summary of Showa Denko's first half production results for the six months ended June 30. Net sales in the first half of 2021 rose by 112.34% to ?693 billion ($6.23 billion) with sales in chemicals, electronics, inorganics and aluminium segments improving from the first half of 2020. Showa Denko reported...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States remained firmly above $94 per hundredweight on Wednesday, setting an all-time high for the third day in a row.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $94.86 per hundredweight ($1,897.20 per short ton) on Wednesday August 11, up by 0.20% from $94.67 per cwt on August 10 and by 1.72% from $93.26 per cwt one week earlie...Read More

The shareholders of United Arab Emirates-based Arkan Building Materials have approved the merger of their company with Emirates Steel, Arkan said on August 9.Arkan owns companies in the construction-related sectors, including cement and concrete producers.Emirates Steel has crude steel capacity for 3.5 million tonnes per year, making it the biggest steel producer in the UAE. It produces rebar, wir...Read More

Base metals prices on the LME were mainly weaker this morning, Wednesday August 11, after average rebound gains of 1.4% on Tuesday, while SHFE base metals prices were mainly stronger in reaction to yesterday's LME gains.* US Senate passes $1 trillion infrastructure bill, focused on the transport system* Wall Street set fresh record highs on Tuesday* US dollar strong and climbing and US treasury yi...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil were stable in Northern Europe and down in Italy on Wednesday August 11 due to seasonally weak trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?1,138.13 ($1,334.51) per tonne on August 11, down by ?,?0.62 per tonne from ?,?1,138.75 per tonne on August 10.The index was dow...Read More

A summary of German steelmaker Salzgitter's financial results for the second quarter of 2021, running from April 1 to June 30.In brief Recovery in the steel market and surging steel prices led to a strong performance in the second quarter, particularly in Strip Steel and Trading. Steel demand in Europe has continued to increase from 2020's Covid-19 slump. Not only have steelworks' order intakes in...Read More

Export billet prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region declined at the beginning of the week, pressured by low prices and poor demand.Lower import scrap prices in Turkey as well as low demand in major sales outlets due to the summer slowdown were the main reasons for the negative mood."[The] market seems very soft. August is a quiet month in general as well," a Europe-based...Read More

Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe remained unchanged on Wednesday August 11 with the market moving through a seasonally slower period of trading, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium) domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,400-1,430 ($1,642-1,677) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week."Prices remain above ?,?1,400 per tonne,...Read More

I've been analyzing currency wars for years. In fact, I've written a book called Currency Wars, so I have some expertise in the subject.A new front in the currency wars is emerging, but it has not yet erupted into blatant currency manipulation. That will probably come in early 2022.First, we'll likely pass through a major market disruption that will force the dollar significantly higher against ot...Read More

We're now in the middle of a new surge of COVID cases blamed on the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Delta surge should abate significantly by mid-September.But I'm afraid the consequences of bad economic policies engendered by the pandemic will last much longer.In the immediate aftermath of the first pandemic wave (March - May 2020), the White House, Congress and the Fed implemented a f...Read More

Ferrous scrap exports from the United States tumbled by 20.68% month on month in June, with shipments to Turkey down by two thirds compared with May, according to the latest data from the US Census Bureau.Ferrous scrap exports dropped to 1.61 million tonnes in June from 2.03 million tonnes in May and 1.63 million tonnes in April.Exports to Turkey, typically the top buyer of US ferrous scrap, plumm...Read More

As we noted yesterday, Dr. Robert Malone is a pioneer in the mRNA technology upon which the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are based. As we also noted: Dr. Malone is not an "anti-vaxxer." He has - in fact - consecrated his long career to vaccine development.Yet, he harbors grave reservations about these particular vaccines. What is his central bogey, his primary hobgoblin? He believes the vaccines ma...Read More

US East Coast ferrous scrap export prices continue to face downside pressure following a recent cargo sale to Turkey, while business activity off the West Coast remains muted. A Turkish steel mill bought a United States-origin cargo for September shipment comprising 30,000 tonnes of heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) at $461 per tonne as well as 5,000 tonnes of shredded and 5,000 tonnes of bonus, bot...Read More

Turkish steel mills remained out of the deep-sea scrap market on Wednesday August 11, booking no new cargoes, sources told Fastmarkets.With no new transactions heard, the market remained steady.A small number of older cargo deals had come to light at the start of this week, for material...Read More

J.B. - a reader - gives us a good round piece of his mind:95% of physicians have willingly been vaccinated; do you think you know more than all of them???????????????????? OK, you are smarter than all the scientists who are aware of the side effects; bravo! You made your point. Can you now join the national effort to encourage everyone to be vaccinated for the public good?J.B. refers to yesterday'...Read More

Japanese steel scrap exporters were unwilling to part with large tonnages of material at current market prices ahead of a long holiday in the country starting this week, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 11.Japanese sellers cautious about new salesLarge gap between containerized and bulk-shipment prices for Taiwan imported scrapChinese scrap import market quiet despite futures gains; pr...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices increased in the fob Australia market amid increased buying interest on Wednesday August 11, while the cfr China market stayed strong due to domestic supply tightness, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $222.09 per tonne, up $0.98 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $195.91 per tonne, up $5.75 per tonnePremium hard coking co...Read More

Iron ore prices went up on Wednesday August 11 following the uptrend in steel and coke prices, but the demand outlook remained bearish, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $165.48 per tonne, up by $3.04 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $165.97 per tonne, up by $3.22 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $134.28 per tonne, up by $3.34...Read More