The ascent in ammonium paratungstate (APT) prices paused last week after a few consecutive weeks of increases. Chinese, European APT prices stabilize  Low availability continues to support APT prices but fewer inquiries seen  European ferro-tungsten edges down amid weak demand Chinese ammonium paratungstate (APT) export market slowed down last week amid fewer inquiries from overseas and...Read More

Miners successfully raised offer prices for manganese ore amid price increases across the supply chain in the week to Friday June 22. Manganese ore prices rise on miners' higher offersAlloy prices jump on tight supplyAlloy prices hold in India, Europe Manganese ore prices rose again on Friday June 22 after high producer offers were snapped up in China amid busy trading. Metal Bulletin's 37%...Read More

Ferro-chrome benchmark price negotiations for the third quarter of 2018 are revealing a fresh spin on some familiar topics and a more detailed look at regional price differences across the supply chain. Metal Bulletin reported last week that the widely-expected reduction in the third-quarter settlement is likely to be smaller than previously anticipated, due to strengthening ferro-chrome markets,...Read More

Gold futures closed down $3.10 today, with the August Comex contract currently fixed at $1,267.60. This three-dollar decline completed a pattern that we identified last week called a "death cross". A "death cross" is created when the shorter-term moving average crosses below the longer-term moving average. This pattern is created from a 200 and a 50-day moving average. As such, these time paramete...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices were modestly lower in early-afternoon U.S. trading Monday. Gold was poised to close at a six-month low close today, and silver is at the bottom of its recent trading range. A general sell-off in the raw commodity sector today weighed on the precious metals markets. Gold and silver continue to act more like raw commodities than like safe-haven assets. August g...Read More

(Kitco News) - The most recent data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission confirms what many analysts were predicting - money managers sharply reduced their bullish positioning in gold during the latest reporting week.The CFTC late Friday released positioning data for the week through Tuesday, June 19. Since prices fell sharply a few days after that cut-off date, expectations were that th...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold has seen a modest bounce off Friday's lower levels on a weaker dollar overnight. The fundamental dynamics suggest gold will remain under pressure until there is a discernible reversal in dollar sentiment. We are seeing some support lining up at the $1,265 level, with upward momentum capped at the $1,278 area. Retail buying has begun to emerge, which suggests investors remain en...Read More

(Kitco News) - Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE, TSX: ABX) said progress has been made in tax negotiations involving the government of Tanzania and Acacia Mining and that the company is no longer setting a timetable for an agreement. Barrick owns 63.9% of the shares in Acacia, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and operates independently of Barrick. However, Barrick has been negotiating on behal...Read More

Pig iron import prices continued to increase in the United States, with buyers likely to start restocking soon and scrap prices expected to increase further in July. Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for US pig iron imports was $415-420 per tonne cfr on Friday June 22, up from $410-415 per tonne a week earlier. A deal for Ukraine-origin pig iron was heard at about $415 per...Read More

Editor's Note: Welcome to Kitco's new Bitcoin Daily Technical Alert. Every trading day veteran Kitco technical analyst Jim Wyckoff will provide you with a concise and easy-to-understand near-term technical brief on Bitcoin. Importantly, Jim will glean the short-term charts and technical studies, and then alert you to the signals he sees regarding upcoming potential bigger price moves or price tren...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices edged up, but were largely unchanged, after the U.S. new home sales rose more than expected in May. New home sales rose 6.7% last month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 689,000 homes, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday. April’s sales were downwardly revised to a rate of 646,000 units from 662,000 units.Market consensus for May projected a 1.5% r...Read More

Turkish domestic scrap prices have risen over the past week amid an uptick in pricing for imported scrap and that for rebar in the country's domestic market, sources said on Monday June 25.Steel producers in Turkey have increased their buying prices for auto bundle scrap by around TRY40-170 ($9-36) per tonne during the past week.Alloy long steel producer Asil ??elik and long and flat ste...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar fell to a fresh two-week low against the Japanese yen on Monday, as worries about escalating trade tensions between the United States and other leading economies hurt risk appetite.The greenback was down 0.44 percent at 109.48 yen, after slipping to a two-week low of 109.38 earlier in the session.The U.S. Treasury Department is drafting curbs that would block firms...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened to its lowest level in over 10 years on Monday as concerns about trade wars and divisions within the euro zone boosted demand for longer-dated safe-haven debt.Trade fears and tensions in Europe have raised concerns that divisions could slow global growth and potentially impede the Federal Reserve from making further interest rate hikes.F...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Monday that a lot of progress had been made in the Middle East, but he declined to say when the White House would release its plan for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.Trump, during a meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan, said things had improved since he pulled the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. European allies opposed...Read More

Global direct-reduced iron (DRI) output increased by 16.74% year on year in May 2018, according to new statistics published by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) on Monday June 25. Total output was 7.12 million tonnes in May 2018 compared with 6.10 million tonnes a year previously, an increase of just over 1 million tonnes. Production was also up on a monthly basis,...Read More

Iron ore prices increased on Monday June 25 while lump premiums continued to rise amid ongoing restrictions on production in China's steelmaking hub of Tangshan.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $65.49 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.15 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $53.06 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.51 per tonneMetal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $89.60 per tonne cfr Qingdao...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices continued to descend on Monday June 25 amid uncertainty over macroeconomic conditions in China and the availability of cheaper domestic materials in the country. A tender for a cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal was concluded last Friday at $200.06 per tonne cfr China, while a shipment of pulverized coal injection (PCI) product changed hands at $145.50 per tonne...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 13 points in pre-opening trade. Futures are responding to rising concerns about a trade war. The U.S. Dollar Index moved lower.Harley Davidson dropped $0.71 to $43.45 after the European Union increased its tariffs on motor cycles from 6% to 31%.BlackBerry slipped $0.06 to $10.62 after MKM Partners lowered its target p...Read More

Restrictions on sintering and pellet output to reduce pollution in China, along with high mill margins, have led to iron ore pellet premiums rising as mills favour the least-polluting material tomaintain output and meet emissions targets.PelletsMetal Bulletin's 65% Fe Blast Furnace Pellet Index was at $114.48 per tonne for the week ending Friday June 22, up $2.44 per tonne - or 2.2% - from $112.04...Read More