Gold had a nice bounce on Tuesday, pushing as high as $1,258 before seeing a little selling pressure but still managing to close at $1,253. On Wednesday with the markets closed for Independence Day, gold got to $1,263 in the Globex session. The real question - is this a dead-cat bounce or has gold bottomed? The next couple of days will give us the answers we are looking for. If gold fails from her...Read More

* U.S. tariffs on China set to take effect on Friday* Chipmakers lead tech stocks higher* Indexes up: Dow 0.5 pct, S&P 0.6 pct, Nasdaq 0.9 pct (Updates to late afternoon, changes byline, adds NEW YORK dateline)By April JoynerNEW YORK, July 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slightly pared gains on Thursday after the release of minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s June meeting, though...Read More

Stainless steel scrap supply remains plentiful in the United States amid strong demand, leaving prices stable, although transportation to haul scrap is getting more difficult."Prices are flat, but the big problem is getting trucks to pick up loads!" one scrap dealer said."Overall things are stable heading into July as nickel seems to have settled into a steady trading range as supply and demand se...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets in Europe and the U.S. advanced on Thursday as reassuring economic data from Germany and a report that its big carmakers could be spared from U.S. tariffs offset another gloomy session for Asia.Shares of Mercedes-maker Daimler, BMW, Porsche PSHG_P.DE and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) surged as much as 5 percent after reports of a U.S. offer to suspend tariff threats on...Read More

Prices for Australian iron ore fines softened further on Thursday July 5 with the benchmark product of Pilbara Blend fines being offered at bigger discounts.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $63.14 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.06 per tonneMetal Bulletin 62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines Index: $61.91 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.06 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $51.55 per tonne cf...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange broadly continued their recent run of weakness on the morning of Thursday July 5. Nickel prices were unchanged, while the rest of the complex was down by between 0.3% for copper ($6,382 per tonne) and 0.7% for aluminium ($2,089 per tonne). Volume has been above average with 8,855 lots traded as at 7:17am London time. This follows a genera...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 21 points in pre-opening trade. Futures are responding to weakness in the U.S. Dollar Index.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news. Consensus for June ADP employment was 180,000 versus revised 189,000 in May. Actual was 177,000. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 225,000 versus r...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto,...Read More

Chinese buyers remain on the sidelines of the seaborne coking coal market amid sustained bearishness."There are still some pockets of demand in China but the weakened yuan [has made dollar-denominated cargoes more expensive for Chinese buyers]," an international trader source told Metal Bulletin on Thursday July 5. Earlier in the day, an end-user source submitted a firm bid for a cargo of premium...Read More

Listen to this podcast on our site by clicking here or subscribe on iTunes hereIn a recent hour-long interview with Financial Sense Newshour, Greg Weldon at Weldon Online discussed his just-released 150-page special report, "Shelter from the Storm," looking at the economic and financial storms about to hit the US, Canada, Germany and elsewhere.Global Stagflation ComingWeldon is warning that s...Read More

This week, I'm taking a look at the BIG picture.Many investors are currently worried that the bull market may be coming to an end.However, I've got a completely different view. And it all boils down to three "themes" that I'm seeing in today's economy.On Monday, I talked about the first - a historically strong jobs market where jobs available currently outweigh people actively seeking employment.A...Read More

When geopolitical events create crises in the world, volatility usually follows in world markets. The results of this volatility is important to note and I will discuss this below.In January 2018, two significant market events occurred nearly simultaneously. Major U.S. stock market indexes peaked and volatility indexes extended one of their longest streaks of low volatility in history.Investors we...Read More

We should have known better... for the gods are eager to punish hubris.On May 17, we forecast the S&P would take a good tumble two weeks later, May 31.We were magnificently, triumphantly correct - the S&P dropped 19 points that day.Inflated by success - or deceived by chance - we ventured upon another prediction.Last Friday we said the S&P would drop this Monday, July 2.Our logic was a...Read More

The mid-week recovery in China's domestic rebar market turned out to be short-lived with prices dipping on Thursday July 5 after futures fell during the early trading hours.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,940-3,980 yuan ($594-600) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,870-3,910 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonne The early-hour losses in the futures market led to...Read More

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange ticked higher across the board during morning trading on Thursday July 5, with lead prices climbing by 1.7% after a fresh 15,000 tonne cancelation in Antwerp. Broad upticks in metal prices come after positive PMI results in China and the United Kingdom (details below) indicate positive business conditions, while a slight retreat in the dollar index has give...Read More

Chinese cobalt metal prices fell to a seven-month low on Wednesday July 4, with buyers taking a step back to watch international prices that have continued to fall in recent weeks. Meanwhile, the gap between suppliers' expectations and buyers' bids widened further after local futures prices dipped to a fresh annual low. Metal Bulletin's spot Chinese domestic cobalt metal price dropped to 530,...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange broadly continued their recent run of weakness on the morning of Thursday July 5. Nickel prices were unchanged, while the rest of the complex was down by between 0.3% for copper ($6,382 per tonne) and 0.7% for aluminium ($2,089 per tonne). Volume has been above average with 8,855 lots traded as at 7:17am London time.This follows a general...Read More

Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Metal Bulletin. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Metal Bulletin prices Click here for Metal Bulletin's price assessment for low-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb Click here for Metal Bulletin's price assessment for high-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb I...Read More

Metal Bulletin proposes to amend the delivery timing noted in the specification for its weekly domestic base price assessments for three European domestic stainless steel markets.Metal Bulletin proposes a minimum delivery time of four weeks to reflect the growing divergence in lead times for both flat and long stainless steel products in Europe. Lead times for stainless long products have been rep...Read More

Following a review of its weekly price assessments for stainless steel flat products, Metal Bulletin proposes to discontinue its weekly export price assessment for 2mm grade 304 cold-rolled stainless sheet fob Northern European ports.European exports of commodity-grade stainless steel products such as 2mm grade 304 cold rolled stainless sheet have fallen in recent years amid the strong rise of low...Read More