WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy created more jobs than expected in June, but steady wage gains pointed to moderate inflation pressures that should keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest rate increases this year.Nonfarm payrolls rose by 213,000 jobs last month as manufacturers stepped up hiring, the Labor Department said on Friday. The economy added 37,000 more jobs in April...Read More

Can gold keep rallying? The simple answer is yes, although of course, there is the jobs number at 8:30 a.m. EDT that can be a help or hindrance. According to the charts, gold has room to run another $20 before seeing any real resistance. That move can come slowly or all at once, depending on what the job numbers say today. The action in the metals has been better over the last week and the rally s...Read More

(Reuters) - BP Plc (BP.L) is in the lead to acquire the U.S. onshore shale assets of BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP.AX) (BLT.L) after submitting an offer worth well in excess of $10 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.BP is the front-runner in the auction for the assets run by BHP, and could reach a deal in coming weeks, the sources added, cautioning that an agreement is not certain and...Read More

Global steel scrap prices softened in the week ended Friday July 6, amid a fall in demand across most regions. Turkey booked no new deep-sea cargoes and the Indian market was also quiet, while prices on the East Coast of the United States remained flat due to a lack of deals.Bucking the trend, prices in Taiwan edged upward with improved demand, after there being no changes last week.Turkey imports...Read More

Prices for US East Coast shredded scrap and West Coast heavy melting scrap have been trending in opposite directions, with shred in high demand and prices gaining momentum in the international market.A Turkish mill bought 30,000 tonnes of shredded scrap on Thursday June 28, while a South Korean mill bought 35,000 tonnes of an 80:20 mix of No 1 and No 2 heavy...Read More

The Turkish steel producers extended their absence from the deep-sea scrap market on Friday July 6 because of weak demand for finished steel products, but they are expected to come back for August cargoes soon.The sluggish rebar demand in the country's domestic and export markets has kept the mills out of the deep-sea scrap markets since the end of last week.The domestic rebar market was expected...Read More

Prices for austenitic alloy steel scrap in the UK and Europe fell this week on losses in the nickel market.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for 18/8 stainless steel solids imported into mainland Europe was ?,?1,160-1,180 ($1,355-1,379) per tonne cif main European ports on Friday July 6, down by ?,?40 per tonne from ?,?1,200-1,220 per tonne one week earlier."The double whammy of the euro st...Read More

Low-alumina Brazilian iron ore remained strongly priced on Friday July 6 while higher-alumina Australian products were traded at wider discounts.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $63.84 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.70 per tonneMetal Bulletin 62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines Index: $62.22 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.31 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $51.52 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 4 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures moved higher following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for June Non-farm Payrolls was 195,000 versus an upwardly revised 244,000 in May. Actual was 213,000. Consensus for the June U.S. Unemployment Rate was unchanged from May at 3.8%. Actual was an increase...Read More

Katoen Natie Singapore (Jurong) Pte Ltd has withdrawn from London Metal Exchange warehouse services with immediate effect, with the operator and name of the shed switching to Henry Bath Singapore, the LME said on Friday July 6. The Belgian-based logistics provider had listed Singapore as an LME-approved warehouse in November 2016 and had only 75 tonnes of stock in May, according to the latest inve...Read More

In the face of increasingly volatile markets in Asia, it is becoming more and more crucial for participants to engage in hedging to cut their risks of incurring losses, industry sources told Metal Bulletin."Hedging is very important as sharp fluctuations in spot prices can happen outside of the more normal market forces of supply and demand," GFI Group steel derivatives broker Henry Herbert said.U...Read More

The seaborne coking coal market was largely flat on Friday July 6 with Chinese buyers remaining on the sidelines. A miner had offered August-laycan cargoes of premium hard coking coal via tender during the day but the wide gap between bids and offers kept transactions from being concluded, sources said. "Participants were hoping that transactions this week would set the direction for the market bu...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices were unchanged on Friday July 6 amid the sparse trading. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,940-3,980 yuan ($593-600) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Beijing): 3,870-3,910 yuan per tonne, unchanged Bad weather kept end-user demand weak during the day.Sellers maintained their prices flat on seeing futures strengthen at the end of the morning session, though they...Read More

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were broadly lower during morning trading on Friday July 6, with US import tariffs on Chinese goods coming into effect overnight and weakening market sentiment for the complex. Leading the index lower was nickel, which dipped below $14,000 per tonne during morning trading to levels not seen since May 10. Nickel prices continued their downtrend despite a wid...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

Have you hit midlife and realize that the amount you've put away for retirement over the past 20-30 years of working is a mere pittance of what you'll actually need?You have tons of company...According to the Economic Policy Institute, the median savings for households between ages 50 and 55 is only $8,000. And for those 56-61 it's not much better ... $17,000.A mortgage, raising kids, student loan...Read More

The following Metal Bulletin minor metals prices changed on Friday July 6:Minor metals Bismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 57,800-59,000 yuan per tonne from 59,000-60,000 yuan Cobalt MB free market high grade, $/lb: $38.85-40.00 per lb from $39.00-40.85 Cobalt MB free market low grade, $/lb: $38.85-40.00 per lb from $39.00-40.85 Cobalt MB China domestic, yuan/tonne:...Read More

The tentacles of US sanctions may be starting to reach further afield, special correspondent Andrea Hotter muses in the latest Hotter on Metals column. Earlier this week on Tuesday July 3, producer and trading company Glencore said it had received a subpoena from the US Department of Justice to produce documents and other records related to a money laundering probe. Sanctions were not mentioned, b...Read More

If you are interested in owning one of the bluest-chip companies on the planet while generating a 15 percent annualized return over the next five years, then Nestl?(C) (NSRGY) is just the stock for you.At least that is what legendary hedge fund manager Dan Loeb of Third Point Capital thinks, provided Nestl?(C) is willing to heed his words of advice.I think Mr. Loeb may be just the kick in the pant...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on the morning of Friday July 6, with nickel (-0.8%), zinc (+1.1%) and aluminium (+0.3%) the main movers, while copper at $6,326 per tonne and tin at $19,455 per tonne were little changed. That said, copper did spike down to a low of $6,221.50 per tonne at around 4am London time.Volume has been high with 16,267 lots traded as a...Read More