StrengthsThe best performing metal this week was palladium, up 4.91 percent as hedge funds cut their bullish positions to a 17-month low. January's 22 percent slump in China's car sales could dampen demand short-term. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified before Congress this week and commented that "low rates are not really a choice anymore, they are a fact of reality." Powell sugg...Read More
Keith Weiner, Monetary MetalsThe price of gold rose $14 and the price of silver fell $0.07. The gold-silver ratio rose further with this price action.Welcome to our new Gold and Silver Market Report, or "Market Report" for short. We are separating this from the economics essay, which was attached for many years. As they used to say in many toy commercials of yore, "batteries sold separately" or...Read More
- RambusOver the last few weeks or so I've been writing a lot on the critical inflection point the PM complex was showing us. Today's price action is an important step in confirming the potential bullish outcome. There is still more work to be done from a longer term perspective but its one step at a time until total confirmation is attained.Lets start with the daily line combo chart we've bee...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinGold still needs to take out the missile day highs. Gold looking bullish with upside bias..Read More
Gold broke past $1600 after World Health Organization had cautioned there was not yet enough data to know if the epidemic had slowed. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General said Chinese data "appears to show a decline in new cases" but any apparent trend "must be interpreted very cautiously." Russia said it will suspend entry of many Chinese citizens. Corporate profitability will be af...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday February 19 pricing session in London.Key drivers The price for manganese flake in Europe fell for the first time this year after Chinese producers gradually returned to the global market.Several market participants booked material from China on a cif basis for late March/early April delivery at $1,800-1,950 per tonne. And with most market participa...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday February 19. Please click...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday February 19 that are worth another look.Chinese wire rod producers are keeping export offers stable on expectations of improved demand in April, market sources told Fastmarkets, which kept prices flat in the past week amid sparse trading.Primary aluminium stocks at the three main Japanese ports (MJP) of Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohama...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday February 19. Please click...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Wednesday February 15, with daily trading volumes hitting a three-month low against reduced open interest, while nickel failed to test nearby resistance.Aluminium's outright price on the LME closed at $1,720 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, while trading ranges were narrow over the day with the light...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were rangebound on Wednesday February 19 amid a murky short-term outlook for demand.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90 per tonne, down $0.18 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.33 per tonne, down $0.18 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.16 per tonne, down $0.04 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Qingdao: $7...Read More
Meanwhile in Mexico, "silver produced in Mexico should stay in Mexico and be used to strengthen the savings of the Mexican people"...(Silver Doctors Editors) Mexico is talkin' plata again!The Silver-Backed Mexican Peso that is!Meet Fernandez Norona:He's a federal politician in Mexico.He would be comparable to a Federal Congressman in the United States, and this month he's been fighting the good fi...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe moved down over the past week due to limited trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe was ?,?490-500 ($530-541) per tonne on Wednesday February 19, down by ?,?10 per tonne from ?,?500-510 per tonne ex-works a week earlier.That assessment is based on deals and...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Wednesday February 15, with daily trading volumes hitting a three-month low against reduced open interest, while nickel failed to test nearby resistance.Aluminium's outright price on the LME closed at $1,720 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, while trading ranges were narrow over the day with the light...Read More
Chinese importers could be able to buy United States' copper and aluminium scrap without the current 25% tariffs from July, China's Ministry of Finance Customs Department said in a notice on Tuesday February 18.Copper and aluminium scrap are among 696 products listed by the ministry that can have tariffs exempted. Importers can apply for exemptions starting from March 2, 2020.As part of a tit-for-...Read More
Nickel premiums in all regions continued to hold firm in the week to Tuesday February 18, after slack demand for nickel tempered spot market liquidity.United States' nickel spot trade slowed having enlivened in previous weeks while appetites wane over the first quarterNovel coronavirus (nCoV-2019) shutdowns continue to hamper spot deals in China, with arbitrage losses further muting tradeEuropean...Read More
One of China's largest copper smelters has locked in a major deal for supply at a time of reduced demand due to a virus-led logistics lockdown in the country.China Copper, owner of Yunnan Copper's Ningde and Chifeng smelter, bought 120,000 tonnes of clean copper concentrates for the first half of this year from a major trading house at a treatment charge (TC) of more than $70 per tonne, a source w...Read More
Primary aluminium stocks at the three main Japanese ports (MJP) of Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohama fell 2.8% month on month at the end of January 2020, according to data released by major Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. Total aluminium stocks at the three ports totaled 305,200 tonnes on January 31, down by 8,800 tonnes or 2.8% from the end of December, figures released on Tuesday February 18 show...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have remained relatively stable over the past week, although longer lead times are likely not driven by increased demand. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $28.93 per hundredweight ($578.60 per short ton) on Wednesday February 19, almost unchanged from the previous day's $28.98...Read More
Wire rod prices in the United States are stable after February's scrap decline halted the upward trajectory recorded over the past three months, but extended lead times and increased demand have sparked optimism among market participants. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US was at $31-32 per hundredweight ($620-640 per short ton) on Tuesday...Read More