Despite the better-than-expected 2018 Chinese government's subsidy policy on electric vehicles (EVs), cobalt demand in local market is likely to be subdued after transitional period specified in the new policy expires in June, market participants told Metal Bulletin.As the market had expected, China's 2018 EV subsidy policy prioritizes pure EVs with a higher driving range and energy density. Yet,...Read More

OTTAWA — A coalition of business associations are urging Ottawa not to intervene in a months-long backlog of grain shipments, saying the move would only cause widespread delays for other commodity shippers on Canada’s highly integrated rail system.In a letter obtained by the Financial Post Tuesday, a coalition of seven business associations urged Transportation Minister Marc Garneau to...Read More

Lead was the strongest performer on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday March 13 - closing 2.2% higher.8,000 tonnes of lead was freshly cancelled in Antwerp this morning giving fresh support to prices while stocks tighten once again. LME warrants are also tightly held with one entity holding 30-39% of warrant positions."Lead is carrying out some much needed base-building after breaking below $2,4...Read More

One of the biggest diamonds found to date has been sold for US$40 million.The 910-carat Lesotho Legend was sold in a tender in Antwerp, Gem Diamonds Ltd. said Tuesday. The company found the stone, which is about the size of two golf balls, at its Letseng mine in the African country this yearWhile it’s the most Gem has yet received for a diamond, other companies have sold for more. Lucara Dia...Read More

Due to a change in publication time by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) to midnight on the day of publication, the daily LBMA gold and silver prices will be published by Metal Bulletin on the following day. The change will apply to the prices below from April 1, 2018: Gold London Morning Daily Price $ per troy oz Gold London Morning Daily price ? per troy oz Gold London Afternoon...Read More

Iron ore prices stayed above $69 per tonne cfr China on Tuesday March 13 on a lack of trading activity. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $69.78 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: down by $0.15 per tonne Month-to-date average: $74.41 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe...Read More

Although base metals are under pressure in the short term, we have a bullish bias to our 2018 price forecasts given the supportive background of solid global economic growth and the fact that all six base metal markets look set to be in fundamental deficit this year. But each has a slightly different supply-side story and this aspect should be the main differentiator. For example, zinc's narrative...Read More

For a number of years problems at Ilva, the largest steelworks in Europe, have been casting shadow over the performance of the whole Italian steel industry. Will an acquisition of Ilva by a consortium led by ArcelorMittal, now in its final stage, be a game changer for the market?Following multiple reports of environmental and health problems caused by the Taranto plant, in 2013 Ilva was placed und...Read More

China announced that it had terminated steel production in all the country's illegal induction furnaces by the end of June last year. The majority of the operators in China are primarily small size private mills that use low quality scrap to produce substandard rebar. These rebars are mixed with grade III (HRB400) rebar and sold at a discount to construction contractors. For a long period, the gov...Read More

So President Trump confirmed, last week, that from later this week, he will formally introduce a blanket tariff on steel imports, at 25%, and aluminium, at 10%.Both tariffs are in fact higher than those recommended by the DOC (Dept. of Commerce). In return, he stated to a number of metal manufacturers Thursday (March 1) "You'll have to regrow your industries; that's all I'm asking". To be fair to...Read More

The ECB dropped its easing bias on Thursday. Monetary hawks are pleased. But doves are holding tight. And what does gold do? Hawks Awaken in Frankfurt… A major change at the European Central Bank! On Thursday, it removed its long-standing pledge to increase bond buys if needed. In January we could read that statement: (…) if the outlook becomes less favourable, or if financial condit...Read More

In the assumption that one of the three recommendations by the DOC (Dept. of Commerce) is adopted and unlike section 201 made permanent, US producer prices (FOB Midwest mill) are unlikely to fall in the short term but the degree of gains could be quite different.In this article we examine "option 3" - a quota regime, which restricts foreign steel to 63% of the 2017 total. In this scenario the pric...Read More

The closure of some induction furnaces in China in 2016 followed by the government's crackdown on all unlicensed IFs in mid-2017 freed up some scrap volumes, albeit arguably of low-quality material. Chinese domestic scrap prices came under pressure from the increased supply, which prevented them from keeping pace with the rise in steel and other raw material markets in the fourth quarter of 2016;...Read More

Bart Melek, TDS Head of commodity strategy, expressed his view on gold prices this year in the latest research note. Key Quotes: "Given Powell's bullish view on the U.S. economy, increasing chatter of four hikes in 2018 and a potential upward shift in the distribution of the dots next week we would not be surprised to see precious metals take a run at the lower end of the ranges. However,...Read More

   •  Jumps to fresh multi-day tops on fresh USD selling.   •  The bullish move runs out of steam on fading safe-haven demand. Having dropped to an intraday low level of $1313, gold caught some strong bids and surged to multi-day tops during the early NA session. A fresh wave of US Dollar selling emerged following the release of latest US inflation figures a...Read More

Gold futures edged higher on the latest shakeup in the Trump administration, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson being replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo. The metal was already bid higher after investors viewed February's CPI reading as tame and no reason for the Fed to increase the pace of interest rates. "Gold loves any turbulence," said one trader. Patti Domm| @pattidomm Published 11 Hours...Read More

   •  Reviving USD demand prompts some fresh selling on Tuesday.   •  Rising US bond yields offset cautious sentiment in European markets.    •  Focus remains on the key US CPI data.  Gold maintained its offered tone through the mid-European session and now seems to have entered a bearish consolidation phase. Currently placed at...Read More

No traditional havens had positive beta to VIX lately: GoldmanDerivative hedges will become more important, strategists sayHSBC's David Bloom Says There Is No InflationTraditional safe havens haven’t been working out for investors in the latest ructions in financial markets, strategists at Goldman Sachs Inc. warned.With the rise of inflation and interest rates, and the end of an era of low...Read More

Investor.com – Gold prices were slightly lower on Tuesday, as investors look ahead to U.S. inflation data later in the day for clues on inflation and how fast the U.S. Federal Reserve might raise rates.Gold futures for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped $1.2, or 0.08%, to $1,319.60 a troy ounce by 12:15am ET.The U.S. dollar index that tracks the...Read More

Gold prices finished modestly lower on Monday, giving back the gains seen in the previous session as investors await U.S. consumer-price index data due Tuesday for the latest clue on the pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes. Global risk-on sentiment, including some gains in the U.S. stock market in early Monday trading, seen after Friday's U.S. jobs report contributed to losses for the yell...Read More