Some steel product prices in the United States have risen in response to the looming introduction of 25% tariffs on imports, while sentiment in steel markets outside the US has been dampened by fears of potential shifts in trade flows. US president Donald Trump signed the 25% tariff into law on March 8 after the conclusion of his government's Section 232 investigation, and from Friday March 23 the...Read More

Investors often wonder what the best precious-metal play is and which one will perform better over time. The most popular is gold for any number of reasons. The jewelry is prettier, the price is higher or simply we have been trained that gold is just better. From a pure numbers standpoint, the case should be made for silver as the best precious metal. The gold/silver ratio was designed at 15-1 but...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 16 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper dipped under pressure from the strong dollar, but the pressure is expected to ease as the Federal Reserve's interest rates hike in March will weaken the upward momentum of US dollar. We see copper prices remaining rangebound in the short term while rising in the long term in anticipation of the destocking period. We expect LME copper to trade at...Read More

FTSE 100 enjoys afternoon pick-me-upInterest rates in focus on both sides of PondBerkeley Group tumbles after cautious outlook statement'Spoons comes up shortThe FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 went their separate ways on Friday, with the former taking the high road.The FTSE 100 closed at 7,164, up 24 points, while the FTSE 250 also moved 24 points, only in reverse, to 19,805.The Footsie advanced despit...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Appetite for equities came back with a vengeance this week, driving record inflows as concerns around trade dissipated and billions more were plowed into tech stocks, Bank of America Merrill-Lynch strategists said on Friday.Alongside the resurgence of a “wall of money” going into stocks, BAML however noted that equities are not yielding as much as these flows would s...Read More

A few years ago Boston Consulting Group published a report that found five types of luxury consumers.The report looked at the spending habits of these five types in six luxury markets - the U.S., Brazil, China, Japan, Russia and Europe. What they found was interesting.5 Types of Luxury ConsumersThe Aspirationals: Aspirationals have $85,000 or more in annual income in developed markets or $29,000 i...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 16 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper dipped under pressure from the strong dollar, but the pressure is expected to ease as the Federal Reserve's interest rates hike in March will weaken the upward momentum of US dollar. We see copper prices remaining rangebound in the short term while rising in the long term in anticipation of the destocking period. We expect LME copper to trade at...Read More

Global scrap prices remained generally stable except in Taiwan during the working week from Monday March 12 to Friday March 16, amid the uncertainty created by the implementation of Section 232 tariffs in the United States and widespread weak demand for finished steel products.Turkish steel mills have stepped back from the deep-sea scrap markets since the end of the last week and have made no sign...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As another U.S. government funding deadline looms, a huge spending bill is ground zero in the latest battle between Republicans and Democrats in Congress over President Donald Trump’s push to toughen immigration policy.Lawmakers have until March 23 to work out how to fund government agencies for the next six months. But their behind-the-scenes negotiations are caught u...Read More

21st Century Technology PLC (LON:OBC) shares jumped 10% to 2.75p in late afternoon trade as the firm announced a ?0.4mln contract award for the provision of on board visual system technology from a large public transport operator.The AIM-listed provider of closed-circuit TV (CCTV) on buses said it has been providing technical support and engineering services to this operator since 2015.Under the...Read More

Get ready for a new international conflict!Only this time, instead of bombs and bullets, the weapons of choice will be tariffs and quotas.That’s right... All indications point to a full-fledged trade war on the horizon!The media has been talking about the potential for an international trade war for quite a while now, after Trump made it clear that he wanted the U.S. to pull out of the North...Read More

Trades of ferrous scrap in containers to India have declined sharply this week, amid worries about the knock-on effect of the steel import tariffs being imposed in the United States, sources said on Friday March 16.Buying activity for shredded scrap in containers was steady at the beginning of the week, and at high prices. Toward the end of the week, activity cooled off dramatically although price...Read More

Colorado School of Mines has been awarded $3 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop a first-of-its-kind hybrid power generation system that could provide electricity to supermarkets, big-box retailers and other commercial buildings at high efficiency and low cost. Rob Braun, associate professor of mechanical engineering...Read More

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone consumer prices grew less than expected in February because of a fall in unprocessed food prices and reduced energy inflation, data from the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat showed on Friday.Inflation in the 19 countries sharing the euro was 0.2 percent month-on-month and 1.1 percent year-on-year. Economists polled by Reuters had expected that monthl...Read More

The base price assessments for flat and long stainless steel products in Europe widened upward this week despite continued import pressure, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 16.Metal Bulletin's weekly base price assessment on Friday for 2mm, grade-304 CR stainless steel sheet was ?,?1,050-1,130 ($1,296-1,395) per tonne delivered in Northern Europe, marginally up from ?,?1,050-1,100 per t...Read More

The big fear and focus is clearly with shale production and OPEC and friends will be carefully examining the figures and pondering their future moves.In early trading on Friday, Brent crude was still above US$65 with WTI holding above US$61 a barrel.Traders and investors are restless and nervous about sustained growth in shale production.OPEC's cooperative supply agreement has held strong while me...Read More

BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States has set conditions for scrapping its planned punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe, German magazine Der Spiegel reported, including capping U.S.-bound exports of the metals at 2017 levels.The European Union has been pushing for talks to avert a trade war since U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would slap tariffs on a raft of high-val...Read More

The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday March 16.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher during morning trading - with tin being the only metal in negative territory.Here's how base metals prices looked at 12:11pm London time:Read our live futures report here."Overall, we see base metals prices consolidating as they wait to...Read More

Is $71 As Good As It Gets for Oil Bulls This Year? Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a sol...Read More

Interest rates will be front and centre in the coming week with both the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve due to deliver their latest monetary policy decisions, though a crunch EU summit will also be eyed for any signs of a Brexit transition deal.There would be few surprised if the Fed announces a 0.25 percentage points increase in US interest rates to the 1.5%-1.75% range on Wednesday a...Read More