Steel demand in Japan was down across most end-use industries in January, statistics released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) showed.The country's total domestic steel consumption in the month dropped by 2.7% year on year to 3.57 million tonnes.Demand in the manufacturing sector dropped the most, dipping by 7% compared with the corresponding month in 2017 to 1.57 million tonnes. This w...Read More
The pharma stock could be at risk for additional downgradesShares of drugmaker Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) have seriously struggled since October's record high above $147, last month breaching the $100 level -- a round-number mark that provided support throughout 2015 and 2016. Then, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected its multiple sclerosis drug, sending the stock spiraling to b...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices remained in a downward trend on Tuesday March 20 with sellers making more effort to destock.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,670-3,730 yuan ($579-589) per tonne, down 60-70 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,850-3,880 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonne Sellers in the spot market lowered their prices after rebar futures declined in the morning trading s...Read More
Global financial markets steadied Tuesday, although tech shares remained under pressure following yesterday's sell-off on Wall Street, as investors moved cash into heavyweight stocks and defensive sectors amid renewed concerns over a brewing global trade war and ahead of this week's expected rate increase from the U.S. Federal Reserve. U.S. equity futures, however, were softer, with contracts ti...Read More
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will bilaterally discuss import curbs on steel with the United States, Trade Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Tuesday, amidst growing concerns of an escalating trade war over tariffs.Prabhu told reporters that the U.S was committed to the World Trade Organisation, even as Washington has raised concerns about the functioning of the WTO and asked for reforms.U.S. President...Read More
- $8.8B Sprott Inc. sees higher gold on massive consumer debt, defaults & bankruptcies - Rising and record U.S. debt load may cause financial stress, weaken dollar and see gold go higher- Massive government and consumer debt eroding benefits of wage growth (see chart)by BloombergRising U.S. interest rates, usually bad news for gold, are instead feeding signs of financial stress among debt-la...Read More
Import prices for steel billet in Southeast Asia softened over the past week with more cargoes of cheaper Chinese product being offered to the region, while offers for slab in the wider region including East Asia are showing signs of declining.BilletMetal Bulletin's assessment of import prices for billet in Southeast Asia was $560-570 per tonne cfr for the week ended Monday March 19, down $5 per t...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 20 (SMM) – Base metals rode on momentum from one another and narrowed declines from yesterday. Most nonferrous metals, except nickel, closed lower. Lead fell 0.7%, tin and zinc dipped 0.6%, and copper and aluminium edged down. The ferrous complex rebounded and reduced losses. Iron ore dropped over 2%, coke fell over 1%, rebar and hot-rolled coil ed...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will consider any suggestions to give the body in charge of upholding data privacy laws more powers, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said on Tuesday, responding to concerns about whether Facebook had adequately protected users’ data.“If proposals are put forward for further powers, we can consider them as the bill passes through parliament,&rdquo...Read More
Chinese vanadium suppliers pushed up their offer prices considerably last week, after the market continued to be supported by low availability of stocks. Chinese suppliers elevate offers on thinning inventories European ferro-vanadium market stabilizes temporarily amid spot demand slowdownUS ferro-vanadium market quiet, but further gains expected after strong late week dealsChinese vanadium export...Read More
Cranbrook, B.C., March 20th, 2018: Eagle Plains ("EPL" or "Eagle Plains") is pleased to announce that option partner SSR Mining Inc. (formerly Silver Standard Resources Inc.) ("SSRM") (TSX: SSRM) (NASDAQ: SSRM) has commenced its 2018 drilling campaign on Eagle Plain's 100%-owned Fisher Property. SSRM is planning approximately 18,000m (59,000') of drilling for the property during 2018, with an in...Read More
LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia expects to produce more than one million tonnes of copper this year after revising its 2017 copper production upwards on the back of stable power supply, a senior ministry of mines official said on Tuesday.Rising copper prices were also expected to boost revenue collection in Africa’s No.2 producer of the metal, which ranks exports of the metal as its biggest export...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 20 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Spot copper in the Shanghai market was offered at a discount of 220-190 yuan/mt on the morning of Tuesday March 20, SMM learned. This compared with discounts of 260-220 yuan/mt on the previous day's morning. For editorial queries, please contact Daisy Tseng at daisy@smm.cn For more information on how to access our research reports, please email service.en...Read More
SEOUL (Reuters) - Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said steel tariffs will be discussed at the upcoming Group of 7 summit in June, South Korea's presidential office said on Tuesday after Trudeau had a phone call with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.Trudeau was cited as saying Canada had been granted a temporary waiver on U.S. steel import tariffs and does not believe trade issues involvin...Read More
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged up on Tuesday as higher oil prices buoyed the energy sector, but another slump in Facebook Inc (FB.O) shares curbed gains.Oil prices rose more than 2 percent to touch a three-week high, driven by tensions in the Middle East and the possibility of further declines in Venezuelan crude output.Those gains helped the S&P energy index .SPNY up 0.95 percent, making it ea...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 20 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightExcept for SHFE aluminium, base metals edged down across the board under pressure from cautious sentiment ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting that will determine the hike in interest rates. LME copper and nickel fell close to 1%.The eurozone’s seasonally adju...Read More
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Facebook (FB.O), Twitter (TWTR.N) and Snapchat-owner Snap (SNAP.N) fell further on Tuesday as Wall Street fretted over potential regulatory scrutiny that could hobble the business of the social networks.Facebook lost 4.75 percent after it said it faced questions from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission about how its users’ personal data was mined by a politi...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 20 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper fell below the five- and 10-day moving averages without firm support, while the SHFE 1805 contract traded below moving averages with some support at the 51,000 yuan/mt level. We expect LME copper to trade at $6,800-6,850/mt today and SHFE copper to trade at 51,150-51,500 yuan/mt. In the physical market, spot discounts are seen at 230-180 yuan/m...Read More
RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports increased in February, driven by thestrongest monthly growth in shipments to Hong Kong and the US in six years, theFederation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported Tuesday. Worldwide shipments of Swiss timepieces climbed 13% year onyear to $1.78 billion (CHF 1.69 billion) last month. Exports to Hong Kongjumped 36% to $268.1 million (CHF 255.2 million), while tho...Read More