When people talk about "precious metals," they're generally referring to four chemically similar elements on the periodic table: gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.These are elements that, in their metallic forms, have served a dual function in society:As money and/or wealth storageAs critical industrial componentsAs a result, these metals have become fashionable as jewelry.Gold is the most wel...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe edged higher on Tuesday December 10, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?433.08 ($479.14) per tonne on December 10, compared with ?,?432.75 per tonne on Monday.The index is based on deals for the material heard at ?,?430-435 per tonne ex-works, and workable prices...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates have increased this week as suppliers raised their offer prices on costlier raw materials, market sources said on Tuesday December 10.Offers for hot-rolled coil (HRC) from China were at $460-470 per tonne cfr UAE, while Indian and Japanese material was offered at $470-480 per tonne cfr UAE, according to the sources.Some sources believed that the...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates remained unchanged over the past week, but are expected to increase soon in the wake of rising steel billet and scrap prices, sources said on Tuesday December 10.Billet importsFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr Jebel Ali, UAE, was $445-460 per tonne on December 10, up from $425-435 per tonne last week.One UAE cu...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices moved up further on Tuesday December 10 on early gains in the futures market, though sentiment among participants remained bearish. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,910-3,940 yuan ($555-560) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,650-3,690 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneSellers kept raising their prices after rebar futures climbed steadily in the m...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, beams and other long steel products. ...Read More
Sellers in the United States' ferrous scrap market will likely enjoy a third consecutive price increase in January, with domestic steel mills continuing to strike post-market deals above December levels in order to secure enough material to cover their programs."Fundamentally, business isn't really that much better but the mills beat the prices down so hard that scrap just dried up. They basically...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to buy deep-sea scrap on Tuesday December 10, pushing up prices ahead of the winter holiday period in the United States and Europe, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel producer in the Northern Turkey booked a cargo from the US on Tuesday, comprising 33,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $295 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $300 per tonne and 2,000 tonn...Read More
Iron ore seaborne prices eased a little on Tuesday December 10, but some market participants remained optimistic that steel mills' restocking will likely lend some support.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.57 per tonne, down $0.36 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.66 per tonne, down $0.36 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.48 per tonn...Read More
CIS billet offers for foreign customers surged on Tuesday December 10, following the increase in scrap prices in the global market.Offers for CIS-origin billet, particularly from Russia, were within the range of $405-415 per tonne fob Black Sea, depending on the producer, up from $400 per tonne fob last week. Some steelmakers were offering material at $410 per tonne fob even last week,...Read More
Gold closed down as much as 1.21 percent Friday on a blowout jobs report that seemed to alleviate investor fears of an impending economic slowdown. The U.S. added as many as 266,000 jobs in November, beating expectations of 180,000, while the unemployment rate ticked down to a 50-year low of 3.5 percent.The yellow metal remains on sound footing, though, and over the next 12 to 24 months, I see i...Read More
"Smoot and Hawley ginned up The Tariff Act of 1930 to get America back to work after the Stock Market Crash of '29. Instead, it destroyed trade so effectively that by 1932, American exports to Europe were just a third of what they had been in 1929. World trade fell two-thirds as other nations retaliated. Jobs evaporated." Elaine Chao, American politician, U.S. Secretary of Transportation 2017-,...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinGold is near a seasonal bump to the upside. $1,459.80 would be a negative turn in short-term picture. Downside bias but swingline just below..Read More
Traders just booked profit in short positions in gold and silver. They are sitting on cash at the moment. News will be the key. Trade deal with China is not signed yet. I will not rule out further escalation of trade war with China as US economic numbers have beaten Chinese in November. Trump is at an advantage (with China) on the trade war in the short term. Trade war will be pain for every nat...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates remained unchanged over the past week, but are expected to increase soon in the wake of rising steel billet and scrap prices, sources said on Tuesday December 10.Billet importsFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr Jebel Ali, UAE, was $445-460 per tonne on December 10, up from $425-435 per tonne last week.One UAE cu...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices moved up further on Tuesday December 10 on early gains in the futures market, though sentiment among participants remained bearish. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,910-3,940 yuan ($555-560) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,650-3,690 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneSellers kept raising their prices after rebar futures climbed steadily in the m...Read More
One would have to place their trust in unicorns, sasquatch, leprechauns, and the tooth fairy to believe the current economic construct is sustainable. You also need to be woefully ignorant of history. In fact, there has never been a nation that engaged in massive debt monetization and did not eventually face hyperinflation, depression, and mass chaos. There is simply no such thing as magic, and yo...Read More
The Fed will cut all the way to 0% if needed, contrary to what markets are pricing in, this according to Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital.Peter Schiff is an internationally recognized economist specializing in the foreign equity, currency and gold markets. Mr. made his name as President and Chief Global Strategist of Euro Pacific Capital. He frequently delivers lectures at major economic...Read More
Gold will resume its upward trajectory towards the end of Q1 2020. US stock market will not see a blow-off yet. Interest rates are not going up, they're going lower still. Starting middle of January long rates will be heading down. Unemployment will pick up next year and recession is likely. Oil longer term cycles are down, as low as $36 per barrel. Natgas hit it's price target on the down side an...Read More
Remember just a few months ago when repo rates went from 1 percent to 10 percent overnight. The Fed assured us that it was because of quarterly tax payments, or who knows may it was a YouTube video that caused the meltdown. Well, we speculated from the get go that it was one or more major banks going bust. We were close to the truth, at least according to the BIS (Bank for International Settlement...Read More