According to the Fed, inflation has "moved close to its 2 percent" target.This is officially the longest and tightest (in percentage terms) gold price consolidation since the December 2015 bottom.Miners may be hinting that gold will hold its present support level and resolve higher without dipping back into the $1,200s again.By Christopher Aaron This Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting came and we...Read More
Market participants await Trump’s decision on the Iran nuclear deal. Gold jumped from near $1,300 back above $1,310. Gold rose $10 during the last hours. The ounce bottomed at $1,306.05/oz and bounced sharply rising to $1,315.60. It found resistance slightly below Asian session highs and it was trading at $1,314. Market volatility rose during the last hour amid speculations about what the...Read More
About a year ago, metallurgical coal embarked on a long journey of great volatility and disruption. It emerged as the best performing commodity in 2016 after several years of declining prices. Prices have dropped and spiked several times since then and the volatility continued in 2017 with a cyclone disrupting the market and eventually also affecting the way the commodity is priced. Although therm...Read More
The past year, soaring metallurgical coal prices have greatly affected the costs involved in producing pig iron, a form of crude iron which is the product of the blast furnace. Metal Bulletin Research's Global Steel Cost Service details how coking coal and coke costs usually averaged around 35% of total pig iron production expenditure in 2014 and 2015 while iron ore stood for the majority of costs...Read More
• Weighed down heavily by the ongoing USD upsurge to fresh YTD peaks. • A goodish pickup in the US bond yields adds to the downward pressure. • Cautious mood, ahead of Trump's announcement does little to lend support. Gold broke down of its European session consolidation phase and tumbled to 3-day lows, near the $1306 region...Read More
Bullishness in the iron ore prices seen during the start of the year has been replaced with greater volatility as supply outpaces demand. Chinese state-directed infrastructure spending and a strong construction market effectively drove bullish sentiment in the first quarter of 2017, fuelling steel production and iron ore consumption. However, with the steel run rates slowing down as the China Iron...Read More
GORO's stock price is at 52-week highs, but I believe that this still doesn't come close to fully valuing the company.After reviewing the company and its proven and probable reserves, I calculate a minimum value of $8.16 per share.I then explain why a much more realistic valuation, one which incorporates developments from 2018, is $13.50 per share.Since the time of my previous update stres...Read More
Gold Resource reported earnings of $0.10 per share on revenue of $32.15 million compared with an earning per share of $0.08, on revenue of $24.34 million in 1Q'17.Gold Resource owns a near-term gold production in Nevada called the Isabella Pearl project, which has the potential to increase the company production by 120%.Thus, I recommend adding GORO regularly on any weakness. Image: The Aguila...Read More
Gold recovery stalls, begins to reverse as Dollar resumes showing some bullish potential. The 200-day SMA is becoming a key support for Gold prices. Gold is retreating back into recent lows near 1,310.00 as the US Dollar begins to resume its upward march. SPOT GOLD – recovery attempts face strong headwinds Gold prices managed to bounce from major support at the 200-day SMA after declining...Read More
Global steel slab prices decreased in April, but trading remained weak in all regions due to poor demand and uncertainty about how the market will develop after the Section 232 trade investigation in the United States.Southeast AsiaIn Southeast Asia, slab offers started to come down early in May, but market participants believe that the current prices are still high.Despite lower offers, no large...Read More
Physical iron ore trading and prices stayed tepid on Tuesday May 8 despite gains in the futures market.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $66.80 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.46 per tonne Metal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $55.54 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.02 per tonne Metal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.10 per tonneMetal Bulletin 62% Fe C...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday May 9. Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange ended mostly lower at the close of trading on Tuesday May 8, with aluminium and zinc bucking the trend. Read more in our live futures report.Brazil's primary aluminium export volumes increased by 82.7% year on year in April due to increased shipments from Norsk Hydro's Al...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday May 8.Read More
The copper market is moving into a deficit that is forecast to widen to more than 4 million tonnes per year by 2026, according to Freeport-McMoRan executive Red Conger.Conger, who is president and chief operating officer (Americas) for the US copper producer, said that the deficit is expected to reach 4.2 million tpy despite positive changes in efficiencies through technology and other methods, wh...Read More
Brazilian export volumes of primary aluminium increased by 82.7% year-on-year in April due to increased shipments from Norsk Hydro's Albras unit to Japan.Exports of unwrought metal totaled 30,405 tonnes last month, compared with 16,641 tonnes in April 2017, according to figures released late last week by the country's foreign trade ministry, MDIC.This reflects a 65.5% year-on-year increase in ship...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Tuesday May 8. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading, with broad consolidation in effect across the complex.Aluminium's three-month price continues to trade firmly above $2,300 per tonne, reaching a high of $2,372 per tonne over the morning. Despite the light metal's recent...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Tuesday May 8, with broad consolidation in effect across the complex. Aluminium's three-month price continues to trade firmly above $2,300 per tonne, reaching a high of $2,372 per tonne over the morning. Despite the light metal's recent activity typified by spates of volatility and alternating spreads, prices are...Read More
Brazilian export volumes of carbon steel slab soared in April 2018, while billet exports fell, according to figures released by foreign trade ministry MDIC late last week.Shipment volumes of steel slab from the South American country reached 547,216 tonnes in April, up by 89.01% from 289,511 tonnes a year earlier. The size of the increase may be partly explained by there being more working days in...Read More
The global construction sector will grow at an average of 3.7% per year over the next five years, reaching an annual value of $12.4 trillion by 2022, compared with $10.4 trillion in 2017, a rebar producers' conference has heard.This growth will in turn provide solid long-term fundamentals for the long steel products market, Jose Angel Ray, international commercial director for the Celsa Group, tol...Read More
Prices for steel rebar in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were stable this week while demand remained weak, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday May 8. The market also was expected to remain slow in the coming weeks because of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins in mid-May, when working hours are reduced.Domestic rebar The major rebar producers in the UAE announced new pric...Read More