Import prices for rebar in Singapore climbed over the past week because of slight pick-up in buying interest, reflecting continued increases in the costs of steelmaking raw materials.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) import, cfr Singapore, which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical-weight basis, was at $435-440 per tonne in the week to M...Read More
Suppliers raised their offers for hot-rolled coil into Vietnam over the past week but ran into thin demand from buyers.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel HRC import, cfr Vietnam, which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold into Vietnam, was $465-470 per tonne cfr Vietnam for the week ending Monday December 9, up $3-8 per tonne from $457-467 per tonn...Read More
Iron ore sales volumes from Chilean producer Compa???-a de Acero de Pac?-fico (CAP) are poised to fall by roughly 30% year on year in 2019, as shipments from Guacolda port took longer than expected to resume following an accident in November 2018.Full-year shipments are expected to total 9-10 million tonnes, down by 29-36% from 14 million tonnes in 2018, CAP said on Friday December 6. Early in 201...Read More
Turkish steel producers stayed out of the deep-sea scrap market on Friday December 6 after booking several cargoes earlier in the week to push prices up by more than $10 per tonne since Monday, sources told Fastmarkets.No new cargoes have been booked or come to light during the last two days of the working week. On Monday, it emerged that a steel mill in the Marmara region had booked a U...Read More
The mid-grade seaborne price rose above the $90-per-tonne mark on Monday December 9, for the first time since November 25, while Chinese futures saw strong gains on the Dalian Commodity Exchange.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.93 per tonne, up $4.87 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.02 per tonne, up $4.87 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingd...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were largely steady on Monday December 9, with buying activity from China setting the direction and pushing cfr China prices marginally higher.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $136.21 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $149 per tonne, up $1.78 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $121.33 per tonne, unchangedH...Read More
Pig iron export prices from Brazil increased again on continued sales to China in the week to Friday December 6, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio was $305-310 per tonne on Friday, up from $302-303 per tonne a week earlier.One cargo of around 40,000 tonnes of pig iron was sold to...Read More
A strong United States employment report at the end of last week gave most markets something to be cheerful about and that has flowed through into Asian trading on Monday December 9.Trading is likely to remain nervous this week while the manufacturing sector prepares for the holiday season and businesses focus on whether US President Donald Trump follows through with his threat to put 15% tariffs...Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellets were largely steady last week, though premiums gained some strength.ConcentrateFastmarkets' weekly index for iron ore 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao was at $103.99 per tonne last Friday December 6, little changed from $104.11 per tonne a week earlier.The daily Fastmarkets index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao averaged $100....Read More
China's domestic rebar prices picked up on Monday December 9 amid rising iron ore and coke futures.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,930 yuan ($554-558) per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,640-3,680 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneThe Dalian Commodity Exchange launched iron ore options during the day, which stimulated trading activity for the steelmaking raw materials' f...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 2 points in pre-opening trade. The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at U.S.75.45 cents following release of Canada's November Housing Starts report. Consensus was an increase to 205,000 from 202,000 in October. Actual was 201,300.Carnival added $0.18 to $44.95 after JP Morgan raised its target price to $48 from...Read More
Today's environment is drastically different than it was in the late '70's and early '80s when inflation was nearly out of control. Today, disinflation is the primary challenge central banks face, not inflation.It's impossible to imagine another Volcker today. Today's markets depend on the artificially low interest rates that the Fed's been generating since 2009. Raising interest rates would dev...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Friday December 6.ChinaKey drivers The price of antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China, dipped for the fifth consecutive week in the week ended December 6 after some suppliers adjusted their offer prices down further in an attempt to destock and generate cash amid persistently weak buying interest.Many domestic antimony...Read More
One of the most important figures in the history of U.S. monetary policy, Paul Volcker, died Sunday at the age of 92.Volcker is famous for having raised interest rates all the way to 20% in June 1981, the highest rates since the Civil War.His actions are widely credited for ending the great inflation of the 1970s and setting the stage for the Reagan economy of the '80s (although his sky-high rates...Read More
Dear Rich Lifer,It's been a few weeks since the Paradigm Shift Summit went down in New York, and I've already covered a few of the many ideas and concepts I shared at that awesome event.But there's one I haven't yet touched on... and it started with a question from one of the audience members.The Set UpI had just finished outlining how several of my favorite Social Security strategies were no long...Read More
Prices for cobalt stabilized during the first week of December, with sellers less open to accepting cheaper bids than they had been in November, although spot trade remained slow. Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam settled at $15.75-16.20 per lb on Friday December 6, narrowing downward by 10 cents from $15.75-16.30 per lb on Wednesday December 4.Prices f...Read More
Dear Rich Lifer,Are diamonds the biggest scam in history?Before the 19th century, diamonds were scarce. It wasn’t until the discovery of huge diamond mines in South Africa in the late 1800s that diamonds flooded the market.Except they never did…For most of the twentieth century, the diamond market was entirely controlled by one company: De Beers.The Diamond's HistoryDe Beers manipulate...Read More
Dear Rich Lifer,Becoming a caregiver can happen when you least expect it.Say a parent trips, breaks a leg, and can't get around any longer. Or suppose you visit over the holidays and discover rotting food in the frig, the range with a burner still on, and a mountain of unopened mail on the dining room table.Now the responsibility of providing the care has fallen on you.You're not alone. Families p...Read More
Top mining industry veterans join Company's new Advisory BoardELKO, Nevada, Dec. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Gold Corp. (NASDAQ: USAU) (the "Company"), a gold exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that Mr. Ewan Downie and Mr. Mario Stifano have joined its newly established Advisory Board. Mr. Downie has over 25 years' experience in the exploration and mining industry and...Read More
Jeffrey Christian is the managing partner of CPM Group, a commodities research and management, consulting and financial advisory firm in New York. He founded the company in 1986, spinning off the Commodities Research Group from Goldman Sachs & Co., and its commodities trading arm, J. Aron & Company. Christian is an expert on precious metal markets and took time to speak with The Northern Miner abo...Read More