Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday December 30 that are worth another look.Fastmarkets reviews how much of the EU safeguarding import quota allowances for hollow sections has been used and by who, with an estimation of when they will be exhausted country by country at the current usage rates.The benchmark premium paid for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese p...Read More

Keith Weiner, Monetary MetalsWe have spilled barrels of electronic ink, making the point that central banks are wreaking havoc. They hurt the poor, the middle class, and the rich. They hurt the wage earners, the business owners, the investors (aka the "rentiers"), and the pensioners. They have variously inflicted rising interest rates, too-high rates, falling rates, and too-low rates. They have...Read More

StrengthsThe best performing metal this week was platinum, up 3.85 percent, with silver and palladium just trailing. Gold traders and analysts were overwhelmingly bullish on their outlook for the yellow metal in the weekly Bloomberg survey. Sentiment was bolstered as gold cracked back above $1,500 per ounce. Gold hit a seven-week high despite comments by President Trump that a trade deal signi...Read More

Craig HemkeWith just one, holiday-shortened day to go, it appears that Comex gold and silver will actually finish 2019 with "the best annual gains since 2010". That was a bold forecast when we made it back in January. That it has turned out correct brings more relief than satisfaction.As we move to wrap up 2019, here's one last look at this year's primary guide. Recall that we had "The Generally...Read More

David HaggithAfter two years of this third experiment with trickle-down economics via the Trump Tax Cuts, we should have enough data to get an unbiased, factual view of the results. The following is going to be a short-and-sweet stroll down memory lane in pictures.The Trump Tax Cuts got us exactly the same GDP growth rate trend we've had for decades:They got us exactly the same decline in corpor...Read More

By: Gary SavageSo many gold analysts have no idea what they are doing. So many people missed the baby bull. Gold miners are leading..http://blog.smartmoneytrackerpremium.com/Read More

- Gary Christenson, Deviant InvestorBreaking news: Silver briefly reached $18.00 and closed at $17.85. The DOW rose again to 28,645.Inflation, Deflation, Stagflation, and Hyperinflation? So What?Inflation: The banking cartel demands inflation of the currency supply. The cartel encourages massive debt and collects the interest and fees. They want inflation because it increases debt and repayme...Read More

Gold is now a major bullmarket as evidenced by its strong breakout from a giant 6-year long base pattern in August. The larger trend is up. We had thought that it might react back closer to the breakout point before turning higher again, but it didn't, and started higher again in recent days over the Christmas period. This is a sign of greater strength.There is a broad array of fundamental reaso...Read More

Party hard and party late till 1st January. Comeback relaxed with a vengeance to trade and invest. With Insignia Consultants good times will always last. Thank you everyone for your support year too. Since founding "Inisgnia Consultants" in May 2003, I have been making changing changes (every year) to ensure that our clients are updated with all the information to make maximum profit. "To err is...Read More

A string of long-term deals for cobalt hydroxide show that bullish forecasts for cobalt consumption from the electric vehicle (EV) sector are coming into play. Glencore will supply battery manufacturer SK Innovation with up to 30,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide over six years, it said last week - a deal worth about $1 billion in today's market. And other deals also point...Read More

If you are a producer or consumer, or are active in the physical markets, then you had better be aware of a new set of regulations that will make it all the more important for you to choose the right logistics partner from next year.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has ruled that from January 1, 2020, the marine sector will have to reduce sulfur emissions by more than 80% by switching...Read More

Most major aluminium producers agree that tackling the carbon intensity of the smelting process is one of the biggest challenges facing their industry. What they cannot agree on is how to deal with the situation, as a lively panel hosted by Fastmarkets during LME Week at the end of October showed. Aluminium smelting is an energy-intensive business and the market is starting to differentiate b...Read More

Fastmarkets reviews how much of the EU safeguarding import quota allowances for hollow sections has been used and by who, with an estimation of when they will be exhausted country by country at the current usage rates. Read More

The benchmark three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout of the base metals complex, continuing to edge higher at the close on Monday December 30 and ignoring rising stock levels. The nickel price closed at $14,315 per tonne, up $105 from Friday's close. It traded in a $200 range throughout the day, earlier hitting a high of $14,365 per tonne. Despite being the only bas...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were stable on Monday December 30, with the result of a miner's tender not confirmed at the time of writing. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.65 per tonne, up $0.40 per tonne Premium hard coking...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly little changed on Monday December 30, due to continued quiet market conditions.Copper prices remained above $6,200 per tonne, but only edged up $5 to $6,219 per tonne from Friday's 5pm close. Meanwhile, aluminium prices dropped $5 to $1,820 per tonne."So far today the metals have been extremely dull and on thin volumes and for the gr...Read More

Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More

The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More

The discount for copper scrap imported into China has narrowed in December because Chinese consumers returned to the spot market to fill quotas granted for the first quarter of 2020. Fastmarkets assessed the copper scrap No2 copper (birch/cliff) imported into China 94-96%, LME/Comex discount, cif China at 35-40 cents per lb on Monday December 30. That compared with 38-40 cents per lb a month...Read More

Ferrous scrap prices in most global markets continued to increase in the week ended Friday December 27 despite the traditional slowdown in trading during the festive periods. Turkey paused scrap imports amid holidays  United States scrap export offers increased on both coasts  Prices in Taiwan edge up despite weak trading  Upturn in global markets drags up Indian prices Turkey Tur...Read More