Theentire precious metals sector rallied yesterday, but the upswing wasparticularly visible in case of silver and (especially) mining stocks. Both:silver, and miners moved to new October highs. Silver’s breakout was tiny, butminers rallied relatively significantly and that’s the part of the current longtrade that’s particularly profitable. Of course, these profits are near tonoth...Read More

Apple stock could touch record highs todayDow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are rallying before the opening bell, trading almost 300 points above fair value. Traders appear to be expecting good news on the trade front, with the U.S and China set to wrap up a week's worth of negotiations with a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. Media reports have been...Read More

Gold COT Report - Futures Large SpeculatorsCommercialTotal LongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort 334,38358,82053,301167,755478,697555,439590,818 Change from Prior Reporting Period 11,5835,013-5,1984,70511,95911,09011,774 Traders 21469785451292175 Small Speculators LongShortOpen Interest 61,51826,139616,957 98229812,072 non reportable...Read More

Gold investment demand was strong in the months following gold's decisive breakout to new bull-market highs in late June. The metal's upside momentum fueled big capital inflows, accelerating its gains. But soon after gold's upleg stalled, so did the investment buying. With stock markets still near record highs, the normal portfolio-diversification motive for owning gold is lacking. Thu...Read More

By: Ira EpsteinGold has been stuck for a week and a half trading around the 18-DMA..Read More

Do not believe in Trump on the trade deal. Let there be a trade deal and the details made public. Then only gold will fall. Till there is a confirmation of a trade deal, I will prefer to use a buy on sharp dips strategy for gold and silver. Intraday volatility will rise in gold and silver. Traders and investors are used to one way price moves. It seems they do not like wider range trading. I hav...Read More

The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry announced permanent duties on steel billet, rebar and wire rod on October 10, effective from October 12, Egyptian sources told Fastmarkets.The permanent safeguard duty is 16% of the cif price and a minimum of $74 per tonne for steel billet from October 12, 2019 until April 11, 2020. The duty will fall to 13% and $60-per-tonne minimum payment on April 12,...Read More

Most of the import prices for flat-rolled steel products were stable during the week ended Friday October 11 in South America, because Chinese mills did not significantly change offers made before their Golden Week holiday, which ended on October 7.But more aggressive trader offers and customer bids, especially from the continent's Pacific coast, continued to put downward pressure on the price of...Read More

Brazilian export prices for steel slab remained stable in the week ended Friday October 11 because few deals have been reported with producers cutting slab output as a consequence of the low prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, was $370-380 per tonne fob on Friday, unchanged from the previous week.Producers continued to focus in the United State...Read More

Gold posted strong returns in the third quarter of 2019 amidst a general flight to havens.This article looks at the long-term returns of the S&P 500 vs. gold.Gold has produced lower total returns with higher variability. While it has had success in risk-off environments, it has proved to be an expensive hedge.I have written over 700 articles on Seeking Alpha covering a wide variety of topics...Read More

The price of stainless steel cold-rolled sheet in Europe was lower this week because of sustained pressure from poor demand, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 11.Fastmarkets' price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade-304, transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, was ?,?2,350-2,400 ($2,587-2,642) per tonne on Friday, down by ?,?40-50 per tonne week on week.Many marke...Read More

Ferrous scrap prices strengthened in the latest US sales to Turkey during the week to Friday October 11, but market participants were unsure about a recovery as demand for finished steel was still limited in most markets. Increasing political tensions in Turkey keep mills away from scrap markets US export prices improve in the East Coast market with sales to Turkey Ferrous scrap prices...Read More

The world's largest low-grade iron ore producer has confirmed that it will bid for two blocks at what is considered the world's largest untapped high-grade ore resource, a move that reiterates what the industry has been saying over the past few years - that demand for green iron ore or high-grade ore is a structural change in the making."Following the release of information at a public meeting hel...Read More

For most of 2019, the emerging trends in the precious metals space have been undeniably strong...by Richard Cox via Platinum GuildFor most of 2019, the emerging trends in the precious metals space have been undeniably strong. Manyanalysist (possibly a majority of the financial analyst community) seemed to think that these types ofevents were impossible, given the fact that the S&P 500 was on a cle...Read More

China's steel mills posted a fall in profits in the first eight months of the year on weakening steel prices and costly raw materials. Profit in the country's steelmaking industry totaled 179.94 billion yuan ($25.17 billion) in January-August 2019, down by 32.3% year on year and deepening the drop in the month prior of 26.4% on an annual basis, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Most...Read More

Gold futures held their ground above the key $1,500 mark by Thursday's settlement, but posted their lowest finish in more than a week after President Donald Trump said he plans to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Lui He on Friday as the world economic powers hold their first day of talks in Washington, D.C. "Big day of negotiations with China. They want to make a deal, but do I? I will meet with th...Read More

Copper closed only slightly higher on Friday on the London Metal Exchange despite price-supportive news of force majeure being declared at the Las Bambas copper mine in Peru.The three-month copper price ended at $5,796 per tonne, a mere 0.2% higher than Thursday's close, even after the declaration of force majeure by miners MMG and Citic Metals at Las Bambas, which will affect the supply of copper...Read More

All base metal stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses, except tin, rose in the week to Friday October 11, after trading activity resumed following the end of the week-long Golden Week holiday in China. Copper stocks registered the largest increase in percentage terms, rising by 13.9% or 16,401 tonnes from September 30, to 134,509 tonnes as of Friday. The largest inflow in cop...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were largely steady on Friday October 11 as participants mulled drivers, with Chinese buyers staying on the sidelines.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $146.62 per tonne, up $1.23 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $159.50 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $123.13 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $134.0...Read More

Austenitic steel scrap prices in Europe and UK may have found the market floor after a month of substantial decreases, while chrome steel scrap prices have fallen sharply on weak demand and low ferrous costs, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 11."I think [austenitic] prices have found a new level after the significant drops we have had in the past month," one scrap trader said. "Material has sta...Read More