Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday March 28.Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly weaker during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, with lead the only metal to post any gains.Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here.LME snapshot at 03.02am London timeLatest three-month LME PricesP...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Stocks stumbled again on Wednesday, as jitters about a U.S.-China trade war and regulatory crackdown on tech firms such as Facebook (FB.O) left investors facing their first quarterly fall in equity markets in two years.Europe’s main bourses <0#.INDEXE> fell as much as 1 percent in their fifth sell-off in six and the tech-heavy Nasdaq .NDX opened in the red in the Uni...Read More

Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.Increasing trade tensions between the United States and China had significant repercussions on the global steel markets on Friday March 23.Ferrous futures in China plunged during the morning trading session, with both countries announcing tariffs on each other's products.China has announced plans to imp...Read More

(Reuters) - Nasdaq futures slipped on Wednesday as tech stocks remained under pressure on concerns about increased regulations in the wake of Facebook’s data privacy issue.Facebook (FB.O) has lost more than $100 billion in market value since March 16, when it first acknowledged that user data had been improperly harvested by a consultancy firm.The stock was up 0.6 percent in premarket tradin...Read More

Lamine Zarrad, CEO of Tokken, tells Proactive Investors the payments application originally created to provide banking services for cash-intensive businesses like the cannabis industry is shifting focus away from weed and toward freelancers.Zarrad says the company has created a new product called Joust -- a payments platform for freelancers with a facilitated insurance platform.The shift is necess...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth slowed less than previously estimated in the fourth quarter as the biggest gain in consumer spending in three years partially offset the drag from a jump in imports.Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.9 percent annual rate in the final three months of 2017, instead of the previously reported 2.5 percent, the Commerce Department said in its third GDP e...Read More

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss National Bank Governing Board member Andrea Maechler has given another hint that the central bank will stick with its expansive monetary policy, saying low Swiss inflation gave little reason for it to change direction.Maechler warned against raising interest rates too early, a move she said could be counterproductive for inflation and the overall Swiss economy.“If we...Read More

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - OPEC is seeking “very long-term” cooperation with other crude exporters, the secretary general of the oil exporting group said on Wednesday.Mohammad Barkindo was commenting on news that top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC Russia were working on a long-term pact that could extend controls over world crude supplies by major exporters for up to 20 years.Saudi C...Read More

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping and other top officials met to discuss and approve new regulation for the country's asset management sector, state radio reported on Wednesday.The radio report said the officials said new rules should offer unified standards for regulatory oversight and offer equal market access and supervision but did not offer further details, including what the n...Read More

(Reuters) - Canada's BlackBerry Ltd beat adjusted profit estimates for the fourteenth straight quarter, helped by higher margins on software and services sales.The company, which reinvented itself after customers ditched its smartphones for Apple's iPhones and Android devices, said revenue from its enterprise software and services business came in at $108 million, up from $91 million last year.Gro...Read More

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will lower the value-added tax rate on the manufacturing, transportation, construction, telecommunication and agricultural sectors from May 1, state media reported, citing a meeting of the State Council, or cabinet, on Wednesday.The cuts are expected to save 240 billion yuan in taxes this year, said the report.Tax cuts for the manufacturing and transportation sector were...Read More

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc (FB.O) is giving users more control over their privacy by making data management easier and redesigning the settings menu, the company said on Wednesday, in the wake of a scandal over a breach that exposed the personal information of millions and was allegedly used by a political consultancy.The company also said it would propose in the coming weeks updates to the social m...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange ended higher at the close of trading on Wednesday March 28, with only aluminium trading lower. The three-month nickel price was the biggest mover, rising $130 per tonne and recovering back above $13,000 per tonne. The metal is being buoyed by a tight market and low stocks. "Total LME stocks have had very little inflow and edged lower to 322,236 tonne...Read More

Comex copper prices once again saw selling pressure during midweek trading on Wednesday March 28 with a stronger dollar weighing on the base metals complex. Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 1.10 cents or 0.4% to $2.9905 per lb. The contract has been volatile over the past few weeks, with prices recently hitting a six-month low....Read More

Rotterdam tin premiums rose week on week on March 27 concurrent with expectations of Indonesian exports lowering in coming months, while US and China premiums held steady ahead of the upcoming Easter holidays.Rotterdam 99.9% premium rises US and China premiums steady Indonesian exports expected to slow down Rotterdam 99.9% premium up again while Indonesian supply tightness looms The...Read More

On May 6, 2016, just three days after a wildfire engulfed Fort McMurray, Alta., and forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 people, business icon and philanthropist Peter Munk donated $1 million to the Red Cross to help displaced Alberta families.Measured against all of Munk’s charitable donations — which have totalled more than $200 million — it was a small amount. But this gi...Read More

Canadian miner Kinross Gold (TSX:G) (NYSE:KGC) may soon make a decision about whether or not to restart operations at its La Coipa gold and silver mine in northern Chile, as it expects to receive the remaining permits to resume mining by July.Operations at La Coipa mine, located in Chile's Atacama Region, were halted in 2013, when the targeted orebody run out of riches. But the results of a pre-f...Read More

Continued geopolitical worries support gold's safe-haven demand.Dollar weakness and bond fund liquidation also key supporting factors.Recent breakout in T-bond prices reflect increasing safety concerns.Although the gold price pulled back on Tuesday, its most important technical and sentiment factors remained supportive. The U.S. stock market reminded everyone why it's still subject to internal...Read More

Gold down $15 today and more than $25 from yesterday’s high.  Stronger US dollar and lower demand for safe-haven asset pushed the metal lower.  Yesterday Gold traded at 1-month highs and it was looking of a test of 2018 highs. It failed to hold on top of $1,350/oz and started to correct lower. The decline gained speed today and now is back under $1,330. Recently printed a fr...Read More

European mills are expected to use the region's newly launched safeguard case into steel import to increase their prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC), market sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday March 28.The European Commission (EC) launched the safeguard investigation into 26 steel product types on March 26 in an attempt to prevent the redirection of steel in the global export markets from the U...Read More