Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal spot market was thin on Tuesday October 30 with end users still feeling lukewarm about current offers. Top Australian brands were offered around $222-225 per tonne cfr China during the day while offers for second-tier hard coking coal were around $200-205 per tonne cfr China, market sources told Fastmarkets."The steel market is doing well and will do we...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading on Tuesday October 30, with escalated US-Sino trade tensions hampering base metals amid weaker oil prices and a strong US dollar index. The three-month zinc price fell below $2,600 per tonne for the first time since October 17, despite drawdowns in LME stock, which remains at its lowest level since July...Read More
Eastern China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to fall on Tuesday October 30 amid low demand, with buyers putting off restocking plans on expectations that the market would weaken further.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,140-4,150 yuan ($595-596) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 4,080-4,090 yuan per tonne, unchangedDemand remained weak despite a slight pick-up in...Read More
Strategic & Precious Metals Processing (SPMP) has delayed the production of antimony metal at its antimony-gold project in Oman, SPMP's parent company, Tri-Star Resources, said on Tuesday October 30.The first round of antimony production was initially expected at the end of October, however, this fell through without a new timing being specified yet. Tri-Star has a 40% equity interest in SPMP, whi...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets' offices in Asia, bringing the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday October 30. Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower during Asian morning trading on Tuesday October 30 due to a firm dollar index, with nickel the only metal to gain on...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 26 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures moved higher following release of the October ADP Employment report at 8:15 AM EDT. Consensus was 195,000 versus a revised 218,000 in September. Actual was 227,000Facebook gained $7.32 to $153.55 after reporting higher third quarter revenues. General Motors gained $2.61 to $...Read More
An extremely robust U.S. equities markets along with dollar strength put slight pressure on gold pricing today. The roller coaster ride that defines the U.S. equities market continues to oscillate strongly with significant gains today immediately following yesterday's dynamic selloff. Yesterday the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded within a range of over 900 points. Trading to a high which was a...Read More
(Kitco News) - Optimism is high among delegates at the London Bullion Market Association’s 2018 precious metals conference, even as general investors continue to ignore the sector.In a conference poll, 682 attendees said that they see gold prices rising to $1,532 an ounce by the next conference in 2019. The outlook comes as gold prices struggled to hold on to last week’s three-month hi...Read More
BOSTON - (Kitco News) - While there is no clear consensus on where gold is going in the near term, the one thing most participants at the LBMA 2018 precious metals conference can agree on that nobody is paying much attention to the space. “Gold is almost absent in traditional asset management,” said David Seif, director and economist at Point72, in a panel discussion at the conference...Read More
BOSTON - (Kitco News) - The Nov. 6 mid-term elections could have a direct impact on the physical bullion market, according to the head of Perth Mint. Richard Hayes, CEO of Perth Mint Richard Hayes, CEO of the Australian mint, told Kitco News on the sidelines of the London Bullion Market Association’s 2018 precious metals conference that if Democrats regain control of Congress next week h...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are modestly down in early-afternoon U.S. trading Tuesday. A strongerU.S. dollar index that scored a new for-the-move high today is weighing on the precious metals markets. A rebound in the U.S. stock market so far today is also a negative element for the safe-haven gold and silver markets. December gold futures were last down $2.10 an ounce at $1,225.40. December Comex...Read More
BOSTON - (Kitco News) - Gold and palladium are the darlings of the precious-metals sector, but one analyst is paying more attention to dark horses silver and platinum.In an interview with Kitco News during the London Bullion Market Association annual conference, Johann Wiebe, lead precious metals analyst at GFMS, Refinitiv, formerly the Thomson Reuters Financial and Risk Unit, said that while gold...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold may need further weakness in the equity market to retain its October rally, says TD Securities.The metal spent much of the summer “in the gutter” as bearish traders piled on short positions, the firm pointed out a research note late Monday. However, a sharp correction lower in equities this month convinced many of these shorts to buy in order to cover, or exit, posi...Read More
BOSTON -(Kitco News) - While gold investors have lamented the lackluster price action as a sign that nobody cares about the yellow metal, the world’s most liquid gold markets said that perception is the farthest thing from the truth. Young-Jin Chang, global head of metals at CME Group In an interview with Kitco News on the sidelines of the 2018 London Bullion Market Association annual P...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Monday October 29, with strong consumer spending figures from the United States fueling broad strength in the US dollar index and adding downward pressure on prices.In a report released by the US Commerce Department, consumer spending increased by 0.4% over October, however, this is the smallest gain in 15...Read More
Comex copper prices edged higher Monday morning in the US with the market holding steady amid further Chinese stock market deterioration. The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 1.25 cents to $2.7535 per lb.Concerns of a slowdown in the Chinese economy continue to weigh on Asian shares, with the Shanghai Composite falling 2.2% ov...Read More
South Korean zinc smelter Young Poong is facing a 20-day shutdown at its Sukpu refined zinc smelter after a court rejected the company's appeal against a closure order.Situated in a national park, the Sukpu smelter is alleged to have discharged waste from the smelting process into the local river, which is used for drinking water by millions of people. Environmental groups and residents have been...Read More
Prices for manganese ore imported into China on an fob basis ticked upward in the pricing session that ended on Friday October 26, while trading activity started to pick up in China before the onset of winter. High- and low-grade manganese ore prices showed modest increases Manganese ore grade prices in China ticked upward Falling bids weigh on Indian silico-manganese prices US focuses on long-ter...Read More
Ammonium paratungstate (APT) prices remained supported, with a new round of environmental inspections expected to take supply out of the market. Environmental inspections team to return to Jiangxi, Hunan provinces; APT price supported Ferro-tungsten prices range-bound on weak demand, oversupply Concentrates prices unchanged awaiting clear market directionFastmarkets MB assessed the European APT pr...Read More
Prices for manganese ore imported into China on an fob basis ticked upward in the pricing session that ended on Friday October 26, while trading activity started to pick up in China before the onset of winter. High- and low-grade manganese ore prices showed modest increases Manganese ore grade prices in China ticked upward Falling bids weigh on Indian silico-manganese prices US focuses on long-ter...Read More