Bismuth prices are being driven higher by a supply shortage in China that has resulted from environmental crackdowns in the country. "Due to the upcoming environmental protection policy, many manufacturers have suspended their production and it is hard to locate proper goods," a producer source in China said.Metal Bulletin assessed bismuth free market in warehouse prices at $5.20-5.40 pe...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are for the most part stronger this morning, Friday March 16, with all of the metals, except tin, showing average gains of 0.4%. Copper is up by 0.5% at $6,956 per tonne, while tin is off by 0.1% at $20,970 per tonne.Volume has been light with 4,565 lots traded as of 06.29am London time. This follows a day of weakness on Thursday, with the complex cl...Read More
Import volumes of stainless steel into the United States from European mills are likely to fall sharply once US President Donald Trump's Section 232 tariffs on imported steel are imposed, Danish distributor Damstahl said this week.The 25% tariff on imported steel will come into effect on Friday March 23 at 12:01am New York time.Around 350,000 tonnes, or 60% of total flat stainless steel imports in...Read More
Domestic stainless steel prices in China continued to slide over the past week with stockists making a push to destock.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless CRC in the major market of Wuxi was 14,500-15,300 yuan ($2,294-2,420) per tonne including VAT for the week ended Thursday March 15, widening downward from 14,600-15,300 yuan per tonne a week earlier. Stockists have...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday March 16:Aluminium scrapCast: ?,?1,170-1,240 per tonne from ?,?1,180-1,250 per tonneMixed turnings...Read More
The UK inter-merchant price range for austenitic alloy steel products rose by ?10-20 per tonne this week, with the nickel price strengthening over the week, sources said on Friday March 16.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?960-1,000 ($1,340-1,396) per tonne delivered on Friday, compared with ?950-980 per tonne on March 9."The nickel pri...Read More
Some steel product prices in the United States have risen in response to the looming introduction of 25% tariffs on imports, while sentiment in steel markets outside the US has been dampened by fears of potential shifts in trade flows. US president Donald Trump signed the 25% tariff into law on March 8 after the conclusion of his government's Section 232 investigation, and from Friday March 23 the...Read More
Iron ore output at Anglo American's Brazilian Minas-Rio operation is still halted after a slurry pipeline rupture, but shipments are not expected to be affected, it told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 16."So far, there is no impact forecast," the miner said. "There are around 700,000 tonnes of iron ore stocked, which is a sufficient volume to meet the shipping schedule of the next vessels."The com...Read More
New long steel capacity in the pipeline in the Philippines may well disrupt trade flows in Asia once they come on stream, market sources told Metal Bulletin this week.This is because the Philippines could reduce its reliance on imports, which would result in seaborne cargoes being diverted elsewhere in the region. Major Philippine rebar producer SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp plans to increase its c...Read More
(Kitco News) - Saxo Bank said it is shorting gold going into the next week’s much anticipated Federal Reserve rate hike.“We are shorting gold into next week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting,” Saxo Bank’s global macro strategist Kay Van-Petersen said in a note published on Wednesday. “Based on the current gold price of $1328/oz, the implied target range for shor...Read More
Over the last three consecutive weeks, gold has closed on Friday below the opening price on Monday. Even though there is still one more trading day this week, it seems probable that tomorrow’s closing price will be below Monday’s opening price.After trading to a double top at $1360 during the week of February 12, market forces and investor sentiment have resulted in lower pricing on th...Read More
(Kitco News) - Kitco aficionados, it is now time to have your say in where you think gold prices are heading in the short-term.Will gold prices go higher, lower or remain unchanged next week? Kitco readers will have until 9 a.m. EDT, Friday to cast their vote. The results will be tabulated and released after noon (12 PM EDT) along with the results from our market professional survey.Readers can al...Read More
The first quarter of 2018 saw volatility roar back into the marketplace creating massive uncertainty across all financial assets.Equity markets have fallen from their record highs as bitcoin has lost more than 50% of its value.It is time to hear from main street retail investors. Where are you putting your investment dollars for the rest of the year? What investment has the most potential in 2018...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices were ending the U.S. day session lower and near their daily lows Thursday. Both futures markets were poised to close at two-week low closes today. A stronger U.S. dollar on this day and still-keen investor risk appetite around the globe kept buyers of the safe-haven metals on the sidelines. April Comex gold futures were last down $8.80 an ounce at $1,316.90. M...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices may ease in the near to intermediate term as markets factor in Federal Reserve rate hikes in 2018, but the downside should be limited by political uncertainty and trade tensions, according to a report by Standard Chartered. Later in the year, the metal should draw support from a weaker U.S. dollar and rising inflation expectations, the bank said in a research note Wednes...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices appear to be struggling Thursday , in part because the metal is seeing little love from the White House’s new national economic advisor Larry Kudlow.In an interview with CNBC Wednesday, Kudlow said that he supports a strong U.S. dollar policy adding, “I would buy King Dollar and I would sell gold.”Looking at the U.S. dollar, Kudlow said that a great cou...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold continues to wobble around in a tight range, with support around the $1,322 level and resistance overhead at $1,328. The tariff scare has been watered down considerably with the Trump administration granting exemptions to a number of countries. Traders are eyeing any response from China, where President Trump continues to focus on the large trade deficit between the U.S. and th...Read More
Editor's Note: Welcome to Kitco's new Bitcoin Daily Technical Alert. Every trading day veteran Kitco technical analyst Jim Wyckoff will provide you with a concise and easy-to-understand near-term technical brief on Bitcoin. Importantly, Jim will glean the short-term charts and technical studies, and then alert you to the signals he sees regarding upcoming potential bigger price moves or price tren...Read More
From a trader's standpoint, there is no worse pattern than the consolidation or congestion pattern. The pattern stands for the greatest time of uncertainty. The bulls get excited and push markets up to a certain point, and bears show up with new money and sell. The markets make a series of double tops and double bottoms and go nowhere. Gold is in that exact pattern. It has been consolidating since...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday March 15.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths at the close on Wednesday March 14, with copper driving higher while the rest of the complex retreated. Read more here in our live futures report.Here are how LME prices looked at Wednesday's close:Metal Bulletin has learned that Teck Resources ha...Read More