Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More

The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More

Canadian equity markets are expected to open mixed in quiet trade today. U.S. markets are closed. S&P 500 Index futures were up 16 points after China noted that it is confident that a trade agreement with the U.S. will be reached within the 90 day window.The Canadian Dollar slipped 0.04 to U.S. 75.34 cents prior to a Bank of Canada statement on interest rates scheduled to be released at 10:00...Read More

Fastmarkets MB proposes to launch two new manganese ore China port indices on a free-on-truck (fot) basis.The two new indices will be based on ores with manganese ore content of 37% and of 44%. China is the world's biggest consumer of manganese ores, accounting for 60-70% of all seaborne trades. Demand for manganese ores has been steadily growing over recent years due to anticipated new projects i...Read More

Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday December 5. Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, with risk sentiment deteriorating amid confusion over whether much progress was made during US-China trade talks this past weekend.Check Fastmarkets MB's live...Read More

China Molybdenum Co will take direct control of metals trader IXM in a $495-million buyout of a fund it set up to originally purchase the firm from Louis Dreyfus, according to a notice issued on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday December 4.The deal exceeds the $466 million paid by the China Molybdenum-backed NCCL Natural Resources Investment Fund in May after initial agreements were signed l...Read More

The US ferrous scrap export market has plummeted on all fronts, with no export activity on the East Coast, a sharply discounted West Coast sale and chatter that an East Coast dock intends to drop prices by a whopping $30 per gross ton in the next seven days.One East Coast dock, which has lowered prices by $10 per gross ton since the end of November, now plans to drop another $30 per ton by ne...Read More

Stainless steel scrap prices continue to falter in the United States due to lower demand and a weakening in commodities pricing. "All signs point to a very depressing end to 2018. Even news of a postponement of additional tariffs could not help stainless steel prices move in a more positive direction," one dealer said. "Yep, we are in the home stretch here and also hearing that the market will be...Read More

Turkish steel producers resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings as soon as they received lower prices from a European supplier, sources said on Wednesday December 5.Mills in Turkey were looking for prices at around $300-305 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) while the offers for the material were firm at $310-320 per tonne cfr from suppliers in the United States and the Baltic Sea.But a steel mill in...Read More

Altamira Gold Corp. (TSXV: ALTA) reported that it has submitted an application to expand to 300,000 hectares its land position at the Firminho project, located within the Alta Floresta Belt in Mato Grosso, west-central Brazil.Such expansion would be reached by adding new claims that occupy over 70,000 hectares and lie on the northern margin of the belt close to the contact with the sediments of th...Read More

It was around this time last year that we saw Bitcoin climb to an all-time high around $20,000 per coin and saw gains in the 1000% range.The growth during this time sparked a crypto-rage that triggered consumer interest in both buying and trading. I did radio shows with experts, I wrote articles around this topic, and I even invested in cryptocurrency.But as we all know, what goes up, must come do...Read More

Brazil-based miner Vale already benefits from high-grade price indices and from demand for high-quality iron ore, but it expects the premiums paid for purer and less-contaminated ore to rise in the next few years, ferrous minerals and coal director Peter Poppinga said during the company's annual investor presentation in New York on Tuesday December 4.The Brazilian miner believes that the full-year...Read More

Remember when you were a kid and someone gave you cash for your birthday or some other holiday?There was nothing better than that feeling of having extra money that you could spend on anything you wanted.My go-to was always Nike basketball shoes. Somehow I believed with the newest shoes, I’d be able to jump just a bit higher and score a few more points for my team.Today, the largest American...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Wednesday December 5 on an uptick in the iron ore futures contract.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $67.38 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.22 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $66.65 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.22 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $71.21 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.19 per tonne.MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $61.85 per tonne...Read More

The seaborne coking coal spot market gained some traction on Wednesday December 5 with expectations growing for the ban on customs clearance for imports of the steelmaking raw material in China to be lifted in January.A cargo of a top Australian brand was also sold to an end user in eastern China at the December average of a cfr China index for premium hard coking coal at a 4% premium, sources tol...Read More

The tin premium in Europe has continued on its uptrend amid Indonesian supply tightness, while the supply concern is yet to affect premiums in the United States and China. Europe premiums have rallied on difficulty stemming from sourcing supply from Indonesia US tin premiums flat despite volatility on London Metal Exchange tin price The closed import window keeps Chinese premiums unchangedIndonesi...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Wednesday December 5, with downward pressure emerging from a stronger US dollar index and trading worries. "Financial markets were quick to disavow any more positive rhetoric from the weekend G20 meet with the devil not only in the detail but rising concerns about slowing global economic growth," Marex Spec...Read More

Trading activity in China's domestic hot-rolled coil market picked up on Wednesday December 5 on concerns among buyers that prices would increase further in the days to come, sources told Fastmarkets MB.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,730-3,770 yuan ($545-551) per tonne, up 40-70 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,630-3,650 yuan per tonne, up 50 yuan per tonneWhile prices in Shanghai we...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for low-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lbClick here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for high-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb In light of feed...Read More

The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Wednesday December 5Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading, with downward pressure emerging from a stronger dollar index and trading worries.Here's how base metals prices looked at 12:08pm London time:Read our live futures report here. "Copper prices have been the hard...Read More

An uptick in the usage of tellurium in key downstream industry, such as thin-film solar photovoltaic and infrared detection, will continue to lend support to the international and domestic Chinese tellurium markets, speakers told delegates at the 2018 Chinese Minor Metals Forum in Kunming.Global production of solar photovoltaics is estimated at 98 gigawatts in 2017, of which 2.3 gigawatts came fro...Read More