Comex copper prices surged back up to a mid-October high during a volatile week that saw the red metal unable to establish a clear price direction amid competing macroeconomic factors.The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped by 8.60 cents to $2.8075 per lb. Earlier today in trading, the contract touched a high of $2.8090, the highest...Read More

The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday November 2. Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were all higher during morning trading on Friday November 2, after the largest single-day inflow in LME copper stocks since February 2004.The three-month copper price climbed more than 1.5% to more than $6,200 per tonne after around 47,700 to...Read More

Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Friday November 02*Copper -$139.78 (-966.73 yuan) Aluminium -$447.88 (-3,097.64 yuan) Zinc -$44.6 (-308.47 yuan) Nickel $570.06 (3,942.62 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month prices at 3pm Shanghai...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were all higher during morning trading on Friday November 2 after the largest single-day inflow in LME copper stocks since February 2004.The three-month copper price climbed more than 1.5% to above $6,200 per tonne after around 47,700 tonnes of the metal were delivered to LME-listed warehouses, predominantly in Asian locations, with Korean warehouses...Read More

A massive backwardation on copper forward price spreads on the London Metal Exchange has collapsed after market tightness was eased by a delivery of 44,950 tonnes of metal into exchange sheds, Fastmarkets heard on Friday November 2.On-warrant LME warehouse stocks were up by 78% on Friday to 102,600 tonnes. Thursday's 57,000 tonnes was the lowest inventory level since August 2005.The delivery was t...Read More

Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market during the week ended November 2.Raw Materials Xcoal Energy & Resources has exported the first cargo of Baralaba low-vol pulverized coal injection from the Baralaba North mine in Queensland, Australia.BHP is counting on India and China to drive demand for steelmaking raw materials in the year ahead, and expects the struct...Read More

Cold-rolled coil prices in the United States have held steady week on week, but coated base prices were offered as low as $46-47 per cwt, market participants said.One producer and seller of coated steel targeted $47.50 per hundredweight after mills announced a $2-per-cwt price increase in mid-October, but little could be sold at that price in recent weeks, that seller said. Now $46.50 per cwt...Read More

Two-time Vale president Eliezer Batista diesLeadershipLook beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipPolarX builds bigger, richer Zackly pictureSPONSOREDpolar x limitedGalan Lithium scores coup in Argentina's 'Pilbara of lithium'SPONSOREDgalan lithium The company said the recently expanded property footprint suggested a "vast mineralised system" following mapping,...Read More

Steel mills in India have reduced their domestic price for hot-rolled coil (HRC) by about 500 rupees ($7) per tonne for November sales by providing incentives to distributors."We rolled back prices by about 500 rupees per tonne, with some conditions linked to targets to be achieved by our distributors," an official from an Indian steel mill said.But these measures were unlikely to help mills remai...Read More

Yesterday's $22 gain was significant for a multitude of reasons. First, it was the most significant single-day gain since October 11, when gold traded from just under $1,200 ($1,198) and closed a respectable $30 higher, finally settling at approximately $1,227.80 per ounce. The significance of that gain was that gold pricing finally broke above multiple key levels of resistance. The first level go...Read More

Slab export prices in Brazil remained unchanged this week, with steelmakers still working out their offers for January shipments.Fastmarkets MB's weekly export price assessment for slab in Brazil was $505-515 per tonne fob on Friday November 2, the same as a week earlier.The past week has...Read More

(Kitco News) - Analysts are focusing on next week’s midterm elections in the U.S. and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting as gold tries to hold significant support above the $1,230 an ounce level.While the majority of analysts interviewed by Kitco remained bullish on gold price next week, many experts talked about uncertainty in the air due to Tuesday’s midterm election...Read More

Import prices for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil and plate in South America fell this week on lower offers and worsening sentiment among buyers.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for HRC in South America was $560-570 per tonne cfr on Friday October 2, down $30 per tonne from $590-600 per tonne cfr a week earlier.The Fastmarkets import price assessment for CRC was $610-635 per tonne...Read More

(Kitco News) - Central banks are not only purchasing more gold than in recent years, but a number of new buyers have entered the fray.This includes Poland and Hungary, the first European Union nations to buy gold since the start of the century, said Junlu Liang, senior analyst with the consultancy Metals Focus. In the case of Hungary, the central bank not only bought its first gold in 32 years, bu...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products.Latest transactions: HRC, CRC, HDG, PPGIHot-rolled coilTurkey, domestic, hot-rolled coil, offered at $540-545 per tonne ex-works, December production.Russia, export, hot-rolled coil, offered at...Read More

(Kitco News) - Wall Street looks for gold prices to rise next week, although many in the weekly Kitco News gold survey also described themselves as neutral at the moment due to uncertainty surrounding U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday.Main Street remained bullish.The Republicans are seen maintaining control of the U.S. Senate, but news reports suggest Democrats have a chance to take control of the...Read More

Last week, two of Canada's largest gold miners reported losses for the third quarter, continuing a disappointing run that has seen the industry struggle to attract investors. Barrick Gold (ABX) reported a $412m net loss due to a $405m impairment on its Lagunas Norte project in Peru, while Goldcorp (GG) swung to a $101m loss from a net profit of $111m a year earlier. These disappointing result...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices are modestly lower in early U.S. trading Friday, in the immediate aftermath of a very upbeat U.S. jobs report that falls into the camp of the U.S. monetary policy hawks, who want to see interest rates continue to ratchet higher. Gold prices had already been under some pressure prior to the report, on a normal corrective pullback from Thursday’s good gains. December...Read More

Standard Chartered says gold has reasserted its safe-haven status ahead of U.S. midterm elections next week and in response to October weakness in the stock market. Any further weakness in stocks would bode well for gold prices, the firm says. “Although the largest gold-buying festival is a major event in the gold calendar, demand leading up to Diwali [festival in India on Nov. 7] has been w...Read More

After Wednesday's ugly trade, gold spiked on Thursday, testing the $1,240 level once again. Although gold broke down through $1,220, trading as low as $1,215, it immediately bounced back to the $1,240 resistance level. Gold looks poised to make a big up move and push through $1,240 resistance sooner rather than later. Gold's rally may have been sparked by the weaker dollar; however, gold has been...Read More