Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker again this morning, Friday March 8, and weak Chinese trade data has not helped sentiment.With the exception of aluminium that was up by 0.1%, the rest of the complex were down between 0.2% for tin and 0.7% for nickel and zinc. Copper was off by 0.5% at $6,403 per tonne, compared with $6,435 per tonne at Thurs...Read More

TORONTO - Today, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines Greg Rickford released the following statement on Hydro One:"I am pleased to report that our government has delivered on its commitment to put the People of Ontario first and bring Hydro One's executive compensation levels down to acceptable levels. "The Hydro One Board of Directors has provided us with a compensation framework th...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More

The U.S. Department of Energy is planning to build the first nuclear reactor in America since the 1970s. And it has the uranium investment community buzzing with excitement.Is this the beginning of a new dawn for nuclear energy?Or just another dead end?Two weeks ago, Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced the DOE would officially launch the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) program.The project will be o...Read More

Fastmarkets proposes to change the calculation basis for the China cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% min, ex-works adjustment to the standard-grade cobalt low-end price to 100% Co basis from the current Co 20.5% basis. As part of the consultation, Fastmarkets also proposes to change the name of this assessment to China cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% min, ex-works, adjustment to standard-grade cobalt low-end pric...Read More

Latin America's export prices of hot-rolled coil increased this week, while heavy plate and cold-rolled coil remained stable amid a rise in export offers from Brazilian producers, although few deals were reported.Offers of Brazil-origin HRC were at around $555-560 per tonne fob, with at least one deal being closed to South American countries.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Latin America's...Read More

Prices for coated steel products in Turkey decreased in the seven days to Friday March 8, with demand weak in both the domestic and export markets.Demand was unlikely to improve in March, sources told Fastmarkets, because of market uncertainty in the period before mayoral elections to be held across the country on March 31.Buyers want to see if end-user demand improves after the elections and have...Read More

Some steel coil prices in Turkey decreased again in the week ended Friday March 8, with buying activity remaining subdued.The market is unlikely to improve in March because of the uncertainty in the build-up to Turkey's mayoral elections held on the last day of the month, sources told Fastmarkets. Market participants want to wait and see if end-user demand improves after elections are over.Additio...Read More

We have been digging through the latest IIROC bi-weekly short report looking for nuggets of opportunity. By assessing the combination of short positioning and insider commitment in stocks, we are typically able to spot some bullish or bearish signals.Click for largerIn the latest IIROC report which covers the period between February 16th to 28th, Barrick Gold (Mostly Sunny; ABX) caught our attent...Read More

Import prices for steel billet in Southeast Asia were up slightly on Friday March 8 amid pressure from elevated offer levels, although some buyers were still unwilling to increase their bids this week, market participants said. Fastmarkets' daily import price assessment for billet in Southeast Asia was $480-490 per tonne cfr Manila on Friday, widening upward by $5 per tonne from $480-485 per...Read More

China's rebar prices were flat amid active trading on Friday March 8, although billet prices in Tangshan dropped after local authorities imposed new production restrictions earlier this week aimed at improving air quality in the city in northeastern China. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,780-3,810 yuan ($563-568) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,750-3,800 yuan per tonne, u...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products. Latest transactions: rebarRebar East China, domestic, grade...Read More

There were widespread rises in global ferrous scrap prices in the week ended Friday March 8, due to stable demand from end-users in key importing markets, Fastmarkets heard.Turkish steelmakers were buying imported materials to shore up their inventories, while buyers in Asia were purchasing spot cargoes to hedge against future price increases.TurkeyScrap prices in the Turkish import market began t...Read More

UK prices for alloy steel scrap have moved up over the past week due to higher costs for nickel, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 8.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic UK 18/8 stainless steel scrap solids was ?830-870 ($1,090-1,143) per tonne delivered on March 8. This was up from ?800-840 per tonne delivered a week earlier, reflecting transactions heard in the market."Nick...Read More

PLEASE NOTE: THE COT REPORT SCHEDULE IS NOW UP-TO-DATE & ON ITS NORMAL SCHEDULE WITH THE RELEASE OF THIS REPORT. Gold COT Report - Futures Large SpeculatorsCommercialTotal LongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort 202,628114,61059,730155,732269,729418,090444,069 Change from Prior Reporting Period -34,20713,471-5,6729,690-36,158-30,189-28,359 Traders 18568814952269168 Small Speculator...Read More

The current stock bull market, already the longest in U.S. history, turns 10 years old this month. It's been a phenomenally profitable time to participate, especially if you've stuck to an investment strategy that favors dividend-paying stocks. As you can see in the chart below, the amount of cash that S&P 500 Index companies have returned to shareholders has grown each year since 2009. In the f...Read More

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:Market manipulation by governments and central banks is right out in the open again, hiding in plain sight in the confidence that mainstream financial news organizations, financial letter writers, and gurus who purport to bring "technical analysis" to bear on markets will avert their gaze.For as GATA's friend Jim Anderson of SD Bullion Inc. in Michigan pointed out th...Read More

Prices for light iron steel scrap in the United Kingdom broke a five-week spell of stability and fell by ?5 ($7) per tonne this week, with inter-merchant prices tracking a drop in the consumer market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 8.The inter-merchant market was responding to a drop of about ?10 per tonne in the consumer price in late February, sources said.Even though there has been...Read More

By: Richard Mills, Ahead of the herd On Monday Newmont Mining rejected a $17.8 billion hostile takeover by Canada's Barrick Gold. Speculation has been running wild over whether the two major gold miners would combine to make a $42-billion gold goliath three times the market cap of the nearest competitor, Australia's Newcrest Mining. We now know that deal is kaput. Newmont's board of directors...Read More

By: IRA EPSTEINEU cuts back its growth forecasts. ECB update. Gold under a down thrust from a strong US Dollar. Inflation around the world not an issue right now. Gold on pause of this bear leg... Gold close to support?Read More