Face it, this monster could veer wildly in either direction right now, and even an Einstein could not confidently predict which. My heart's desire is to see the S&Ps plunge into the molten pit of hell by summer. The 2313.00 target shown suggests that, at least from a technical standpoint, this is possible. Presumably, the years-overdue collapse would drive out the crooks who have rigged shares...Read More

Global scrap prices mostly trended upward during the working week from Monday March 11 to Friday March 15, with the exception of prices in Turkey, where lackluster sales of finished steel products limited buying activity during the week. Lackluster finished steel sales in Turkey limit scrap buying US export prices up on bulk sale to Turkey Northern Vietnam mills still hungry for scrap Mixed sentim...Read More

UK prices for alloy steel scrap moved up slightly over the past week despite higher costs for nickel, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic UK 18/8 stainless steel scrap solids was ?840-880 ($1,113-1,266) per tonne delivered on March 15. This was up from ?830-870 per tonne delivered a week earlier, reflecting transactions heard in the...Read More

The Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap at steady prices at the end of the current week but prices are likely to fall in the next bookings, sources said on Friday March 15.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a European cargo, comprising 13,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) at $318 per tonne, 6,000 tonnes of bonus at $331 per tonne and 6,000 tonnes of busheling at $334 per tonne cf...Read More

The many automotive applications for rare earths. Source: Medallion Resources Ltd.Medallion Resources Ltd. [MDL-TSXV; MLLOF-OTCQX], a company that is pursuing the production of magnet metals, said Friday March 15 that it is raising $495,000 by way of a private placement financing. The news sparked active trading in the shares, sending them down 16.67% or $0.02 to 10 cents on volume of 3.7 million....Read More

Gold ore (with much native gold) in a quartz vein from the Privateers Mine on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Source: Troubadour Resources Inc.Troubadour Resources Inc. [TR-TSXV] shares rallied sharply Friday March 15 following a resumption of trading after the company announced that it has signed a letter of intent that gives it the option to acquire all the issued and outst...Read More

The copper market in the United States bounced back in trading on the morning of Friday March 15, with a softer dollar and positive data boosting the marketplace.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by 1.95 cents to $2.9110 per lb."While we acknowledge that copper is at present facing macro/fundamentals headwinds, we think copper will s...Read More

Gold futures pulled back below the $1,300-an-ounce level on Thursday, giving up their highest levels of the month, as the U.S. dollar regained its footing and investors appeared to shrug off political turmoil in the U.K. surrounding the country's preparations for exiting from the European Union. Gold for April delivery GCJ9, +0.56% on Comex fell $14.20, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,295.10 an ounce....Read More

Construction Photos from the Buritic?? Project Source: Continental GoldContinental Gold Inc. [CNL-TSX; CGOF-OTCQX] on Friday March 15 announced details of a US$175 million financing package that will be used in part to fund the advancement of its Buritica Project in Colombia.Continental shares rallied on the news, jumping 15.4% or 40 cents to $3.00 on volume of 1.18 million shares. The shares trad...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed this morning, Friday March 15, with copper, aluminium and nickel up by an average of 0.6%, while zinc, lead and tin were down by an average of 0.6%. Three-month copper was recently quoted at $6,449 per tonne, up by 1% compared with Thursday's close at $6,385 per tonne. Volume was significantly above average, with 19,661 lots tr...Read More

Key data from the March 15 pricing session in London: Key drivers:  Prices edge lower again in the second half of the week although the midweek drop to low the $14s deters some consumers from buying again, in anticipation of weaker prices. One so-far isolated sale at $13.20 per lb...Read More

The price of rhodium is quietly breaking out - and no one is paying attention.Since the beginning of the year, rhodium prices have increased by over 55%.What is rhodium?Rhodium is a member of a group of metals known as the platinum group metals (PGMs). These metals have similar physical and chemical properties and include platinum, palladium, ruthenium, iridium, osmium, and rhodium.Rhodium is an i...Read More

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

Prices for coated steel products in Turkey decreased in the seven days to Friday March 15, with demand weak in both the domestic and export markets.Sources told Fastmarkets that demand is unlikely to improve in March because of market uncertainty ahead of the mayoral elections being held across the country on the last day of the month.The export market was also poor because of weak deman...Read More

In my latest Howe Street interview with Jim Goddard I assess the likelihood that we are heading into a recession. While we may not be there yet, I explain that insider sentiment in the US Industrials sector is flashing a warning sign.I also highlight how we have relatively bleak outlooks on Canada's two major railway stocks, noting insider selling has been taking place even as the companies have...Read More

Some steel coil prices in Turkey decreased again in the week ended Friday March 15, with buying activity remaining subdued.The market was unlikely to improve in March because of the uncertainty in the build-up to Turkey's mayoral elections to be held across the country on the last day of the month, sources told Fastmarkets. Market participants want to wait and see if end-user demand revives after...Read More

China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices moved down on Friday March 15 due to inactivity and declining futures following the announcement of cuts to the country's value-added tax. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,790-3,810 yuan ($564-567) per tonne, down 40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,750-3,770 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneTrading activity was lower than that on Thursday w...Read More

Fastmarkets has discontinued its weekly assessments of the Latin America rebar export price, which was reported on a dollar per tonne fob main port basis, with effect from Friday March 15.After a consultation period lasting two months, Fastmarkets has discontinued its weekly assessments after receiving feedback that there was now limited spot liquidity in the market for this material, with most vo...Read More

Import tariffs on steel products in the United States created under Section 232 are likely to remain in place at least until the end of 2019, the chief executive officer of Gerdau, Gustavo Werneck, said during an event at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday March 13.The move from Donald Trump's administration boosted metal spread margins for steel producers in the US. This spread - calculated...Read More

Domestic prices for rebar in Poland have been stable over the past week, supported by strong demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 15.Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic 12mm B500B-grade rebar in Poland was 2,200-2,320 zloty ($578-610) per tonne ex-works on March 15, unchanged over the week.The assessment reflected deals and offers heard in the market. Polish steelmakers have bee...Read More