Expectations still abound for the long-awaited, vertical leap in silver prices.  We are told it is inevitable; and that it is supported by solid fundamentals. Those fundamentals include supply deficits, a return to the 16 to 1 gold-silver ratio, increasing monetary demand for silver, etc.However, an examination of those fundamentals reveals a different picture. That picture is inconsistent w...Read More

Slab export prices from Brazil dropped sharply, with new offers and bids affected by low-priced material from Russia and Ukraine.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was $920-930 per tonne on Friday July 30, down from $975-985 per tonne the previous weekMost deals for September shipment to the United States market were closed around...Read More

Negotiations in the United States' pig iron import market became more active during the week ended Friday July 30, although buyers have insisted on much lower prices than suppliers offered.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was at $620-635 per tonne on Friday, down by 0.79% from $625-640 per tonne a week...Read More

Brazil's pig iron export market declined in the week ended Friday July 30, in line with lower prices globally, sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was at $560-570 per tonne on Friday, down by 9.24% from $620-625 per tonne a week earlier."Suppliers have no more time to wait because they have availability...Read More

Spurred on by supply tightness and steady demand, the aluminium three-month price on the London Metal Exchange rose to a new 2021 high of $2,642 per tonne on July 30, while tin and nickel's three-month price, also supported by strained fundamentals, rose over 10% in July.Aluminium's price was up 5.3% on Friday from a closing price of $2,507.50 per tonne on July 1 and at its highest since April 201...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices increased in the cfr market on Friday July 30 with more buying interest and fewer tradable resources, sources told Fastmarkets. The fob market was broadly stable on the last workday of the week.Prices for seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) rose in the cfr market in the week to July 30 following a strong domestic market. The fob market stayed largely stable during...Read More

Iron ore prices drop drastically on Friday July 30 with market sentiment depressed by worsening demand.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $181.57 per tonne, down by $14.49 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $182.80 per tonne, down by $14.66 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $146.61 per tonne, down by $14.26 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fines,...Read More

The idea of cornering the silver market is a tall order. However, that doesn't mean that...*****Editor's Note: This is Part II of a 2-part article. Click here for Part I.*****by Claudio Grass via Claudiograss.chCase in point: Silver "apes" One of the most astounding elements of this shift in retail investing is the proof it offers for what many of us knew along: When people can freely and direct...Read More

Steel scrap prices started to move downward in major international markets such as Turkey and the US East Coast export sector over the week ended Friday July 30, amid plentiful supply of scrap in some areas but tepid buying interest.Turkey import buy prices drop amid poor long steel salesRising scrap availability on US East Coast depresses export pricesVietnam remains out of import scrap market am...Read More

Spurred on by supply tightness and steady demand, the aluminium three-month price on the London Metal Exchange rose to a new 2021 high of $2,642 per tonne on July 30, while tin and nickel's three-month price, also supported by strained fundamentals, rose over 10% in July.Aluminium's price was up 5.3% on Friday from a closing price of $2,507.50 per tonne on July 1 and at its highest since April 201...Read More

The United States Midwest aluminium premiumhit another all-time high on Friday July 30, with bullish sellers boosting their offers after a workers' strike forced Rio Tinto to cut output at its Kitimat smelter in Canada.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US at 33-34 cents per lb on July 30, up by 6.35% from 31-32 cents per lb on July 27.Spot activity remained quiet...Read More

The volume of copper stocks held in Shanghai bonded warehouses has fallen from a 23-month high in mid-July because of an improving arbitrage window between London and Shanghai, Fastmarkets heard on Friday July 30.But over recent weeks, stocks of aluminium, nickel and zinc in the bonded zone have all increased.The fall in copper inventories, although small, was the first decrease in almost six mont...Read More

A summary of Luxemburg-based Nexa Resources' copper, zinc, and lead ore production for the second quarter of 2021, according to results released on Thursday July 29 and a conference call on Friday July 30.In brief Nexa Resources' zinc production jumped by 30.7% year on year. The company cited renewed output from its Peruvian mines, which had been subject to government-mandated restrictions in the...Read More

Sudbury, a Vale SA mine in Canada where workers have been striking since June 1, has had "a very large impact" on the Brazilian miner's operations, the company's chief executive officer told analysts on July 29."Even if we quickly resolve the strike, we will still have many weeks until we normalize," CEO Eduardo De Salles Bartolomeo said, without directly answering a question on how long the strik...Read More

Fastmarkets' copper concentrates index jumped this week with both smelters and traders locking higher numbers for spot cargoes.Fastmarkets' assessment of the copper concentrates treatment charge/ refining charge index cif Asia Pacific has risen to its highest level since late April 2020, at $53.2 per tonne on July 30.Smelters bought spot cargoes in the mid-to-high...Read More

Precious metals mining company Sibanye-Stillwater is going to buy the Sandouville nickel hydrometallurgical processing facility from French mining group Eramet SA in a move to build on its strategy to diversify into the battery metals supply chain, the company said.The current Sandouville facilities, located in Normandy, France, include a hydrometallurgical nickel refinery with a capacity of 12,00...Read More

Domestic and imported steel beam prices rose in the United States on Thursday July 29 after remaining flat the prior month.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel beams 8- x 8-in, fob mill US rose to $63 per hundredweight ($1,260 per short ton) on July 29, up by 5% from $60 per per cwt in May and June and up by 20% from $52.50 per cwt on April 29.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel beams medium se...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States topped $93 per hundredweight ($1,800 per short ton) for a third consecutive day, with the rally expected to reach new highs in coming weeks, market participants said. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $93.70 per cwt ($1,874 per ton) on Friday July 30, down by 0.35% from $94.03 per cwt on Thursday July 29, but u...Read More

Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States surged to record highs - capping an unprecedented 12 months of gains - with market participants watching the timing of automotive production resumptions for clues as to availability for the remainder of 2021.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US achieved a new all-time high of $103.50 per...Read More

A change in China's tax rebates for several steel products brought trade to a halt in the South American coil import market, while prices continued to rise.China's announcement of a cut in existing tax rebates on several steel products brought an already slow import market to a stop.The cut in rebates will affect flat steel products classified under Harmonized System codes 7209, 7210, 7225, 7226,...Read More