m-p30 May 2017 08:03
26 May 2017
WEEK IN REVIEW: Holidays hamper trade, regional markets diverge
LONDON (Metal-Pages) 26-May-17. The coming trading week will be shortened by public holidays in China, the US and the UK. And the past week was truncated by Ascension holidays in Europe on Thursday. This made for quieter trading on the European markets this week, and this trend is set to continue in the coming days. Across minor metals and ferro-alloys, prices came under pressure, with consumer tenders and smaller spot transactions for noble alloys and cobalt concluded lower in recent days. By contrast, US steel mills timed their restocking ahead of public holidays at the start of next week. Prices for both bulk and noble ferro-alloys on the US market moved higher in latest transactions. The Chinese market remained broadly steady this week. Environmental inspections in Hunan province, that shut mines and plants in the past month, helping push up antimony and tungsten prices, ended this week. But doubts still hang over the timing of restarts, with tungsten miners looking for wider margins and private antimony smelters likely to keep blast furnaces off-line if they cannot meet environmental targets. The impact of lower oil prices after the extent of continued OPEC production cuts disappointed expectations was also reflected in currency movements this week. The dollar dipped but steadied after the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes supported the likelihood of an interest rate rise in June. But gold prices continued to be supported by demand, while non-exchange traded previous metal rhodium, which had been quick to rise to a nearly two-year high in late March-April continued to correct down this week, losing price gains made since early March. The start of the G-7 in Sicily was marked by some protectionist rhetoric from the US, amid continued uncertainty over revival of TTIP free-trade agreement talks. Flash purchasing managers index (PMI) estimates this week from the majority ...
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