Markets were reportedly off to a choppy start this week as the dollar traded in a wider range against a basket of currencies, reflecting in part uncertainty over the election in Italy, potential spending cuts in the U.S., and a preliminary reading showing slower manufacturing growth in China. In London,... read more
Davis Trading News
Overseas demand for U.S. nonferrous scrap declined for nearly all major metals in 2012, zinc scrap being the notable exception. U.S. copper and copper alloy scrap exports were down 4% by volume to 1.2 million mt and fell 12% by value to $4.4 billion last year. Aluminum scrap exports saw... read more
Markets were off to a slow start this week as the DJ-UBS Commodity Futures Index dropped by half a percentage point and the major U.S. stock indexes were all in negative territory in early afternoon trading. The Shanghai Futures Exchange is closed for this week’s Lunar New Year celebrations and... read more
The trade figures out from China this week also indicated that Chinese nonferrous metal imports are on the rise. Fastmarkets reports that Chinese copper imports in January rose 2.9% for the month to 350,958 tons while aluminum imports increased 4.4% to 69,024 tons. While China is on holiday for the... read more
After posting solid gains last week, most markets got off to a shaky start today. The DJ-UBS Commodity Futures Index dropped more than 0.25% and the major U.S. stock indexes were all in negative territory this afternoon following earlier losses in Europe as renewed concerns about Spain helped to push... read more
On Friday, somewhat below par January jobs numbers were offset by significant upward revisions to 2012 employment data as well as improved readings on U.S. consumer sentiment, manufacturing and construction spending, pushing the Dow Industrials past the 14,000 mark for the first time since 2007 while also giving most commodities... read more