U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 12 point in pre-opening trade.Brrrrr, it's cold out there! It snowed in our neighborhood last night. The spot price for Natural gas jumped $0.55 to $4.65 per MBtu in overnight trading. As the expression goes, "Buy (equities) when it snows, sell when it goes".Index futures moved slightly higher following release of the...Read More
Karen Freifeld(Reuters) - President Donald Trump is expected to provide written answers to questions from the special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as soon as this week, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.The questions from Special Counsel Robert Mueller that Trump is preparing to answer relate only to Moscow’s involvement in the e...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are expected to quietly move higher through the rest of the year into 2019, butone of the world’s top precious metals consultancy firms said investors shouldn’t expect to see fireworks as there currently isn’t an urgency for diversification.In a recent interview with Kitco News, Philip Newman, director and founding partner of Metals Focus, said that alt...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro and sterling rose on Tuesday as Britain and the European Union agreed on a preliminary text for the nation to leave the economic bloc in a bid to avoid a chaotic divorce that would disrupt the region’s economy.The stronger euro and sterling spurred profit-taking in the dollar, which reached a 16-month peak against a basket of currencies on Monday.Uncertainty ove...Read More
p>(Kitco News) - King Dollar will rule over gold prices in the near-term, but the yellow metal will continue to be an important diversifier and safe-haven asset for investors in the long-term according to one fund manager.In a telephone interview with Kitco News Maxwell Gold, director of investment strategy at Aberdeen Standard Investments, said that he sees gold as a strong buy on dips as volatil...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices recouped mild early losses to trade around unchanged levels on the day, in early-afternoon dealings Tuesday. Gold hit another four-week low below $1,200.00 overnight. The silver market fell to a two-month low today. Precious metals were somewhat supported when the U.S. dollar index sold off today, on a corrective pullback after hitting a 1.5-year high on Mond...Read More
(Kitco News) - The sentiment from the Silver & Gold Summit in San Francisco was one of fear - the nosedive that equities took in October has understandably shaken investors’ confidence in the stock markets.The questions on everyone’s mind is during the conference was whether or not investors will flood back to safe havens in 2019, and if so, will gold take the crown as the king of...Read More
(Kitco News) - The gold/silver ratio has risen to its highest level in roughly a quarter century, with silver suffering from both weakness in precious metals lately but also dragged down by pessimism about base metals.“The silver price has been very weak in recent days - in both absolute and relative terms....The gold/silver ratio has risen to 86, its highest level in 25 years,” said a...Read More
Gold could face further pressure if the metal falls below the $1,190-an-ounce area, says TD Securities. As of 8:12 a.m. EST, spot gold was 50 cents higher at $1,200.75 an ounce but has been below $1,200 for the first time since Oct. 11. “Messy European politics, along with a Fed which is set to remain on its tightening trajectory, have kept the dollar index above 97, which continues to add t...Read More
Lead`s three-month price dropped almost 2% during the London Metal Exchange closing trade session on Monday November 12, followed by a 1% drop in the three-month zinc price. Lead`s three-month price dropped almost 2% during the London Metal Exchange closing trade session on Monday November 12, followed by a 1% drop in the three-month zinc price. Lead futures closed at $1,929 per tonne, down 4...Read More
Nyrstar's share price plummeted by more than 57% overnight in one of the biggest one-day declines on record for the global multi-metals company, while a broad restructuring of its debt remains one of the most likely options for it to pursue, according to equity analysts at ABN AMRO Group.Both Nyrstar's equity and bonds hit an all-time low of ?,?0.52 per share over the afternoon on Monday November...Read More
Sluggish demand could lead to softer spot copper premiums in China next year, according to Arc Resources general manager Milton Li."I am not as optimistic as smelters in terms of spot premiums next year. I barely see any bright spot in Chinese copper demand. Both in terms of financing and consumption - demand is not looking particularly great," Li told Fastmarkets during an interview on Friday Nov...Read More
Australian lithium-spodumene producer Altura secured a binding offtake agreement with Chinese lithium producer Ganfeng International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ganfeng Lithium, on Friday November 9.Altura will supply 70,000 tonnes per year of lithium spodumene, min 6%, from 2019 until the end of 2021. The price of the material will range from a minimum of $550 per tonne to a maximum of $950 per...Read More
Trade log for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China including trades, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per tonne on an ex-works China basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets price assessment for lithium carbonate min 99.5% Li2CO3 battery grade, spot price range, ex-works China, yuan per tonne. Fa...Read More
OJSC Electrozinc, the second-largest industrial metallurgy enterprise in Russia, plans to resume zinc production at its plant in North Ossetia after operations were suspended following a fire on October 21 that killed one person and injured three more."We are considering the possibility of restoring the electrolysis shop. According to preliminary estimates, this may take 6-8 months," a spokesman f...Read More
Fastmarkets summarizes nine key points from Antaike's Nickel & Cobalt Conference on November 6-8.The spotlight was in Xiamen last week when market participants gathered to discuss hot topics in the cobalt and nickel markets, including higher cobalt prices and their impact on the market in addition to new trends for the cobalt industry.High prices do not hurt the overall use of cobalt in consumer e...Read More
The black tungsten concentrate price in China moved down on low buying interest from downstream consumers, while the ammonium paratungstate (APT) market was quiet with little spot business concluded and the market awaiting further direction. Concentrates price edges down amid softening market APT prices in both China and Europe remained stable Ferro-tungsten price flat in Europe on goo...Read More
Fastmarkets summarizes nine key points from Antaike's Nickel & Cobalt Conference on November 6-8.The spotlight was in Xiamen last week when market participants gathered to discuss hot topics in the cobalt and nickel markets, including higher cobalt prices and their impact on the market in addition to new trends for the cobalt industry.High prices do not hurt the overall use of cobalt in consumer e...Read More
Global antimony markets continued to trade at a lower price in both China and Europe amid sustained weak demand, with buyers cautious of placing orders on the anticipation of further price declines.In China, Fastmarkets' price assessment for MMTA standard grade-II antimony, delivered, duty-paid, was at 50,000-50,500 yuan ($7,186-7,257) per tonne on Wednesday November 7, down 1% from 50,500-51,000...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have continued to hold back from new bookings in the deep-sea markets for scrap material, while prices were largely stable, sources said on Monday November 12.After booking two cargoes from the United States late last week, Turkish mills paused their purchases and went into wait-and-see mode. The latest transaction from the US included an 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy...Read More