Nickel stocks in the Shanghai-bonded area moved to the domestic market in the second half of December due to Beijing charging higher import taxes from 2018, while zinc and copper stocks both rose due to lacking arbitrage opportunities.Metal Bulletin's assessment of nickel stocks in Shanghai-bonded warehouses decreased to a historical low of 28,000-34,000 tonnes at the end of December, down 22.5% m...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The following Metal Bulletin minor metals prices changed on Wednesday January 3:Minor metals Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $8,000-8,350 per tonne from $7,950-8,300 Antimony MMTA standard...Read More
This is a reminder that Metal Bulletin Group's cobalt specification review remains open until later this month and that feedback is still being sought. In November 2017, Metal Bulletin proposed to amend its international cobalt price specifications to reflect changes in the market and invited feedback on the following consultation.There are two stages to the consultation period.The first stage is...Read More
The rampant bullishness of 2017 toward metals involved in the electric vehicle (EV) industry will make way for cautious optimism, with copper likely to benefit the most due to its role in the electric charging network, Lord Copper predicts. I've just looked back at my article written this time last year with my ideas as to what the coming 12 months may have had to bring. Reluctant as I am to indul...Read More
Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange are for the most part weaker on Wednesday January 3, led by a 1% fall in nickel prices to $12,530 per tonne. The rest are off between 0.4% for copperand 0.8% for aluminium, while tin is bucking the trend with a 0.5% rise. Volume has been light, with 5,367 lots traded as of 06:35 am London time. This comes after a mixed performance on Tuesday that saw...Read More
Gold prices weakened in the Asian morning trading session on Wednesday January 3 as the dollar rebounded following the release of strong US economic data.The spot gold price was recently quoted at $1,312.55/1,312.90 per oz, down $7.42 from the previous trading day's close. Trade has ranged from $1,311.90 to $1,321.30 per oz so far today. The US dollar index on Wednesday morning was up 0.06 to 91.8...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia, bringing the key news and market stories on Wednesday January 3. Zinc prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) were well supported by falling overseas stock levels in Asian morning trading on Wednesday January 3, while copper pared overnight gains. Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here. LME snapshot at 0202 London timeLatest 3M&nb...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin UK non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices changed on Wednesday January 3:Aluminium scrap Group 1 pure 99% & litho:...Read More
Indonesia's government has extended Freeport-McMoRan's special mining license (IUPK) for the Grasberg copper mine to June 30, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday January 3. "The agreement to extend the export permit in Indonesia is done. The official permit will take some days," a source said. The IUPK issued to PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of US-based Freeport-McMoRan, is valid betwee...Read More
Gold ended 2017 on a strong and solid note with consistent daily gains throughout the final trading days of last year. The rally, which began on December 11th of last year when gold prices hit an intraday low of $1238 per ounce, continues into the New Year. Trading to just over $1300 per ounce on the final trading day of 2017, gold traders continue to have favorable sentiment to the safe haven ass...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices continued to rally during after-hours trading on Tuesday, while palladium surged to a record high, as weaker U.S. dollar provided additional support for the precious metals.Spot gold on Kitco.com was last trading at $1,317.20 per ounce, up 1.13% on the day. Spot palladium was at $1,086.00 per ounce, up 3.13% on the day, after almost hitting $1,090 earlier in the session....Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices ended the U.S. day session moderately up and hit a more-than-three-month high Tuesday. Silver made slight gains and hit a five-week high. A slumping U.S. dollar index that hit a better-than-three-month low today is a bullish element for the precious metals. Gold and silver markets also saw safe-haven demand come from heightened geopolitical risks. February Comex gold was...Read More
Editor's Note: View Kitco News' full 2018 outlook coverage (Kitco News) - Known as a fan favorite, the Expert Series brings together well-known investors and Kitco regulars to find out where they will be putting their money in 2018.This year, in a new twist to the feature, Kitco News has asked some of the most influential mining sector newsletter writers how they would invest $100K in the mining s...Read More
Editor's Note: View Kitco News' full 2018 outlook coverage(Kitco News) - It was a tale of two markets for gold in 2017, as prices made their biggest gains since 2010, but U.S. Mint coin sales were the weakest in a decade.The U.S. Mint said that sales of American Eagle gold and silver coins were the lowest since 2007 and American Buffalo coins had the worst year on record.The majority of analysts b...Read More
Editor's Note: View Kitco News' full 2018 outlook coverage(Kitco News) - SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE Arca: GLD), the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, posted a modest inflow of roughly 15 metric tons during 2017.The figure might look better than it is since the inflow came from a low level of overall holdings, pointed out Ryan McKay, commodity strategist with TD Securities. Howeve...Read More
Editor's Note: Welcome to Kitco's new Bitcoin Daily Technical Alert. Every trading day veteran Kitco technical analyst Jim Wyckoff will provide you with a concise and easy-to-understand near-term technical brief on Bitcoin. Importantly, Jim will glean the short-term charts and technical studies, and then alert you to the signals he sees regarding upcoming potential bigger price moves or price tren...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold continues to find buying interest on the back of continued dollar weakness and growing geopolitical rhetoric from North Korea and Iran. An uptick in manufacturing demand out of China continues to help the industrial metals, and the current cold snap in the U.S. Northeast has helped maintain oil above $60. Technically, gold looks healthy and a break to the $1,322 level is possib...Read More
The short squeeze in metals continues and it appears the shorts are starting to panic. The rally, as good as it looks, is not very healthy and before it ends, gold could see $1,325 and silver could see $17.20. That's the funny thing about short covering rallies; they look so good right before they collapse. Helping the rally has been the pressure in the cryptocurrencies, especially the Bitcoin, wh...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums across the globe for the week to Tuesday January 2.Read More