Gold has come under pressure the last few days, but from a long-term perspective, the pattern has held up and all signs point to higher prices. We can look at the trade in gold a couple of ways -- we can panic because it's down 2% from its recent highs or rejoice that it's still 5% higher than the lows. In other words, is the glass half empty or half full? We will choose to look at the glass half...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices remain under pressure, and are trading at session lows after producer price inflation came in much hotter than expected last month.Friday, the U.S. Labor Department said its Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.6% in October following an increase of 0.2% in September; the data was stronger than expected with economists' forecasting an increase of 0.2%.Core PPI, which strips...Read More
Pretium Resources Inc. (TSX, NYSE: PVG), which operates the Brucejack Mine in British Columbia that began commercial production in July 2017, reports adjusted earnings rose to $26.3 million, or 14 cents per share, in the third quarter, up from $14 million, or 8 cents, in the same period a year ago. Net earnings were $10.7 million, or 6 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $7 million, or 4 ce...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Thursday November 8, with both zinc and lead futures pushing higher on low LME inventories, while nickel failed to follow the uptrend.Climbing 3.9% over the afternoon, the three-month lead price reached an intraday high of $2,008.50 per tonne, which is 5% higher than its weekly low of $1,905 per tonne on Novembe...Read More
Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery will continue to run at 50% capacity following a federal court ruling, Fastmarkets understands. The federal court has decided to uphold the decision, previously made by the Para state court, to halt operations of the refinery's DRS2 bauxite residue disposal for environmental reasons. Alunorte has been running at 50% capacity since March following the original deci...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's total average daily volumes (ADV) rose by 15% year on year in October, with aluminium and aluminium alloy sales growing by 40% and 89% respectively. In September, total ADV declined by 3.4% annually. Aluminium ADV showed 40.6% growth with 264,293 lots traded and net stocks reaching 59,525 tonnes. The three-month aluminium price on the LME peaked at $2,267 per tonne on O...Read More
The European molybdenum markets have dropped this week amid quiet business while dealers prepared for more active trading at the Fastmarkets MB ferro-alloys conference in Lisbon, Portugal this weekend, sources said.Fastmarkets MB assessed the price of European drummed molybdic oxide, in-warehouse Rotterdam, at $11.80-12.00 per lb on Wednesday November 7, down from $12.00-12.15 per lb on Friday las...Read More
Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery will continue to run at 50% capacity following a federal court ruling, Fastmarkets understands. The federal court has decided to uphold the decision, previously made by the Para state court, to halt operations of the refinery's DRS2 bauxite residue disposal for environmental reasons. Alunorte has been running at 50% capacity since March following the original deci...Read More
Cobalt demand from the consumer electronics industry will continue to grow, with no shift away from lithium-cobalt-oxide (LCO) batteries on the cards, according to battery manufacturer ATL's procurement director, Xu Shihui. "The price of cobalt has been fluctuating and there have been questions about whether cobalt can be substituted by nickel, but for consumer electronics the direction is LCO bat...Read More
First Cobalt Corp has started testing cobalt hydroxide material as feedstock for its refinery in Ontario, Canada, with the goal of producing cobalt sulfate or metallic cobalt products for sale into the North American market. The company has retained inspection and certification firm SGS Canada to test the suitability of different cobalt feed material using the refinery's current flowsheet and is a...Read More
The European molybdenum markets have dropped this week amid quiet business while dealers prepared for more active trading at the Fastmarkets MB ferro-alloys conference in Lisbon, Portugal this weekend, sources said.Fastmarkets MB assessed the price of European drummed molybdic oxide, in-warehouse Rotterdam, at $11.80-12.00 per lb on Wednesday November 7, down from $12.00-12.15 per lb on Friday las...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap for December deliveries with slightly lower prices on Thursday November 8.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 33,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $338 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $343 per tonne and 2,000 tonnes of bonus at $348 per tonne cfr, late on November 7.On Thursday, another...Read More
Comex copper prices fell to a one-week low on Thursday morning in the US amid a stronger dollar and a lack of fresh catalysts.The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 2.75 cents to $2.7270 per lb. Earlier in intraday trading, the contract touched a low of $2.7030 per lb, the weakest...Read More
Cobalt demand from the consumer electronics industry will continue to grow, with no shift away from lithium-cobalt-oxide (LCO) batteries on the cards, according to battery manufacturer ATL's procurement director, Xu Shihui. "The price of cobalt has been fluctuating and there have been questions about whether cobalt can be substituted by nickel, but for consumer electronics the direction is LCO bat...Read More
First Cobalt Corp has started testing cobalt hydroxide material as feedstock for its refinery in Ontario, Canada, with the goal of producing cobalt sulfate or metallic cobalt products for sale into the North American market. The company has retained inspection and certification firm SGS Canada to test the suitability of different cobalt feed material using the refinery's current flowsheet and is a...Read More
Chinese nickel demand from stainless steel and battery materials producers will continue to rise in near future, although extensive investments in nickel projects will cap higher nickel prices, Fastmarkets learned from Antaike's Nickel & Cobalt Conference in Xiamen on November 6-8. Much of the apparent Chinese demand for nickel over the next couple of years will come from the country's s...Read More
China's finished steel exports were up by more than 10% year on year in October, but fell when compared with September's volumes, according to preliminary Chinese customs data published on Thursday November 8.The country exported 5.5 million tonnes of finished steel in last month, up 10.4% from the 4.98 million tonnes shipped out in October 2017, according to the customs data. October shipmen...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices tumbled to nearly a seven-month low on Thursday November 8, with participants remaining bearish about the market despite declining inventory levels.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,920-3,940 yuan ($566-569) per tonne, down 70-80 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,940-3,950 yuan per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneHRC inventory levels nationwide fell by 166,300...Read More
China's ferrous futures fell during morning trading on Thursday November 8 after prices in most of physical markets weakened a day earlier.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange January rebar: 3,913 yuan ($565) per tonne, down 38 yuan per tonne January hot-rolled coil: 3,657 yuan per tonne, down 41 yuan per tonne Dalian Commodity Exchange January iron ore: 512 yuan per...Read More
While US rebar prices remain stable, rising raw material costs and a tightening supply outlook in the colder months could provoke a price increase before the end of the year, according to market participants.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for domestic rebar held at $35-36 per hundredweight ($700-720 per short ton) fob Midwest mill on Wednesday November 7, unchanged since mid-April. Meanwh...Read More