U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 2 points in pre-opening trade. NVidia added $3.58 to $242.70 after Benchmark initiated coverage with a Buy rating. Target is $280.Netflix gained $7.84 to $392.32 after Imperial Coverage initiated coverage with an Outperform rating.Lennar advanced $3.27 to $52.49 after the company reported higher than consensus fiscal...Read More
Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange were down by more than 3% at the close of trading on Monday June 25, while other base metals prices also slumped. Nickel traded in an intraday range of $680 per tonne, eventually closing down 3.6% by the end of trading below $15,000 per tonne.A sharp rise in the dollar index, which remains high, piled pressure on the base metals last week while added unce...Read More
Cobalt prices drifted lower again last week in thin trading conditions, with buyers continuing to secure their minimum required volumes, or postponing purchases in a falling market. Low-grade cobalt and high-grade cobalt prices were assessed at $40.35-41.25 per lb, in-warehouse on Friday June 22, down 0.6% and 0.9% respectively over the course of the week. Spot activity has been limited since May...Read More
Antimony prices in both Europe and China have fallen further over the past week, after sentiment was dampened by sluggish demand.Metal Bulletin assessed MMTA standard grade II delivered, duty paid antimony prices at 51,500-52,000 yuan ($7,917-7,993) per tonne on Wednesday June 20, down by 500 yuan from one week ago. "Demand from downstream industries [both] domestically and globally is dull,...Read More
Global markets stabilized on the morning of Tuesday June 26 amid easing trade tensions, while three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange consolidated after their weakness on Monday.Copper, nickel and zinc were all up by 0.2%, lead was unchanged, while aluminium and lead were the stragglers - down by 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. On an average basis, the base metals were unchanged th...Read More
Gold futures closed down $3.10 today, with the August Comex contract currently fixed at $1,267.60. This three-dollar decline completed a pattern that we identified last week called a "death cross". A "death cross" is created when the shorter-term moving average crosses below the longer-term moving average. This pattern is created from a 200 and a 50-day moving average. As such, these time paramete...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar fell to a fresh two-week low against the Japanese yen on Monday, as worries about escalating trade tensions between the United States and other leading economies hurt risk appetite.The greenback was down 0.44 percent at 109.48 yen, after slipping to a two-week low of 109.38 earlier in the session.The U.S. Treasury Department is drafting curbs that would block firms...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened to its lowest level in over 10 years on Monday as concerns about trade wars and divisions within the euro zone boosted demand for longer-dated safe-haven debt.Trade fears and tensions in Europe have raised concerns that divisions could slow global growth and potentially impede the Federal Reserve from making further interest rate hikes.F...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Monday that a lot of progress had been made in the Middle East, but he declined to say when the White House would release its plan for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.Trump, during a meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan, said things had improved since he pulled the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. European allies opposed...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices were modestly lower in early-afternoon U.S. trading Monday. Gold was poised to close at a six-month low close today, and silver is at the bottom of its recent trading range. A general sell-off in the raw commodity sector today weighed on the precious metals markets. Gold and silver continue to act more like raw commodities than like safe-haven assets. August g...Read More
(Kitco News) - The most recent data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission confirms what many analysts were predicting - money managers sharply reduced their bullish positioning in gold during the latest reporting week.The CFTC late Friday released positioning data for the week through Tuesday, June 19. Since prices fell sharply a few days after that cut-off date, expectations were that th...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices edged up, but were largely unchanged, after the U.S. new home sales rose more than expected in May. New home sales rose 6.7% last month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 689,000 homes, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday. April’s sales were downwardly revised to a rate of 646,000 units from 662,000 units.Market consensus for May projected a 1.5% r...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold has seen a modest bounce off Friday's lower levels on a weaker dollar overnight. The fundamental dynamics suggest gold will remain under pressure until there is a discernible reversal in dollar sentiment. We are seeing some support lining up at the $1,265 level, with upward momentum capped at the $1,278 area. Retail buying has begun to emerge, which suggests investors remain en...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) - Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE, TSX: ABX) said progress has been made in tax negotiations involving the government of Tanzania and Acacia Mining and that the company is no longer setting a timetable for an agreement. Barrick owns 63.9% of the shares in Acacia, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and operates independently of Barrick. However, Barrick has been negotiating on behal...Read More
Unionized workers at Codelco's Chuquicamata, the world's largest open pit copper mine, have threatened strikes in protest against plans to develop underground mining there and ensuing layoffs.Chuquicamata general manager Mauricio Barazza informed workers last April that 1,700 people, 36% of the mine's workforce, would be asked to leave the company during the mine's transition to an underground pro...Read More
Nickel on the London Metal Exchange were down by more than 3% at the close of trading on Monday June 25 while other base metals prices also slumped. Nickel traded in an intraday range of $680 per tonne, eventually closing 3.6% by the end of trading below $15,000 per tonne.A sharp rise in the dollar index, which remains high, piled pressure on the base metals last week while added uncertainty about...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will introduce three regional hot-rolled coil contracts at the start of 2019, coinciding with a change in attitude towards risk management tools for the ferrous sector, according to the exchange's business development manager. The contracts are aimed at the domestic markets in the United States and in Europe as well as the Chinese export market, said Marko Kusigerski...Read More
The Chinese domestic ferro-silicon market has dropped further, in line with demand and increased production in northern China, while export prices have held despite weaker demand; meanwhile, the European market has been steady, and market sentiment suggests higher spot prices in the near term. Weaker fundamentals, higher supply in northern China drag down domestic prices Europe third-quarter...Read More
The ascent in ammonium paratungstate (APT) prices paused last week after a few consecutive weeks of increases. Chinese, European APT prices stabilize Low availability continues to support APT prices but fewer inquiries seen European ferro-tungsten edges down amid weak demand Chinese ammonium paratungstate (APT) export market slowed down last week amid fewer inquiries from overseas and...Read More