Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More
The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Thursday February 14, with a collective trend of dwindling LME stocks failing to prompt upward price action while volumes traded remain moderate. Nickel's three-month price was the biggest downward move over the afternoon, with its price action down 1.6% amid continued negative risk-appetite, while dollar...Read More
Global copper demand will outpace supply growth or at least stay in a tight balance for at least two to three years, according to the chief executive officer of Brazilian copper producer Paranapanema, Marcos Camara. "Even with concentrators expected to start operating in the next years, demand should keep growing at a healthy speed and there is a large number of mines heading to depletion around t...Read More
The US copper price failed to rebound on Thursday morning in the United States, while market participants hold back from being too optimistic about recent developments in US and Chinese trade talks.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.65 cents to $2.7665 per lb.Positive sentiment surrounding US-China trade is also beginning to man...Read More
When most people think about banks, they think about money. The reality is that companies like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) that perform the business of banking every day are just a bunch of people with computers, working in buildings. There's money in the vaults, of course, but that money wouldn't be there if not for the ability of banks to efficiently handle and safeguard cust...Read More
The retail sales report for December - delayed because of the Government shut-down - was released this morning. It showed the largest monthly drop since September 2009. Online sales plunged 3.9%, the steepest drop since November 2008. Not surprisingly, sporting goods/hobby/musical instruments/books plunged 4.9%. This is evidence that the average household has been forced to cut back discretionary...Read More
I've written about and given presentations on Bitcoin for years now. As an IT specialist with strong connections to the financial community, you'd expect me to be one of the many people blindsided by the allure of Bitcoin-based solely on its technological appeal. Imagine a reinventing of money. A completely manipulation free currency made of digital bits with a predictable supply growth curve, som...Read More
Speaking at the first WA Mining Club lunch this year, panel member and PCF Capital Group managing director Liam Twigger also said two North American trends that could impact miners were the buzz surrounding cannabis stocks and the growing prominence of streaming companies providing project financing. The panel, including Deloitte partner Nicki Ivory, Hartleys chairman Ian Parker and Doray Min...Read More
It recovered the rare-shaped stone, which experts estimated to be over 300 million years old, on January 23 at the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe in Yakutia.Alrosa managing board member and director of the United Selling Organisation Evgeny Agureev said diamonds that resemble objects or symbols were "extremely rare in nature", with most either octahedron-shaped or without any particular shape."The appe...Read More
Australian miner South32 increased its manganese ore operating margin to 64% in the six months to December 31, 2018, it revealed in its half-yearly results presentation on Thursday February 14.Manganese ore generated the company's highest operating margin during the period, the first half of its 2018-19 financial year. This was up from 60% for the corresponding months of the 2017-18 year.In compar...Read More
The copper industry's next major mine is a step closer to bringing its first tonnes to market.First Quantum has started crushing and milling ore at its Cobre Panama mine, which is targeting 150,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate production this year, starting in the first quarter.The mine, which is set to ramp up to 270,000-300,000 tonnes per year in 2020 and 350,000 tpy...Read More
The gap is a cyclical event which sees a lag between the improvement in commodity prices which lifts miners, and a slower reaction by service providers, with gold the best current example of the valueRead More
Key data from the Wednesday February 13 pricing session in Shanghai. Key drivers The cobalt sulfate price, Co 20.5% min, China ex-works price dropped midweek amid few spot activities after the Chinese New Year holiday on February 4-10. Weak spot demand is likely to last until late February or early March because some consumers will not resume business until after the Lantern Festival on...Read More
Since the invention of banking, the global financial system has become increasingly centralized. In the modern system, central banks now control everything from interest rates to the issuance of currency, while government regulators, corporations, and intergovernmental organizations wield unparalleled influence at the top of this crucial food chain. There is no doubt that this centralization...Read More
Stocks had trouble staying aloft Tuesday after rocketing higher a day earlier. Although the Dow finished with a 117-point gain, it was up by more than 200 in the early going and probably would have finished in the red if sellers had been less timid. There were other signs of heavy distribution. For one, AAPL's sly handlers opened the stock on the high of the day, trapping bulls before pulling th...Read More
Question: Plunger you keep insisting that we are in a bear market. Really? The averages have done nothing but go straight up since December 24th. At this rate we will be at new highs within a month. I thought prices go down in a bear market! That's not happening.Answer: The most reliable method of forecasting the eventual outcome of the market over the past 118 years has been Dow's Theo...Read More
The suspension of cobalt production at Chambishi could provide some respite to falling cobalt prices but it should not be confused with the eventual departure of Chambishi broken cathodes from the market, according to sources spoken to by Fastmarkets. ERG has temporarily halted production at Chambishi in Zambia due to a lack of feedstock, which it sources from Boss Mining and Frontier Mine in...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import markets remained quiet on Thursday February 14, but market participants expected prices to soften due to limited demand and weak finished steel markets in the country, sources said.There was talk in the market about a Baltic Sea cargo sold at $326 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), but there was no confirmation of this transaction at the time of publication.Market...Read More
Pacton Gold's Australian land holdings. Source Pacton Gold Inc.Pacton Gold Inc. [PAC-TSXV; PACXF-OTC] said Thursday February 14 it has struck a deal to purchase additional mineral claims in the Red Lake District of northwestern Ontario. The property consists of 17 mineral claims, and will increase the company's land position to approximately 15,000 hectares.Under an agreement, Pacton can purchase...Read More
UK ferrous scrap prices for deliveries in February have jumped in general by about ?20 ($26) per tonne, depending on grade, due to persistent weakness in export prices to the key destination of Turkey, trade sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday February 13.The move followed a uniform price drop of ?15-20 per tonne in January settlements, after an earlier drop of ?20 per tonne in December. The...Read More
The Rainy River gold mine in northwestern Ontario. Source: New Gold Inc.New Gold Inc. [NGD-TSX, NYSE American] shares fell in active trading Thursday February 14 after the company released production forecasts for 2019 as well as financial results for the fourth quarter of 2018. They included a loss of $1.07 billion from continuing operations in 2018.The forecast for 2019 includes high all-in sust...Read More