Gold prices could move higher later this year on the back of Fed dovishness on interest rates, purchases from central banks and lingering global uncertainties, said Martin Huxley, global head of precious metals at financial services firm INTL FCStone.Huxley told CNBC that gold could "grind higher" in the second half of the year and possibly reach $1,400 an ounce.A key factor boosting gold is the U...Read More
Investing.com - Prices of safe-haven gold fell on Tuesday in Asia amid more positive developments in the Sino-U.S. trade talks.Gold futures for June delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, were down 0.2%, at $1,288.15 per ounce by 12:55 AM ET (04:55 GMT).U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that Washington and Beijing might be “close to th...Read More
The brisk turnaround in risk appetite last week, fueled by encouraging economic data and relatively strong Q1 earnings reports, has seen precious metals under pressure, while agricultural and energy commodities were mixed. Precious metals GOLD could be on track to close below the 100-day moving average at 1,288.47 today for the first time since November 15. The metal touched the lowest sinc...Read More
Chinese steel mills are ignoring low bids from overseas buyers on expectations of continued strength in China's domestic market over the remainder of April, sources told Fastmarkets MB this week.Expectations of a supply drop have also improved sentiment in the spot market.Steel prices in China have been on an upward climb since the end of the Lunar New Year. Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in east...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange fell by more than 3% at the close of trading on Tuesday April 16, settling just above $2,800 per tonne while fresh inflows did little to narrow a wide backwardation in the metal's nearby spreads. Zinc's nearby cash/three-month spread was most recently in a backwardation of $89 per tonne, with inflows of more than 14,000 tonnes into European w...Read More
The Comex copper price staged a modest rebound in US morning trading on Tuesday April 16 with the market waiting for a new catalyst to sustain solid price direction. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded 0.35 cents to $2.9385 per lb. The contract has been unable to set solid price momentum over the past few weeks with prices rising...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to follow the downward trend on Tuesday April 16, while the seaborne spot market remained thin. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $94.78 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.64 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $93.56 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.64 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $96.70 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.87 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Pr...Read More
India has accounted for much of the global demand for silver. Matt explains the significance...by Matt from Silver Fortune via Silver FortuneUnderstanding just how much silver demand India accounted for last year drives home the point of their importance to the silver market. Read More
The writing is on the wall for Canadian mining companies and it has been for quite some time. Their glory days as a global leaders are fading - and mega-mergers won't bring salvation.Market signals are already showing troubling signs of this shift in the sector. While Canada's GDP saw a 0.3% lift in January, which was the biggest gain in eight months, this dramatic uptick didn't spill over into ev...Read More
Dutch trade union FNV is preparing to take legal action to fight Tata Steel Europe against the sale of the Segal hot-dipped galvanizing (HDG) line in Belgium, which was proposed as part of Tata's move to form a joint venture with ThyssenKrupp, the union told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 16."We have an agreement with Tata Steel authorized by Tata Steel [Group] that all assets of Tata Steel Netherla...Read More
Turkish steel producers resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases on Tuesday April 16 at slightly higher prices, but it was still unclear in which direction the market was moving, sources said.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo late on April 15, comprising 17,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) and 7,500 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $308 per tonne cfr.The cargo was sche...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 16 that are worth another look.Increasing demand for graphite cathode for new energy vehicles (EV) and its cheaper price compared with synthetic graphite is turning the attention of the market to the price of flake graphite, delegates at Fastmarkets' Battery Materials Conference in Shanghai heard last week. Engelhart Commo...Read More
A $565 million funding package brings Cupric Canyon Capital one step closer to turning its Khoemacau project into a major copper and silver mine in northwestern Botswana.The private company has been developing the project over the last six years, drilling 285,000 metres, completing permitting and land access agreements, securing required power and water, and acquiring a previously operated copper...Read More
The copper market in the United States stands out for global investors amid a backdrop of soft European and Chinese demand while American buyers grow more confident moving into the second quarter - one of the busiest times of the year, when construction demand peaks and the premium market normally gets a bump."In general, people look like [they are] more optimistic on copper prospects for the futu...Read More
Aztec Minerals (TSXV: AZT) recently flew a magnetic and radiometric survey over its Cervantes copper-gold project in Sonora, Mexico, that identified 11 porphyry targets. Follow up work by the company will initially target four main targets: California, Estrella, California North and Purisima East.The survey supports the company's belief that the project contains multiple porphyry cells along a nor...Read More
Nevada Copper Corp. (TSX: NCU) has announced the filing of a new technical report for its 100%-owned Pumpkin Hollow property near Yerington, Nevada. This technical report, entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report: Nevada Copper Corp., Pumpkin Hollow Project, Open Pit and Underground Mine Prefeasibility Study (PFS)", has an effective date of January 21, 2019, and supersedes all previously filed technic...Read More
It's not quite yet pistols at dawn, but Rio Tinto's polite warning to mining lobby groups that they have to acknowledge the threat of climate change is likely a sign that the industry will inevitably fracture into two camps.These factions could be described as the "green" miners, who produce the minerals essential for the transition from the age of oil to the age of electricity, and the "dirty" mi...Read More
Aluminium scrap markets in the United States are showing some signs of wear, with steady scrap availability outpacing spot demand and dragging some prices lower."I'm hearing there's lots of scrap available, had a couple wild offers thrown at me that we can't take advantage of at this time," one US consumer said, noting strong inventory positions.The strong inventories combined with growing scrap f...Read More
Shares in silver producer Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) fell on Tuesday after it became public that a judge in the US state of Montana overturned the water permit approval for the company's proposed Rock Creek mine.The licence would have allowed Hecla to pump groundwater to supply the proposed copper and silver mine in the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, an area of glaciated peaks and valleys that take thei...Read More
Hudbay Minerals' (TSX, NYSE: HBM) second-largest investor, Waterton Global Resource Management, has filed a lawsuit against the Canadian miner in a bid to constrain its ability to solicit proxies.Waterton alleges that the company's management information circular in respect of its annual and special meeting of shareholders to be held on May 7, 2019 contains misrepresentations.The private-equity fi...Read More