Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange rose by more than 1% at the close of trading on Tuesday March 19, with a large rewarranting of just under 100,000 tonnes doing little to curb an upswing that saw the metal's price close at a three-month high of $1,946 per tonne.Total volumes traded in aluminium topped the complex, with more than 18,000 lots changing hands by the close, the...Read More

Harvey says we've either had a MASSIVE short covering, or else this is happening, and a little earlier than usual. Here are the details...by Harvey Organ of Harvey Organ BlogMARCH 18/GOLD DOWN ONLY 70 CENTS//SILVER DOWN 2 CENTS AS THE BANKERS RAID FAILS//HUGE SLOWDOWN IN SMART PHONE SHIPMENTS INTO CHINA//BOEING ISSUED A SUPBOENA AS TO THEIR SAFETY CHECKS ON THE 737 MAX 8 DEVELOPMENT//GOLD: $1302....Read More

Geopolitical uncertainty has created demand for both gold and the dollar.The result has been been a beneficial consolidation period for gold.As short interest recovers, gold will soon have enough fuel for a new rally.As global economic fears continue to proliferate, gold is still benefiting from flight-to-safety inflows which have kept prices buoyant. Yet, after the gold price peaked last month, i...Read More

Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange consolidated higher during morning trading on Tuesday March 19, with price action largely unaffected by a rewarranting of just under 100,000 tonnes in Malaysia, accounting for around 10% of total LME stocks. Volumes traded for aluminium on the exchange continue to lead the complex, with just over 7,500 lots changing hands as of 9:50am Lond...Read More

The U.S. dollar traded at a two week low against its global peers Tuesday, while the gap between short and longer-date Treasury bonds continued to narrow, as investors extended bets on a dovish turn from the Federal Reserve at the start of its two-day rate setting meeting in Washington. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to argue for no changes to the central bank's key interest rate, follow...Read More

Prices for seaborne coking coal sold to China are showing signs of softening amid weak end-user demand, with uncertainties related to import restrictions at some ports complicating the market further."Buyers in southern China are discouraged from buying due to obstacles attributed to port authorities. It is a long and tedious process for end users to get their coal imports cleared by customs, and...Read More

Analysts at Commerzbank, point out that gold is viewed forming a major base longer term. They warn about the key resistance at 1365.36/1375.53, signaling that a break higher could lead to rally to 1700.  Key Quotes:  “A weekly close above 1375.53 2016 high (and ideally above the 1392.56 2014 peak) should trigger a move eventually to just over 1700.00.” “Gold is underpin...Read More

Miner KGHM will extend negotiations with a union at its Chilean copper mine Sierra Gorda, averting a strike, a union representative said on Tuesday.The company had until the end of Tuesday to request government mediation to help reach a deal with the union of 520 workers.(By Fabian Cambero and Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Sandra Maler)Read More

Wolfden Resources' (CVE: WLF) stock was up nearly 6% on Tuesday, after Kinross Gold (TSE: K) acquired 12.5 million shares at $0.20 a share -a $2.5 million investment - for a 9.7% stake in the junior exploration company.The two companies will form of a committee to explore Wolfden's 100%-owned Pickett Mountain volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit in northeastern Maine.Wolfden describes Picke...Read More

The reactivation of a smelter belonging to Chile's state-owned Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, will take more time than expected, the country's mining minister Baldo Prokurica said on Tuesday.The smelter, halted in December to undergo changes to bring it up to new emissions standards, has had its restart delayed because of issues related to Canadian construction firm SNC-Lavalin, c...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued to remain out of the deep-sea ferrous scrap markets while suppliers kept their offers firm, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 19.Market participants said that suppliers in the United States kept their offers at $330 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), but the steel producers in Turkey were only willing to pay $315 per tonne for the same material."US supplie...Read More

Two workers died in an accident at Glencore's Zambian operation Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) on Tuesday, prompting it to suspend production pending investigations, the company said."All operations at the South Ore Body (shaft) have been suspended until further notice," the company said in a statement without providing details of the accident.Mopani is one the biggest mining companies in Zambia - Afri...Read More

Ecuador has tethered its economic fortunes to a burgeoning mining industry. Now it just needs to get bureaucrats and community leaders on board.Local opposition and red tape are hindering plans to become a mining superpower that can rival other South American nations. Less than two years ago the government hoped mining would become 4 percent of Ecuador's gross domestic product by the end of Presid...Read More

The biggest trading volume in copper call options on record signals supply troubles brewing in the market.A spread trade worth $6.5 million was posted just after 7 a.m. on Comex in New York in a bet that the price of the metal used in wires and pipes will surge past $3.05 in a few months, from Monday's settlement price of $2.909.Copper production will trail consumption by 116,000 metric tons this...Read More

Gold settled with a loss on Monday, giving up earlier modest gains as traders looked ahead to the outcome of the Federal Reserve's meeting later this week. Traders also kept an eye on geopolitical developments, including the U.K.'s efforts to reach a deal on leaving the European Union, and the direction of the U.S. dollar. Gold for April delivery GCJ9, -0.19% on Comex fell $1.40, or 0.1%, to set...Read More

Chile's Codelco, the world's No. 1 copper producer, is set to ink a long-awaited deal with Ecuador-controlled miner Enami EP to develop a jointly-owned copper project in the Andean country.The 982-million-tonne Llurimagua copper project, located in the Imbabura Province, about 80 km northeast of Ecuador's capital, Quito, is in the advanced exploration stage and could become the first mine Codelco...Read More

Chilean miner Antofagasta Plc. (LON: ANTO) expects the anticipated global copper deficit to hit between 100,000 and 300,000 tonnes this year as consumption growth remains positive, but production increases are minimal.Releasing the company's annual results, chief executive Iv??n Arriagada also revealed that the first phase of a planned expansion at its flagship Los Pelambres copper mine had been a...Read More

Price assessments for steel rebar and billet in the United Arab Emirates were stable this week while demand remained only moderate, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 19.Local rebar producers rolled over their domestic prices for rebar last week.Rebar importsOman was offering rebar for import into its neighboring state at $530-535 per tonne cpt UAE and a few deals were heard within that ran...Read More

A report published by Deloitte Access Economics reveals that Australian mining companies paid A$30.6 billion in company tax and royalties in 2017-18 - the equivalent of all Federal Government spending on Australian schools, universities and vocational training.According to the report, the dollar amount paid in company taxes over the past couple of years surpasses that of 2011-12, which was the pea...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 19 that are worth another look.A cyber attack on Norwegian aluminium group Norsk Hydro has temporarily halted its rolling and extrusion operations, chief financial officer Eivind Kallevik said on Tuesday March 19. The Chinese government has launched a round of safety inspections targeting 20 cities, including Gan...Read More