Stocks slightly extended their short-term uptrend on Wednesday, as investors' sentiment remained bullish following the recent rally. The S&P 500 index was the highest since the early October yesterday, but it closed just 0.2% higher. So will the uptrend continue?The U.S. stock market indexes gained 0.2-0.6% on Wednesday, slightly extending their short-term uptrend once again, as investors' sen...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower across the board at the close of trading on Thursday April 4, with an uptick in the dollar index capping upward moves while a marginal uptick in LME stocks this morning also provided a headwind to price action. The dollar index reached a high of 97.34 over the day's trading, spurring unfavorable conditions for commodity investment. The ind...Read More

Physical iron ore prices were range-bound on Thursday April 4 after spikes earlier in the week, with China entering a long weekend from Friday to Sunday for the Tomb Sweeping Festival.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $92.90 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.18 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $92.02 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.18 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $95.53...Read More

Gold is positioned to becomea likely prime destination for safety inthe second quarter of 2019 amid deteriorating global macroeconomic conditions and rising geopolitical risks. The yellow metal swerved back and forth in Q1, gaining roughly 0.86% due to conflicting fundamental themes. But with the narrative around slowing global growth dampening appetite for risk and the Federal Reserve solidifying...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were steady on Thursday April 4 ahead of a holiday in China.On the Global Coal trading platform, a May-laycan cargo of premium hard coking coal in the premium segment was offered at $205 per tonne fob Australia during the day, while bids were made at $195 per tonne fob. A day earlier, a similar cargo was traded at $198 per tonne fob Australia. Elsewhere, a...Read More

Gold futures finished Friday trade slightly lower as financial markets awaited an update on reported progress in trade negotiations between the U.S. and China and as an upbeat reading on jobless benefits claims fueled expectations for a recovery in monthly hiring in a report due Friday morning. Gold for June delivery GCM9, +0.10% on Comex fell $1, or about 0.1%, to $1,294.30 an ounce, but had tou...Read More

Published 23 Hours AgoUpdated7 Hours AgoReuters Getty ImagesGold eased on Thursday, touching a near ten-week low earlier in the session and pressured by a firm dollar on the back of gold-positive U.S. jobs data, while investors awaited clarity on the U.S.-China trade talks.Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,287.56 an ounce, having earlier touched its lowest since Jan. 25 at $1,280.59. U.S. gold...Read More

Investing.com - Gold prices edged up on Thursday in Asia as a weaker-than-expected U.S. payroll data outweighed optimism surrounding U.S.-China trade.Gold Futures traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange edged up 0.1% to $1,297.05 an ounce by 12:35 AM ET (04:35 GMT).Data on Wednesday showed private payrolls in the U.S. increased by just 129,000 in March, well below the expe...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower across the board at the close of trading on Thursday April 4, with an uptick in the dollar index capping upward moves while a marginal uptick in LME stocks this morning also provided a headwind to price action. The dollar index reached a high of 97.34 over the day's trading, spurring unfavorable conditions for commodity investment. The ind...Read More

Not-so-good news about higher costs and capex estimates in an updated prefeasibility study this week for Alacer Gold Corp.'s (TSX: ASR; ASX: AQG) Gediktepe project in Turkey were partly offset by good news of a 117% jump in the project's indicated resource.Gediktepe's Ardich deposit is about six km northeast of Alacer's 80%-owned ????pler open-pit mine and is the company's highest priority develop...Read More

The Turkish billet import market was very quiet this week, with demand for imported material still soft and the export and domestic markets also slow, sources said on Thursday April 4.The suppliers in the CIS region decreased their offers to $455-465 per tonne cfr because of the poor demand and weakening scrap prices.Fastmarkets' daily index for Northern Europe-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap, the fe...Read More

A Peruvian judge on Wednesday ordered three years of jail time for three lawyers representing indigenous villagers who have blockaded shipments from a massive copper mine operated by Chinese miner MMG Ltd.The ruling, which a lead prosecutor confirmed on television news channels, promises to further polarize a dispute between MMG and the Quechua-speaking village of Fuerabamba, in Peru's southern co...Read More

An incident at Freeport-McMoran's Grasberg mine in Indonesia injured two workers on Wednesday while two other missing, a company spokesman said on Thursday.The injured workers have been hospitalised while rescue team continues to search for the missing. Mining operation is running normally despite the incident, spokesman Riza Pratama said.According to Bambang Gatot Ariyono, Indonesia's director ge...Read More

A mix of political populism, higher commodity prices and the expectation electrification will spur demand for some raw materials has led resource-holding governments to change the rules for miners operating in their countries.In most cases, governments are seeking to increase their share of profits, rather than all-out resource nationalism, although Mongolia has been trying to nationalise a stake...Read More

Australia's largest gold producer, Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM), has committed to sole fund all of the 2019 exploration programs with junior Encounter Resources (ASX: ENR), covering the highly sought after gold regions of Tanami and West Arunta in Western Australia.Newcrest, which has five joint ventures (JVs) with Encounter in the area, covering a total of 5,900 km2, will have the right to increase...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday April 4 that are worth another look.Fastmarkets launched seven new aluminium price assessments on Thursday April 4 - including calcined pet coke, extrusion and flat-rolled products - to expand coverage of the aluminium market from upstream to downstream. With the annual Minor Metals Trade Association conference kicking off...Read More

The US copper and brass scrap market maintained a mostly steady footing this week, although red brass scrap prices nudged higher - supported by Comex gains - while uncertainty over looming scrap restrictions in China has remained a weight on the market."Nobody knows where spreads are going to go in the next few months. China is holding all the cards. All the recent purchases I have made are from s...Read More

Comex copper prices failed to hold onto Wednesday's increase with a stronger US dollar weighing on the base metals complex on Thursday April 4. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 3.85 cents to $2.9100 per lb. Hopes of an imminent trade deal between the United States and China boosted sentiment across commodities markets, including t...Read More

Fastmarkets is launching seven new aluminium price assessments today, Thursday April 4 - including calcined pet coke, extrusion and flat-rolled products - to expand our coverage of the aluminium market from upstream to downstream.Following a month-long industry consultation, the new prices will be published at 3-4pm UK time on the first Thursday of the month, starting from April 4. They ...Read More

Fastmarkets is extending the consultation period for its proposal to revise the frequency and specification of its copper concentrate treatment & refining charges (TC/RC) index until April 19.With regard to the frequency, responses to the original consultation agreed that the market is in need of a weekly index.In terms of the specification, the consultation on the base and range of concentra...Read More