The ECB accelerated its asset purchases, but unless the Fed follows suit, gold may continue its bearish trend.On Thursday (Mar. 11), the European Central Bankdecided to accelerate its asset buying under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program :Based on a joint assessment of financing conditions and the inflation outlook, the Governing Council expects purchases under the PEPP over the next quarter...Read More

Mexican ferrous scrap prices were little changed in the week ended Friday March 26, with most grades remaining at high levels and market participants waiting for the next developments in the United States' market. Most market participants indicated stability in prices last week while the market digests recent price increases that particularly affected the prime grades of scrap....Read More

It seems fitting that the year we are expecting to see an unprecedented rise in US government spending and money-printing to spur an economic recovery, marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the gold standard.Done at the time to fight an economic crisis, we are still feeling the effects of this disastrous decision, five decades on.In this article, we explain why President Nixon did what he did,...Read More

A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday March 30.Please click...Read More

Now that stocks closed at new all time highs, thecorrection is officially over. And what little rest stock bulls could claimlast week, arrived on Friday. Yet, the bull is strong enough to defend the3,900 zone, and charge higher the same day. Who could be surprised, given the modern monetary theory ruling theeconomic landscape? The Fed amply accomodative, one $1.9T stimulus bill justin, and a $2T i...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 30 that are worth another look....Read More

Mainstream media and the large mining companies are finally catching on to what we at AOTH have been saying for the past two years: the copper market is heading for a severe supply shortage due to a perfect storm of under-exploration/ lack of discovery of new deposits, clashing with a huge increase in demand due to electrification and decarbonization.Dramatic price riseCopper is trading over $4.00...Read More

Many investors sense that the country, and the world, has drifted into uncharted territory.The last year has been extraordinary. There have been COVID lockdowns, a disputed presidential election, and multi-trillion-dollar federal deficits and bailouts. The Federal Reserve has injected more money into markets than ever before.This insanity showed up in the physical gold and silver markets.Bullion d...Read More

Since its peak in the spring of 2020, the U.S. dollar index has lost almost 12 percent, and it could decline even further, thus supporting gold prices.There is a weakness in the U.S. dollar. Let’s start off by taking a look at the chart below. As you can see, the broad trade-weighted dollar index has been declining recently. Since its peak in late March 2020, the greenback has lost almost 12...Read More

It’s all connected. The Eurozone’sunderperformance boosts the USD, thus placing pressure on gold and the ETFs.So, which ETFs will suffer most?A large part of yesterday’sfree version of the analysis focused on the Eurozone’s economicoutlook and how it affects the precious metals. We’ll eventually get to Europeagain later in today’s analysis, but let’s first...Read More

Dear Reader,You come to our website looking for market answers.Well, with the help of our friends at Elliott Wave International, we are happy to offer you a new, free opportunity to see what's likely next for cotton, soybeans and crude oil -- for the entire 2021. EWI is the world's largest independent market-forecasting firm. Every year, their Chief Commodity Analyst Jeffrey Kennedy records an in-...Read More

When the "crazies" are out, you have to step aside...by Michael Ballanger via Streetwise ReportsIn early January, I decided that the extra pounds I was carrying around was a definitive mortality check for any sexagenarian lucky enough to be in generally good health, but sufficiently slovenly and undisciplined to allow such to happen. So, with great and good intentions in mind, I decided to try to...Read More

Nickel's futures price on the London Metal Exchange decreased by 1.65% on Tuesday March 30, while copper and aluminium were also down, with a range of macroeconomic forces that have acted as headwinds over the past few weeks continuing to exert downward pressure on prices."In this regard, both the dollar and US ten-year rates seem to be on the move again, with the latter getting to 1.77% at one po...Read More

Iron ore prices fell on Tuesday March 30, sources told Fastmarkets, due to the downtrend in rebar prices and reduced trading activity at Chinese ports.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $166.58 per tonne,down $1.30 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $167.22 per tonne,down $1.66 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $147.50 per tonne,down $1.96 per...Read More

Apart from aluminium, base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange were firmer this morning, Tuesday March 30, with broader markets also firmer having partially shook off, for now, contagion worries from last week's hedge fund troubles. US Treasury 10-year yields jump higher againWeakness in gold prices and stronger bond yields suggest market is not lookin...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will sell a 55.19-carat Kashmir sapphire at its Geneva sale -the largest gem of its kind ever to appear at auction.The oval-cut stone, set in a brooch with a cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire weighing 25.97 carats, surrounded by circular-cut and baguette diamonds, is from the 1930s, Sotheby's said Monday. Previously in the collection of Maureen Constance Guinness, marchioness o...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gemfields recorded a loss in 2020 as it was forced to cancel the bulk of its regular auctions for the year due to coronavirus restrictions.The miner reported a net loss of $93.2 million for the year, compared with a profit of $39.1 million in 2019, it estimated in a trading update last week. The company was unable to hold any of its traditional gem auctions since February. "[The] 2020...Read More

RAPAPORT... A purple-pink diamond weighing nearly 16 carats will take center stage at the Christie's Magnificent Jewels sale in Hong Kong, the largest of its kind ever to be offered at an auction.The 15.81-carat, fancy-vivid-purple-pink, internally flawless, type IIa stone, known as the Sakura Diamond, is set in a ring and bracketed by white diamonds. The piece is expected to sell for $25 million...Read More

RAPAPORT... HRD Antwerp has unveiled a report identifying the natural origin of uncut diamonds used to create polki jewelry.The Authenticity Jewellery Report will verify traditional Indian polki jewelry, which has become more popular in international markets, the Antwerp lab said last week. HRD already has a report that covers polished diamonds, but polki jewelry contains mounted, uncut stones, wh...Read More

RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered three more 100-carat-plus rough diamonds at its Lulo alluvial mine in Angola, it said Monday.The company found a 131-carat, D-color, type IIa diamond, a brown diamond weighing 118 carats and a 133-carat lower-quality grey diamond at the site's high-value Mining Block 46. That section, which is located along the Canguige tributary, also produced a 11...Read More