Dear friends,Greetings and best wishes for the New Year.I am pleased to write that the overall outlook for diamond demand is positive and improving. The US holiday season performed very well, and expectations are high for the Chinese New Year. Given the new US tax law and potential US fiscal policy stimulus in the form of huge infrastructure spending, we expect the positive trend to continue throu...Read More

LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Foreign investors poured $235 billion into emerging markets as they rallied strongly last year, the Institute of International Finance said on Monday, adding that the countries themselves had added more than $130 billion in hard currency reserves.Foreign portfolio flows in 2016 had amounted to $152 billion, the IIF's data showed.Data from the respected flow tracker also s...Read More

In an article penned in MarketWatch today by Myra Saefong, she looks back at historical data to conclude that the rally which began on December 12 of last year up until Friday logged the longest stretch of consecutive gains in gold futures on record. She is comparing it to a point in time in which gains in gold futures resulted in 10 consecutive gains in July 2011. During that period, gold prices...Read More

Comex copper prices recovered from a one-week low amid consolidation on Monday January 8, while a stronger dollar is likely to cap the upside. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.25 cents or 0.4% to $3.2420 per lb. Last week, the contract hit the lowest point since December 22. "Prices could look to resume their upward...Read More

Gold shines at the start of 2018 (+1.5% YTD).Speculators bought a lot of gold over December 26, 2017-January 2, 2018, the CFTC shows.ETF investors remained quiet over December 29, 2017-January 5, 2018, according to FastMarkets' estimates.The US jobs report for December disappointed slightly though gold was under downward pressure. Some charts.I remain long GLD for 2018. Introduction Welcome to...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices were ending the U.S. day session modestly weaker Monday. Some profit-taking and chart consolidation were featured in both metals, after recent good gains. A higherU.S. dollar index on this day also worked against the precious metals market bulls. February Comex gold was last down $2.30 an ounce at $1,320.10. March Comex silver was last down $0.135 at $17.15 an...Read More

Peter KrauthSince the start of 2018, gold prices have not only stayed above $1,300, but they've continued to climb higher.Even though gold prices today have dipped around $5 per ounce, gold investors have nothing to worry about in 2018.In fact, we're getting confirmation that the gold bull market of 2018 is just beginning.While 2017 didn't see the surging price – and eventual collapse –...Read More

(Kitco News) - Hedge funds continued to pile into silver and gold in the first few days of the new trading year, according to the latest trade data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.Analysts noted that the precious metals market looks attractive to fund managers as the U.S. dollar continued its sharp decline into 2018. Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said that the...Read More

Gold companies have free cash flow yields at par with global average of 6.2% but not greater than a minus 20% lower limit.Free cash flows of these companies reflect strong performance in production and gearing.Gold prices can influence returns on marginal ounces in the mine plan. Source: Gainesville News Investment Thesis: In our gold universe, we were able to screen for gold stocks. We filtered o...Read More

SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals traded lower today except for the slight rise in zinc price. While lead was stable, aluminium and copper dropped close to 1%. Nickel and tin also edged down.  Ferrous metals saw a rather strong movement today. Iron ore and coking coal rose almost 3%, while coke, hot-rolled coil and rebar rose nearly 1%.Copper: We see room for SHFE copper prices to...Read More

SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals traded lower today except for the slight rise in zinc price. While lead was stable, aluminium and copper dropped close to 1%. Nickel and tin also edged down.  Ferrous metals saw a rather strong movement today. Iron ore and coking coal rose almost 3%, while coke, hot-rolled coil and rebar rose nearly 1%.Copper: We see room for SHFE copper prices to...Read More

(Repeats with no changes. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters)* LME zinc price at 10-year highs: * LME zinc stocks and spreads: * China's zinc imports: By Andy HomeLONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Zinc has started the new year with a bang, hitting a fresh 10-year high of $3,380 per tonne in the first week of trading on the London Metal Exchange (LME). The only hi...Read More

SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals traded lower today except for the slight rise in zinc price. While lead was stable, aluminium and copper dropped close to 1%. Nickel and tin also edged down.  Ferrous metals saw a rather strong movement today. Iron ore and coking coal rose almost 3%, while coke, hot-rolled coil and rebar rose nearly 1%.Copper: We see room for SHFE copper prices to...Read More

   •  Retracing US bond yields lending some support.   •  Reviving safe-haven demand provides an additional boost.   •  Resurgent USD seemed to cap gains ahead of Fedspeaks. Gold recovered majority of its early losses to $1315 support area and is now headed towards the top end of its daily trading range. Currently placed around the $1319-...Read More

(In paragraph six corrects to say higher salt levels of river caused water problems in Flint)By Timothy GardnerWASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. rivers and streams have become saltier and more alkaline over the last 50 years, posing risks to drinking water by damaging pipelines and other infrastructure, according to a study released on Monday.As municipal workers dump salt on roads to combat ice...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 4 points in pre-opening trade. Darden Restaurants (DRI $99.31) is expected to open higher after the company raised its 2018 earnings guidanceLululemon gained $2.07 to $81.50 after increasing its fourth quarter sales and earnings guidanceKohl's added $4.19 to $58.55 after raising its fiscal fourth quarter earnings guid...Read More

SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper:  LME copper fell below the 10-day moving average and is expected to stay soft at $7,090-7,140/mt today with support at $7,000/mt. The SHFE 1803 copper is expected to trade at 54,300-54,800 yuan/mt. Spot prices are expected at 20 yuan/mt discount to 30 yuan/mt premiums today.Aluminium: The support of the 10-day moving averages became weaker for LME aluminium...Read More

SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper:  LME copper fell below the 10-day moving average and is expected to stay soft at $7,090-7,140/mt today with support at $7,000/mt. The SHFE 1803 copper is expected to trade at 54,300-54,800 yuan/mt. Spot prices are expected at 20 yuan/mt discount to 30 yuan/mt premiums today.Aluminium: The support of the 10-day moving averages became weaker for LME aluminium...Read More

SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (SMM)? 1/4 ? SMM believes LME zinc prices are likely to trade higher as the metal started 2018 with a new 10-year high at $3,375/mt. We see support from both the macro level and fundamentals.US dollar is set to stay soft in the short term despite the interest rates increases in 2017. Uncertainty over the real effect on the economy from the country’s tax reform and stronger EU...Read More

(Repeats story that ran on Monday)By Tom DalyBEIJING, Jan 8 (Reuters) - As China tightens restrictions on imports of foreign waste, Chinese metal recyclers and even smelters like Jiangxi Copper Co are increasingly looking to use Southeast Asian countries as an alternative location for the processing of copper scrap. China relies on imports for around half of its scrap copper needs but told the Wo...Read More