Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia edged down again over the past week, with the downtrend in nickel contributing to a reduction in trading activity. Buyers remained in wait-and-see mode because of the nickel situation, while some sellers were willing to accept lower prices to secure more orders, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly import price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless...Read More

Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Wednesday March 20, maintaining upward momentum above $2,800 per tonne amid slow zinc output in China. Total LME zinc stocks remain at their lowest level since 2008 at 58,150 tonnes, with on-warrant material at 44,200 tonnes. The three-month price reached its highest level since July 2018 at just under $2,90...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part firmer this morning, Wednesday March 20.The exceptions were copper and tin prices that were both down by 0.1%, with copper at $6,454 per tonne, compared with $6,459 per tonne at Tuesday's close. The rest were up by between 0.2% for aluminium and 0.6% for both zinc and lead. Volume was average, with 6,563 lots traded...Read More

The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday March 20:Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,400-7,700 per tonne from $7,500-7,800Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $7,300-7,600 per tonne from $7,400-7,700Antimony MB Chinese free market MMTA standard grade II, yuan/tonne: 45,000-46,000 yuan per tonne from 46,000-46,500 yuanCobalt...Read More

Chinese silicon market participants are downplaying the effect of a planned 10% reduction in electricity prices on silicon prices despite electricity accounting for around 40% of silicon production costs in the country. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on March 5 announced a 10% reduction in average electricity prices for industrial users in a move aimed at reducing manufacturers' production costs. The...Read More

The following Fastmarkets UK non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices changed on Wednesday March 20:Titanium scrapTurnings, unprocessed type 90/6/4, 0.5% Sn max: $1.05-1.15 per...Read More

Between listing on the TSX Venture Exchange in January 2018 and graduating to the Toronto Stock Exchange in October the same year, Troilus Gold (TSX: TLG; US-OTC: CHXMF) drilled 36,000 metres of drilling on its namesake property in Quebec and boosted the project's mineral resources by 90%.In November the junior exploration company reported its Troilus gold project contains indicated resources of 3...Read More

1. The latest U.S. central bank announcement was a win-win for gold.2. If the Fed surprised analysts and hiked rates, the stock market probably crashes, and gold stocks rally strongly.3. As expected, the Fed did nothing and gold stocks outperformed.4. It's a clear win-win situation for gold bugs around the world.5. I'm adamant that the U.S. stock market would already look somewhat akin to the 1929...Read More

Rare precious metal palladium has shot out the lights this year, continuing to climb to record highs ever since rallying substantially in mid-2018. This has been a confusing event for some pundits, because the metal has traditionally performed poorly, trailing behind other precious metals, including platinum and gold. Palladium has performed so strongly that the amount of the white metal required...Read More

In 2016, I asked when uranium prices would ever recover. At the time, the uranium spot market was pricing in a big rebound. In fact, JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimated that uranium prices would more than double by 2020.That resurgence never came. Today, prices are still near decade-long lows.While many uranium investors have thrown in the towel, a major boom could be just around the corner. This...Read More

Last year was a tough time for investors in gold miner Pretium Resources Inc. (TSX:PVG)(NYSE:PVG), with the market heavily marking down its stock after its flagship Brucejack mine failed to deliver as promised. Even after rallying sharply over the last month, Pretium is still down by 2% since the start of 2019 trailing gold, which has gained almost 3% and created an opportunity for investors seeki...Read More

Over the latter half of 2018, gold miner Continental Gold (TSX:CNL) was roughly handled by the market after experiencing a range of operational and security issues combined with a significant cost blowout at its flagship Buritica project in Colombia. While I maintained my considerable conviction regarding the miner's potential and the quality of the Buritica asset, it did make me pilloried by som...Read More

Investing in gold can be tricky.The most direct option is to buy a gold ETF like SPDR Gold Trust or iShares Gold Trust. Often, however, these ETFs purchase futures contracts, not gold itself, potentially leading to pricing discrepancies over the long term.Another option is to buy stock in a gold miner. If history is any suggestion, this is a risky way to make a long-term bet on gold.Mining compa...Read More

Consumer staples don't get much closer to the realm of true defensiveness than food producers. However, the following three Canadian stocks, while representing some of the best such investments to be found on the TSX index, might need to be approached with caution by the long-term value investor with little appetite for risk.Rogers Sugar (TSX:RSI)TSX index investors who like to pay attention to pe...Read More

1. The latest U.S. central bank announcement was a win-win for gold.2. If the Fed surprised analysts and hiked rates, the stock market probably crashes, and gold stocks rally strongly.3. As expected, the Fed did nothing and gold stocks outperformed.4. It's a clear win-win situation for gold bugs around the world.5. I'm adamant that the U.S. stock market would already look somewhat akin to the 1929...Read More

It's tough to get analysts excited about natural resource stocks these days. Words like 'neutral', 'hold' and 'average' reflect the mood of the street for many Canadian natural resource companies.Pretium Resources Inc. (TSX-PVG)In an early 2018 research note, CIBC World Markets precious metals analyst Jeff Killeen covered a development that saw Vancouver-headquartered Pretium Resources announce it...Read More

"You've really seen the limits of monetary and fiscal policy in its ability to extend out a long boom period." - Josh Friedman, Co-Chairman of Canyon Partners (a "deep value," credit-driven hedge fund)The Fed's abrupt policy reversal says it all. No more rate hikes (yes, one is "scheduled" for 2020 but that's fake news) and the balance sheet run-off is being "tapered" but will stop in September. D...Read More

Gold was trading about US$1,319 an ounce on the spot market earlier, $14/oz higher than this time yesterday.Meanwhile the cash zinc price rose to its highest point since July last year on the London Metal Exchange yesterday at $2,896.50 per tonne.Nickel also gained amid signals Chinese developers might be spared from new property tax rules, easing demand concerns in the world's biggest metals cons...Read More

Collecting float samples from Arctic Star's Timantti Diamond Project in Finland. Source: Arctic Star Exploration Corp.Shares of Arctic Star Exploration Corp. [ADD-TSXV; ASDZF-OTCQB; 82A1-FSE] were active Thursday March 21 after the company announced the status of a previously announced private placement and the granting of stock options to its directors, employees and consultants.Proceeds are earm...Read More

They say money can't buy happiness.But you know what?It sure as hell makes life a lot easier.Not to be brash, but I'm a hell of a lot happier today than when I was broke, living paycheck to paycheck.I don't care what anybody says. Living that way sucks.Wondering if you're going to have enough to retire...Hoping you don't get sick because you can't afford a doctor visit...Walking through the grocer...Read More