•  Attempted recovery alongside an ascending trend-channel seems to have formed a bearish flag chart pattern on the 1-hourly chart.    •  A convincing break below the channel support would expose a medium-term ascending trend-line, extending from Jan. 2017 lows through lows touched in July/Dec. 2017.    •  On the same chart, short-term...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. homebuilding surged to near an 11-year high in May amid an acceleration in both single-family and multi-family home construction, but a second straight monthly drop in permits suggested housing market activity will remain moderate.Housing starts jumped 5.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.350 million units last month, the Commerce Department said on Tue...Read More

ROME (Reuters) - Italy will try to reduce debt to preserve investors’ confidence in the highly indebted country, as the outlook for economic growth starts to slip, Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Tuesday.Speaking in the lower house of parliament, Tria said “the confidence of financial markets is necessary” for Italy, whose debt amounts to around 1.3 times it annual economi...Read More

By Rene Wagner and Joseph NasrBERLIN, June 19 (Reuters) - Germany’s Ifo institute on Tuesday cut its forecasts for growth in Europe’s biggest economy this year and next, citing a weak start to the year and increased global risks.Ifo said it expected the German economy to grow by 1.8 percent this year and in 2019, a big revision downwards from previous forecasts of 2.6 percent and 2.1 p...Read More

(Kitco News)- Goldprices remain under pressure and below critical support, following the releaseof mixed U.S. housing construction data. TheCommerce Department's latest report showed that U.S. housing starts rose 5% into a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35 million units in May, compared toApril's revised figure of 1.286 million starts. Consensus forecasts compiled by most news organizations...Read More

* German, US 10-bond year yields hit 2-1/2 week low* Most other euro zone bond yields down 2-3 bps* Draghi dovish at Sintra, euro slips* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Writes through, adds chart)By Abhinav Ramnarayan and Dhara RanasingheLONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - Euro zone government bond yields fell on Tuesday as escalating trade tensions between the United States and...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices remain under pressure and below critical support, following the release of mixed U.S. housing construction data. The Commerce Department's latest report showed that U.S. housing starts rose 5% into a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35 million units in May, compared to April's revised figure of 1.286 million starts. Consensus forecasts compiled by most news organizat...Read More

MUNICH (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) suspended Audi boss Rupert Stadler and announced an interim replacement on Tuesday, seeking to steady its most profitable business after German authorities arrested Stadler as part of an emissions probe.Audi said Stadler, 55, had requested to temporarily step down from his position, and named sales executive Abraham Schot as an interim replacement with imm...Read More

BERLIN (Reuters) - Greece will likely get up to 15 billion euros ($17.33 billion) from its euro zone allies for stabilization after its third bailout program ends in August, a senior German government official said on Tuesday.Euro zone finance ministers will discuss debt relief for Greece on Thursday to ensure the country can return to market financing after eight years of loans from euro zone gov...Read More

VIENNA (Reuters) - Global oil demand is set to stay strong in the second half of 2018, an OPEC technical panel forecast this week, suggesting the market could absorb extra production from the group.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets on Friday to decide output policy amid calls from major consumers such as the United States and China to cool down oil prices and support the...Read More

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Major U.S. energy companies including Plains All American Pipeline (PAA.N), Hess Corp (HES.N) and Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI.N) are among many seeking exemptions from steel-import tariffs as the United States ratchets up trade tensions with exporters including China, Canada and Mexico.There have been nearly 21,000 requests overall for exclusions submitted to the U.S. Commerce Depar...Read More

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shares of ZTE Corp plummeted on Tuesday after the U.S. Senate’s passage of a defense bill set up a potential battle with the White House over whether the Chinese telecoms firm can resume business with its U.S. suppliers.The 85-10 bipartisan vote - one of the few times the Republican-led Senate has veered from White House policy - came on the same day that U.S. President...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar rose to an 11-month high on Tuesday and the euro slumped after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened more tariffs on China in an escalating trade dispute investors fear could hurt global growth.Hostility over trade between the world’s two largest economies intensified on Tuesday when Trump threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese good...Read More

SINTRA, Portugal, June 19 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will take a “patient” and “gradual” approach to raising interest rates as inflation in the euro zone recovers, its president said on Tuesday, adding he was happy with current market expectations.“We will remain patient in determining the timing of the first rate rise and will take a gradual approach to ad...Read More

BEIJING (Reuters) - China should appropriately cut banks’ reserve requirement ratios (RRR) to help ease their burdens, the central bank said in a working paper on Tuesday, fanning expectations of an imminent policy move to support the economy as U.S. trade threats grow.Fears of a full-blown trade war have added to concerns about the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy, follo...Read More

BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, where he will likely brief Chinese President Xi Jinping on his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump last week, as Washington and Seoul agreed to suspend a major joint military exercise.This is Kim’s third trip to China this year, coming a week after he met Trump in Singapore for historic talks.Trump a...Read More

Is Gold in trouble? The shortanswer is yes. Gold has been tumbling for the last couple of days as themarkets starts to sell off. With the equities getting clobbered overnight thelast three sessions, gold has not been the safety asset that many believe itis.The lack of volatility inequities is helping to keep the pressure on the metals. We are not from theschool that gold is a safe-haven play but j...Read More

Is Gold in trouble? The short answer is yes. Gold has been tumbling for the last couple of days as the markets starts to sell off. With the equities getting clobbered overnight the last three sessions, gold has not been the safety asset that many believe it is. The lack of volatility in equities is helping to keep the pressure on the metals. We are not from the school that gold is a safe-haven pla...Read More

Gold ResourceCorp. (NYSE American: GORO) announcesthat construction has begun at its Isabella Pearl open-pit heap leach goldproject in Nevada. Clearing and grubbing operations began this week, andprocessing equipment is being readied for transport to the project site. “Wetarget first gold production from Isabella Pearl in less than 12 months fromtoday,” says Jason Reid, chief executi...Read More

Gold Resource Corp. (NYSE American: GORO) announces that construction has begun at its Isabella Pearl open-pit heap leach gold project in Nevada. Clearing and grubbing operations began this week, and processing equipment is being readied for transport to the project site. “We target first gold production from Isabella Pearl in less than 12 months from today,” says Jason Reid, chief e...Read More