Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were all higher during morning trading on Monday April 1 after being boosted by forecast-beating manufacturing data from China.Optimism about a potential Sino-US trade deal and low stocks in many of the metals also continue to bolster sentiment. The three-month nickel price rose furthest and is now trading comfortably above $13,200 per tonne, up by a...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices dropped slightly on Monday April 1 but trading activity was higher than in previous days.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,830-3,850 yuan ($571-574) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,770-3,790 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneTrading was robust in the morning when prices were around 3,830 yuan per tonne in Shanghai, which motiv...Read More

Better Chinese manufacturing data has surprised the market and boosted three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange by an average of 1% this morning, Monday April 1.Nickel led the way with a 2.2% gain to $13,285 per tonne, up from Friday's close at $12,995 per tonne, while tin was the laggard with a 0.4% gain. Aluminium, zinc and lead were all up by 0.9%, while copper was up by 0.7%...Read More

Fastmarkets will cease the daily publication of its physical arbitrage for imports of copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel into China from April 1, 2019. The data will still appear in Fastmarkets' price book on a daily basis as usual, however.Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for imports into China daily by using the Shanghai Futures Exchange front-month and London Metal Exchange three-m...Read More

The United States has challenged European Union proposals to label titanium dioxide and cobalt as carcinogens on free-trade grounds. A communication issued by the US delegation to the World Trade Organization (WTO) dated March 21 raised concerns that the new labeling could represent a non-tariff barrier to trade. The delegation said that the new rules could be "unnecessarily disruptive to billions...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai in the week ended Friday March 29. China Key drivers Some suppliers cut their offers for grade 553 silicon to stimulate sales interest after subdued demand abroad combined with fierce competition from off-grade materials.Tighter supply for grade 553 could cap the decline; some southern Chinese refiners have not resumed their operations due...Read More

Antimony prices in China and Europe fell across the board in the week ended Friday March 29, with consumers putting off procurement until after the April 1 when the Chinese manufacturing sector will have their value-added tax rate cut to 13%, leading to lower costs, sources said. The Chinese antimony price continued its downward trajectory for the fifth consecutive week after producers failed to s...Read More

Cobalt prices rose for the first time since late October 2018 at the end of March with traders and consumers restocking. Fastmarkets' benchmark standard-grade cobalt price assessment was $13.75-14.40 per lb, in-warehouse, on Friday March 29, up 2.2% from the previous $13.30-14.25 per lb on March 27, when they had risen 5 cents at the high end of the range. Fastmarkets' pri...Read More

South Korea's government and major steelmaker Posco both oppose China's ongoing stainless steel anti-dumping investigation and claim that no trade measures should be imposed because Korean exports do not damage the Chinese domestic industry.Hot-rolled stainless steel produced in South Korea has significantly different applications, materials and prices from those of Chinese products, thus there is...Read More

The Chinese ferro-silicon price moved up in the past week in line with upstream costs while suppliers look to new consumer tenders expected in the coming days; new quarterly settlements have weighed on the spot market in Europe. China heads higher on upstream costs  Chinese suppliers expect April consumer delivery tenders  Europe dragged down on second-quarter deals  US market rema...Read More

Alamos Gold (TSX: AGI; NYSE: AGI) will sell a portfolio of 18 royalties on assets not owned by Alamos to Metalla Royalty and Streaming (TSXV: MTA; MTAFF) for US$8 million in Metalla shares.The portfolio includes a 2% net smelter returns royalty (NSR) on Agnico Eagle Mine's El Realito gold deposit, adjacent to its La India mine in Sonora, Mexico, plus 1.5% and 1% NSRs on Monarch Gold's Wasamac gold...Read More

The market for natural resources remains subdued, but there are pockets of strength. In the Uranium sector, Energy Fuels, IsoEnergy & Appia Energy are up an average of ~150% from their respective 52-week lows. In Copper, Trilogy Metals & Pacific Booker are up an average of ~250%. Good things are happening, but not in Cobalt, at least not yet.Could This Pure-Play, North American Cobalt Juni...Read More

Gold has weakened sharply in recent days plunging below US$1,300 an ounce, creating an opportunity for investors. High levels of economic and geopolitical uncertainty coupled with the Fed adopting a dovish stance on normalizing interest rates means that it is only a matter of time before the yellow metal rallies once again. One of the best ways to access outsized returns when gold rises in value i...Read More

Investing in precious metals can be a wild ride. Buying the stocks of mining companies that produce precious metals can be even more volatile.While pricing swings can be difficult to handle, they often provide limited-time opportunities to buy stocks at a deep discount.Here are three precious metals companies under $5 per share.A classic example of valueLucara Diamond (TSX:LUC) stock fell 30% in...Read More

Investing in stocks that are dependent on commodity prices is always risky. After all, even if the company is running a tight ship and doing what it’s supposed to be doing, if commodity prices aren’t strong, that’s enough to sink the outlook for not only the individual stock, but the entire industry. We’ve seen how a low price of oil has made life difficult for many oil and...Read More

Trade wars seem to have become a permanent part of the global investment landscape, with the backlash against globalization continuing to be felt across the world and between nations that had, up until now, been sound partners.With disagreements rumbling on between China and North America, and with a messy Brexit spelling trouble in the eurozone, let's take a look at some of the foreign investment...Read More

The market for natural resources remains subdued, but there are pockets of strength. In the Uranium sector, Energy Fuels, IsoEnergy & Appia Energy are up an average of ~150% from their respective 52-week lows. In Copper, Trilogy Metals & Pacific Booker are up an average of ~250%. Good things are happening, but not in Cobalt, at least not yet.Could This Pure-Play, North American Cobalt Juni...Read More

Stewart Thomsonemail: stewart@gracelandupdates.comemail: stewart@gracelandjuniors.comemail:admin@guswinger.comApril 2, 2019 There’s a time for gold stocks to rally... and a time for consolidation and retracement.Please click here now. We have joy, we have fun, we have gold price seasonality in the sun? To view seasonality on the daily gold chart, please click here now. Double-click to enlar...Read More

Pensana said it had started discussions with financial advisors for the listing after large equity fund Fidelity accumulated a 5% stake in the company. "Listing on the LSE has been a well trodden path for many ASX juniors as they make the transition from explorer to producer," it said. The company is developing the Longonjo NdPr project in Angola, which will produce neodymium and praseod...Read More

Lithium mining operations in Namibia. Source: Desert Lion Energy Inc.Desert Lion Energy Inc. [DLI-TSXV; DSLEF-OTCQB], a Namibian lithium development company, said Tuesday April 2 that it has entered into a non-binding offtake agreement with German chemical company BASF SE. Under the agreement, BASF would be able to purchase lithium hydroxide from a planned Desert Lion production facility to be loc...Read More