Gold is on the defensive as traders await the outcome of a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee that is expected to result in a 25-basis-point U.S. interest-rate hike, says George Gero, managing director with RBC Wealth Management. As of 10:01 a.m. EDT, Comex April gold was down $9.10 to $1,308.70 an ounce. “Gold sellers return as Fed meeting [begins] and rate hike is apparen...Read More
(Kitco News) - Holdings of gold by global exchange-traded funds have risen to a multi-year high, even if the price of the metal has gone the other way lately.Comex April gold was trading at $1,310 an ounce as of 8:30 a.m. EDT. The metal closed at $1,325 last Wednesday, before three straight days of large ETF inflows.Analysts suggested the price dip has encouraged buying of gold ETFs, as has nervou...Read More
Editor's Note: Welcome to Kitco's new Bitcoin Daily Technical Alert. Every trading day veteran Kitco technical analyst Jim Wyckoff will provide you with a concise and easy-to-understand near-term technical brief on Bitcoin. Importantly, Jim will glean the short-term charts and technical studies, and then alert you to the signals he sees regarding upcoming potential bigger price moves or price tren...Read More
On Monday, the equity markets were under heavy pressure early, as was the dollar. And where were the metals? They were only slightly higher. Metals continue to be asleep with no energy. With Monday's fear in equities and a weak dollar, gold could only muster a small rally. With equities down almost 500 points and the euro currency up big and gold on support, the rally was disappointing. With equit...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed lower across the board on Tuesday March 20, with copper falling to a new 2018-low. The three-month copper price closed 1.4% lower and hit a low of $6,730 per tonne earlier in the day - the lowest since December 14, 2017. "This comes amid broad-based downward pressure across the industrial metals, chiefly owing to a weaker global risk appetite...Read More
Comex copper prices tumbled to a mid-December low after investors moved to the sidelines ahead of a critical US central bank meeting. Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled 3.30 cents or 1.1% to $3.0490 per lb. Earlier, the contract touched $3.0290, the lowest since December 13. The red metal is now on...Read More
The main union at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres copper mine has agreed to extend government-led mediation by five days, postponing a potential strike there. Mediation started on March 9 after the union rejected Antofagasta's offer of a new labor contract and was...Read More
Canada-based junior miner Wealth Minerals has entered into an agreement with Chile's state-owned Empresa Nacional de Mineria (Enami) to help it develop and commercialize its Salar de Atacama and Laguna Verde lithium projects. The strategic alliance gives the companies two years to study and assess the properties and to form a partnership for their exploration, development and mining, as well as fo...Read More
The second-quarter European ferro-chrome benchmark price will rise sharply once it is announced later this week, market participants spoken to by Metal Bulletin said.Traders have reported reduced liquidity while market participants await the release of the new settlement.On Friday, Metal Bulletin's benchmark indicator predicted that the settlement would be $1.41 per lb, which would represent a qua...Read More
Canada-based junior miner Wealth Minerals has entered into an agreement with Chile's state-owned Empresa Nacional de Mineria (Enami) to help it develop and commercialize its Salar de Atacama and Laguna Verde lithium projects. The strategic alliance gives the companies two years to study and assess the properties and to form a partnership for their exploration, development and mining, as well as fo...Read More
Would-be lithium traders could learn from the development of the copper concentrate pricing structure to open the battery raw material to greater pricing transparency and liquidity, Lord Copper suggests. In the metals business, we are accustomed to a particular form of price discovery that has largely stood the test of time, even through technological change and development. Despite occasional mut...Read More
Chinese vanadium suppliers pushed up their offer prices considerably last week, after the market continued to be supported by low availability of stocks. Chinese suppliers elevate offers on thinning inventories European ferro-vanadium market stabilizes temporarily amid spot demand slowdownUS ferro-vanadium market quiet, but further gains expected after strong late week dealsChinese vanadium export...Read More
Selenium prices surged last week in Europe, reaching their highest level since February 2015 on continued material tightness and healthy Asian demand.Metal Bulletin assessed selenium free market in-warehouse prices at $22-24.5 per lb on Friday March 16, steady on Wednesday's assessment when the quotation rose by 6.9% to a level last seen in February 2015. "It's the perfect storm - India's hea...Read More
The Turkish scrap import market continued to be quiet on Tuesday March 20, on the absence of fresh deep-sea trading.Turkish steel producers stepped back from deep-sea scrap purchases on March 9, following the Section 232 announcement in the United States that applied a 25% duty to imports of steel products.The demand for rebar exports has gone down sharply since that announcement and the Turkish m...Read More
Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Italy increased by ?,?30 ($35) per tonne this month following the positive trend in the international market, sources told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's monthly price assessment for domestic grade E3 scrap in Italy was ?,?290-310 ($357-381) per tonne delivered in March, up from ?,?260-280 per tonne delivered a month earlier. The increase was...Read More
Comex copper prices tumbled to a mid-December low after investors moved to the sidelines ahead of a critical US central bank meeting. Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled 3.30 cents or 1.1% to $3.0490 per lb. Earlier, the contract touched $3.0290, the lowest since December 13. The red metal is now on...Read More
Crude steel output in Argentina grew 36.8% year on year in February, according to figures released by national steel association Acero Argentino on Tuesday March 20.Production amounted to 417,300 tonnes, up from 305,100 tonnes the year before.February's crude steel output also increased 21.4% from January's level of 343,000 tonnes.The month on month recovery is a result of the conclusion of mainte...Read More
Some flat steel import prices into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia decreased, while demand in the UAE was strong, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday March 20. Some flat steel import prices into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia decreased, while demand in the UAE was strong, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday March 20. UAE Hot-rolled coil was being offered to the UAE at $6...Read More
German government figures and steel companies are looking for a quick resolution to the concerns cerated by the impending United States import tariffs on European steel. "We have agreed that very intensive talks between the EU and [the US] are needed this week to avoid a trade conflict that could damage the vital interests of both sides," Peter Altmaier, Germany's economy minister, said on Monday...Read More
European steel association Eurofer has called on the region's political leaders "to stand united in backing a broad, firm and decisive response [to import tariffs in the United States] to safeguard the viability of the EU steel industry."Eurofer made the announcement on Tuesday March 20, hoping to influence Europe's response to the imposition by the US of a 25% import duty on steel products after...Read More