Editor's Note: View Kitco News' full 2018 outlook coverage (Kitco News) - After what has been described as a frustrating 2017, sentiment in the precious metals mining space is improving and is expected to build throughout 2018, according to Kitco News’ top mining CEO of 2017.In an interview with Kitco News, before the results of survey were calculated, Rob McEwen, CEO of McEwen Mining (NYSE:...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices ended the U.S. day session moderately higher Thursday. The precious metal was lifted by a lower U.S. dollar index and by higher crude oil prices that hit a three-year high today. Some technical buying is also featured in gold, as the near-term chart posture is getting more bullish. February Comex gold was last up $3.80 an ounce at $1,323.00. March Comex silver was last d...Read More
(Kitco News) - Following are six elements working in favor of the gold market bulls and that should continue to support upward price movement in the precious metal. Rising Government Bond Yields. A feature in the marketplace this week is rising world government bond yields (falling prices). This helped to hold back gains in global stock markets. Bloomberg news published a story Wednesday about the...Read More
(Kitco News) - Confusion and uncertainty reign in financial markets, helping gold prices rally in the face of higher bond yields, as traders continue to assess whether or not China will continue to buy U.S. Treasuries. Early Thursday, Chinese officials denied reports that the central bank is looking at slowing its U.S. bond purchases. According to reports, while the central bank is diversifyin...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday January 11.Nickel continued to rally on the London Metal Exchange during afternoon trading on Wednesday January 10, closing in positive territory alongside the rest of the metals. Read more here in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the end of the day on Wednesday.Unspecified technical issues at Birla Copper's Da...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday January 11.Nickel continued to rally on the London Metal Exchange during afternoon trading on Wednesday January 10, closing in positive territory alongside the rest of the metals. Read more here in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the end of the day on Wednesday.Unspecified technical issues at Birla Copper's Da...Read More
Operations at Glencore's Pasar copper smelter have been suspended since last week due to a leakage in the sulfuric acid plant, Metal Bulletin has learned.The smelter consumes 720,000 tonnes per year of copper concentrates. Part of the feed comes from Freeport's Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia. Glencore will continue to receive the feed, a well-informed source told Metal Bulletin. At least two sh...Read More
Comex copper prices inched higher Thursday January 11 morning in the US due to a weaker dollar in an overall shallow market.Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange increased 0.55 cents or 0.2% to $3.2410 per lb. The dollar has softened gradually since mid-December and was recently trading at a one-week low of 91.94 on the...Read More
Annual refining charges (RCs) for imported blister copper, an intermediate product of refined copper production, have increased slightly this year while China's copper smelters are looking to import more material to fill the supply gap arising from the drastic cut in copper scrap import quotas.Expectations of rising supply have boosted RCs for imported blister copper, normally 97-99% copper conten...Read More
Huayou Cobalt and Posco will invest in two joint ventures in China's Zhejiang province to produce lithium-ion battery materials, according to a statement filed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday January 10. With a total investment of 1 billion yuan ($154 million), Zhejiang HUAYOU-POSCO New Energy Co, Ltd will be dedicated in the research and development, production, as well as sales of li...Read More
Operations at Glencore's Pasar copper smelter have been suspended since last week due to a leakage in the sulfuric acid plant, Metal Bulletin has learned.The smelter consumes 720,000 tonnes per year of copper concentrates. Part of the feed comes from Freeport's Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia. Glencore will continue to receive the feed, a well-informed source told Metal Bulletin. At least two sh...Read More
Annual refining charges (RCs) for imported blister copper, an intermediate product of refined copper production, have increased slightly this year while China's copper smelters are looking to import more material to fill the supply gap arising from the drastic cut in copper scrap import quotas.Expectations of rising supply have boosted RCs for imported blister copper, normally 97-99% copper conten...Read More
Huayou Cobalt and Posco will invest in two joint ventures in China's Zhejiang province to produce lithium-ion battery materials, according to a statement filed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday January 10. With a total investment of 1 billion yuan ($154 million), Zhejiang HUAYOU-POSCO New Energy Co, Ltd will be dedicated in the research and development, production, as well as sales of li...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap prices inched up with news of a fresh deal from the Baltic Sea on Thursday January 11. A steel mill in northern Turkey booked the cargo, comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $375 per tonne, 12,000 tonnes of shredded at $380 per tonne and 4,000 tonnes...Read More
Annual refining charges (RCs) for imported blister copper, an intermediate product of refined copper production, have increased slightly this year while China's copper smelters are looking to import more material to fill the supply gap arising from the drastic cut in copper scrap import quotas.Expectations of rising supply have boosted RCs for imported blister copper, normally 97-99% copper conten...Read More
Comex copper prices inched higher Thursday January 11 morning in the US due to a weaker dollar in an overall shallow market.Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange increased 0.55 cents or 0.2% to $3.2410 per lb. The dollar has softened gradually since mid-December and was recently trading at a one-week low of 91.94 on the...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are generally higher this morning, Thursday January 11, with aluminium leading the way with a 0.8% gain to $2,203 per tonne, while tin is the one bucking the trend with a 0.3% decline. Nickel prices are unchanged, while the rest are up by between 0.2% and 0.4%, with copper prices up by 0.3% at $7,169 per tonne.Volume has been average, with 6,933 lots...Read More
India's JSW Steel recorded its highest-ever quarterly crude steel output in October-December 2017, producing 4.11 million tonnes - up 7% compared with the same quarter in 2016.The October-December period is the third quarter of JSW Steel's 2017-2018 financial year, which runs to March 31, 2018. Flat steel production dropped 1% year on year to 2.82 million tonnes, while long steel production increa...Read More
China's prices for hot-rolled coil fell on Thursday January 11 amid weak procurement sentiment among downstream buyers. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,220-4,260 yuan ($648-654) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Tianjin): 4,030-4,050 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneSpot prices dipped following a softening of HRC futures during the day, according to market participants....Read More
China's ferrous futures largely trended downward during morning trading on Thursday January 11 with the exception of the coking coal contract, which ended the session higher.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,844 ($58) per tonne, down 17 yuan per tonne May hot-rolled coil: 3,880 yuan per tonne, down 14 yuan per tonne Dalian Commodity Exchange May iron o...Read More