Copper inched higher on Tuesday as the euro steadied against the dollar ahead of a series of U.S. economic reports, while signals that Chinese consumers are buying provided a floor for prices.Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange traded at $8,880.50 a tonne in official rings, up from $8,840 at Monday’s close.The metal used in power and construction hit its lowest in more than five mo...Read More
By Andy HomeIndustrial users of the London Metal Exchange have greeted the launch of physical exchange traded funds for base metals with a mixture of fear and loathing.By removing metal from the supply chain during a period of expected market deficit, could they become a price driver in their own right? Or will they prove to be a damp squib, a purely temporary by-product of “loose” mon...Read More
As investment flows and increased risk appetite driven by U.S. quantitative easing and the emergence of ETFs have pushed copper prices higher than the fundamentals suggest in the near term, RBC Capital Markets is warning that a correction is possible in the near term. However, copper remains the firm’s preferred base metal and it raised its price forecasts to reflect an improving supply-dema...Read More
With all the noise and uncertainty floating around these days in the global economy, it’s no surprise everyone is looking for a unique way to profit from gold, the generally acknowledged safe haven in times of strife.John Redstone, analyst with Desjardins Securities, has come up with a list of six base metals companies that are also well-leveraged for a rising gold price. Interestingly enoug...Read More
Analysts and strategists at UBS share their views on commoditiesQ: What is your take on recent developments in base metals?A: We were concerned over the base metals in early April, because of the potential for a global synchronised slowdown over the summer and into Q4, and because of the potential for risk capital to exit positions. We now believe that the slowdown is priced in, and we anticipate...Read More
Lundin Mining said on Wednesday that it expects to be able to update shareholders by the end of this month on discussions to sell all or part of the company, but cautioned that a deal is not a certainty.“I think we should be in a position to give a pretty good update come the end of this month and give some indication in terms of which direction we’re heading and whether a transaction...Read More
Copper fell to within a few cents of its year-to-date lows early Monday morning, hit by cooling demand concerns in China following data that showed the country’s vast manufacturing sector slow down in April.But prices managed to recover from their losses at the New York open, supported by a firmer tone on Wall Street following the confirmation that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been ki...Read More