CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's central bank in April paid $172 million to U.S. bank Citigroup (C.N) to recover part of the gold it had put up as guarantee in a swap operation, according to two sources familiar with the situation.Sanctions levied by U.S. President Donald Trump last year bar U.S. banks from carrying out financing operations with Venezuela, meaning such swaps cannot be renewed."...Read More
(Kitco News) - Major Canadian asset managers are turning to gold at an unprecedented pace as an essential portfolio diversifier and hedge against growing market risk and volatility, according to an executive at State Street Global Advisors.In a recent presentation in Montreal, Bobby Eng, head of SPRD ETF business development Canada said that his firm has seen Canadian investment demand grow by app...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are modestly lower in early-afternoon U.S. trading Monday. Early gains in the safe-haven metal were lost when the U.S. dollar index rebounded from solid losses overnight and was trading just slightly lower at midday today. August Comex gold futures were last down $2.00 an ounce at $1,297.30. July Comex silver was last down $0.001 at $16.44 an ounce. A solid rally in the...Read More
(Kitco News) - The growing threat of a trade war is not great news for commodity markets as it could reduce global demand as economic growth prospects falter. Image courtesty of Panoro Minerals However, one junior mining explorer thinks copper is in a position to withstand the protectionists’ assault on global markets and global growth as the base-metals market faces a significant imbala...Read More
(Kitco News) - Large speculators increased their net bullish positioning in gold futures and moved into a small net-long position for silver during the most recent reporting week for data compiled by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.During the week-long period to May 29 covered by the report, Comex August gold rose $6.70 to $1,304.10 an ounce, while July silver lost 20.2 cents to $16.373.N...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
Several factors could limit gold’s upside potential for now, says Commerzbank. On the news front, last week ended with a stronger-than-forecast U.S. jobs report for May, with unemployment continuing to fall but wages rising more than expected, pointing to inflation risks, the bank says. “The U.S. Fed is likely to see this as confirmation that its cycle of rate hikes is appropriate,&rdq...Read More
For years, there has been an argument about technical analysis -- whether or not it works for gold and silver. Many believe that the metals are manipulated, and technical analysis does not work on gold and silver. The facts are simple. Technical analysis always works, giving traders and investors a leg up on those who try to play the news and fundamentals. They may not always be right, but they al...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jun 4 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.Last weekendThe US dollar index closed at 94.179 last Friday, slightly down over the week. The index registered a six-month high of around 95.02 in the middle of last week and then lost the gains. The strong performance of US nonfarm payrolls further fuelled the anticipation of...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jun 4 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.Last weekendThe US dollar index closed at 94.179 last Friday, slightly down over the week. The index registered a six-month high of around 95.02 in the middle of last week and then lost the gains. The strong performance of US nonfarm payrolls further fuelled the anticipation of...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jun 4 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.Last weekendThe US dollar index closed at 94.179 last Friday, slightly down over the week. The index registered a six-month high of around 95.02 in the middle of last week and then lost the gains. The strong performance of US nonfarm payrolls further fuelled the anticipation of...Read More
Steel billet prices in most markets were stable or continued to slide in the week from Monday May 28 to Friday June 1, due to thin trading activity, falling scrap prices, and uncertainty about the United States renewing its sanctions on Iran.China was the exception, with domestic billet prices improving because of lower supply.AsiaSoutheast Asia's billet imports were again affected by soft demand,...Read More
Steel billet prices in most markets were stable or continued to slide in the week from Monday May 28 to Friday June 1, due to thin trading activity, falling scrap prices, and uncertainty about the United States renewing its sanctions on Iran.China was the exception, with domestic billet prices improving because of lower supply.AsiaSoutheast Asia's billet imports were again affected by soft demand,...Read More
The aluminium industry associations of the United States, the European Union, Canada and Japan have called for the creation of a Global Multilateral and Governmental Forum on Aluminium Overcapacity to drive development of an international plan to shrink world production.The Aluminum Association (US), European Aluminium, the Aluminium Association of Canada, and the Japan Aluminium Association have...Read More
The Qu?(C)bec government said it will push the United States government to exempt its aluminium industry from the Section 232 duties that the Trump administration announced last Thursday would be levied on imports of metal from Canada. Qu?(C)bec smelters make the vast majority of aluminium exported from Canada, and much of it destined for the US."Qu?(C)bec will look to obtain an exemption for the...Read More
Canada's minister of international trade told world aluminium sector leaders on Monday June 4 that he deplored the United States' imposition of duties against imports of Canadian metal, branding it "deeply troubling and unacceptable." Arguing that the action would "do nothing to address the problem of global overcapacity," Fran??ois-Philippe Champagne said that US President Donald Trump's Section...Read More
Leading Chinese stainless steel mills last week issued higher ferro-chrome tender prices for June, which lent support to the prices for UG2 chrome ore and ferro-chrome. Price for ferro-chrome into China moves up UG2 chrome ore into China nudges higher High-carbon ferro-chrome in Europe unchanged Low-carbon ferro-chrome ticks up on top end Ferro-chrome prices in Japan and South Korea rise.Metal Bul...Read More
Umicore will build its first cathode materials production plant in Poland, and hopes to start supplying automotive-sector customers in Europe by 2020. Belgium's Umicore has chosen the city of Nysa in Poland as the location where it will build its first production plant to manufacture cathode materials for the European automotive market. Given the intention to start deliveries in 2020, the three pr...Read More
Metal-concentrates exchange Open Mineral is in talks with multiple investors to sell over a tenth of the company in a bid to diversify its book of investors, chief executive officer Boris Eykher told Metal Bulletin in a recent interview. Founded by a group of ex-Glencore traders last year, the digital platform aims to line up concentrates buyers and sellers online to cut out dominant trading house...Read More
Metal concentrates trading platform Open Mineral has diversified its businesses to make a foray into trading secondary product and providing logistics solutions, chief executive officer Boris Eykher said in a recent interview with Metal Bulletin. "We talk to multiple smelters from around the world and they want to sell their byproducts. However, the only clients that they know are one to two parti...Read More