SHANGHAI, Apr 2 (SMM) – The copper spot market in Shanghai saw active transactions on Monday April 2 as discounts stood at 110-40 yuan/mt. This compared with a discount of 180-120 yuan/mt on Friday March 30. Downstream consumers started to restock for the Qingming Festival holiday this week while sellers held back, SMM learned.At noon, standard-quality copper traded at 50,050-50,19...Read More
SHANGHAI, Apr 2 (SMM) – China has issued nine batches of approvals for restricted solid scrap material imports this year, with approved copper scrap imports of 337,900 mt, sharply down 88% from the same number of batches in 2017, SMM learned.Taizhou Chiho was approved to import 111,000 mt of copper scrap in Batch One and Batch Nine, down 74% from the same batches of 2017. Zhejiang Judong was...Read More
SHANGHAI, Apr 2 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.Last weekendThe US dollar index edged down below 90 with limited upward momentum, while base metals rose across the board. SHFE nickel jumped over 2.5%, lead surged over 2%, tin rose 1.7%, while zinc, aluminium and copper were up some 1%.China’s official manufacturing purchasi...Read More
SHANGHAI, Apr 2 (SMM) –Copper: Supported by crude oil prices, SHFE copper rose and stood above the 10-day moving average with KDJ indicator expanding upwards. We expect the contract to trade at 50,200-50,700 yuan/mt today, with spot discounts at 150-100 yuan/mt.Aluminium: We expect LME aluminium to hover around the $2,000/mt level and trade at $1,995-2,020/mt with limited upward room given&n...Read More
Last week we noted that Gold's quarterly close would be a key marker for Gold's immediate breakout potential. Gold was seemingly on course for its highest quarterly close since 2012 until it reversed back below quarterly resistance at $1330/oz. Hence, an imminent break to the upside is unlikely and gold watchers will have to remain patient. It's not yet Gold's time. It will be soon enough.One cata...Read More
A union representing the majority of workers at Codelco's Radomiro Tomic mine in Chile has rejected a final offer for a new labor contract, forcing a period of government-facilitated mediation, the company said on Thursday.The union, part of state miner Codelco's Northern Division, has 744 members, the majority of the mine's workers.At the same time, Codelco said in a statement it had inked a wage...Read More
Investing.com - Gold struggled for direction on Thursday, as it struggled to rise from a dampened dollar.Comex gold futures for April delivery slumped 0.15% to a one-week low of $1,322.20 a troy ounce as of 11:40 AM ET (15:40 GMT).The price of the precious metal was lower earlier in the day as the dollar strengthened but sediment was dampened after a flurry of economic data. The U.S. dollar index,...Read More
(There will be no London-based FTSE report on Friday March 30 and Monday April 2 due to public holidays in the UK.)* FTSE 100 up 0.4 pct* FTSE set for worst quarter since 2011* Cyclicals lead gainsBy Kit ReesLONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - A recovery in cyclical stocks boosted the UK's top share index on Thursday, set for a mildly upbeat end to the FTSE 100's worst quarter in nearly seven years.The b...Read More
Investing.com - Gold prices were wallowing at one-week lows on Thursday, after sharp falls in the previous session on a rally in the dollar after data showing faster U.S. economic growth and hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough with North Korea.Gold futures for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange slid $1.3 or 0.1% to $1,323.30 a troy ounce by 04:27 AM ET (08:27...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 30 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures rose for the most part except for aluminium during the afternoon trading session on Friday March 30. SHFE tin was up over 2.6%, nickel was up above 2%, copper gained over 1%, lead grew nearly 1%, and zinc inched up some 0.6%.Ferrous metals rose across the board with coking coal up close to 6%. Rebar gained over 4%, hot-rolled coil and coke w...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 30 (SMM) – To improve air quality, the city of Handan plans will oversee staggered production during non-heating season from April 1-November 15, 2018. The city will intensify their efforts to regulate key companies, reduce pollutant emission from manufacturers, reinforce control on emission from heavy duty trucks and overhaul traffic control....Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 30 (SMM) – Operating rates at wire and cable companies rebounded in March from February, driven by higher rates at large plants, SMM found. Orders grew and downstream consumers purchased actively, prompted by the recent low copper prices. Resumption of orders across large producers of wire and cable also improved from last year, as output surged. Meanwhile, State Grid Corp...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 30 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar index stood above 90, buoyed by month-end capital flows.Most SHFE metals registered gains following China’s announcement of corporate tax cuts, with nickel and tin rising over 1%. SHFE copper inched up. LME nickel sharply jumped close to 3%, tin edged up...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 30 (SMM) –Copper: Copper prices rebounded as concerns of a trade war cooled. LME copper stood above the five-day moving average and tested the 10-day moving average, with its KDJ indicator extending upwards. SHFE copper performed similarly, and stablised at a low level with strong pressure. As the LME is closed today, we expect the SHFE 1805 contract to trad...Read More
There has been plenty said historically about human nature being resistant to change. That rhetoric has only increased in the mining sphere as executives, faced with an unprecedented volume of distinct challenges, attempt to reshape their businesses for the future. "Part of this is also the speed of change in our lives, that is, the speed of technology change," Proudfoot head of natural resou...Read More
The silver miners' stocks have really languished since mid-2016, relentlessly grinding sideways to lower. With gold out of favor, silver and its miners have largely been left for dead and forgotten. This sector is deeply mired in universal apathy and bearishness. But since silver stocks can skyrocket when silver decisively rallies again, it's important to keep an eye on silver miners' fundamen...Read More
Cobalt's rise to six-digit territory seems inexorable as the hype around electric vehicle demand for battery materials shows no signs of cooling.Despite a pullback this week, at $95,000 a tonne cobalt is up another 24% in 2018 as it builds on a more than fourfold increase in value from record lows early 2016. Batteries - mainly for cellphones - constitute 55% of cobalt demand at present, but is se...Read More
SANTIAGO, March 29 (Reuters) - Chile's state copper company Codelco said on Thursday it produced 1.734 million tonnes of copper in 2017, its second highest output ever, despite persistently low ore grades at its aging mines.The world's top copper miner posted a 2017 pre-tax profit of $2.885 billion, a six-fold increase over its earnings in 2016, even as production costs jumped 7.8 percent to $1.35...Read More
Miners operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo submitted Thursday a new proposal for the government related to the recently passed new mining code, which substantially increases the cost of doing business in the central African nation.The likes of Glencore, Randgold, Zijin, China Molybdenum and Ivanhoe, among others, are suggesting a sliding scale of royalty rates for key commodities instead...Read More