SHANGHAI, Feb 6 (SMM) – SHFE aluminium led the loss in base metals today with an over 1% drop, while nickel was down 0.75% and lead was 0.66% lower. Copper slid 0.51%.The ferrous complex showed much stronger performance today as coke and coking coal rose 2%. Iron ore also edged up slightly but hot-rolled coil and rebar dipped.Copper: SHFE copper was weaker due to an overall bearish sentiment...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 6 (SMM) – SMM assessed imported copper concentrate treatment charges (TCs) at $74-86/mt as of Friday February 2, unchanged from a week ago as the holiday mood kicked in.Trading liquidity was thin and enquiries were few and far between, sources told SMM. We expect the copper concentrate spot market to be quiet until early March.In the domestic market, the pricing coefficient of...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 6 (SMM) –Copper: We see firm support for SHFE copper at the 53,000 yuan/mt level with both sides of the market at a standoff. In the spot market, sellers were unwilling to let go their cargoes at big discounts as the price spread between the SHFE 1802 and 1803 contracts continued to expand. We expect spot copper to trade at a discount of 40 yuan/mt to a premium of 20 yuan/mt to...Read More
Taseko Mines (TSX:TKO) is not giving up on its plan to build a large copper-gold mine in north-central British Columbia, despite two earlier rejections by the Government of Canada.The Vancouver-based company last week appeared in Federal Court asking for a judicial review of the federal government's decision to reject, on environmental concerns, the New Prosperity Mine project located 125 kilomet...Read More
A recently excavated Buddhist stupa, or shrine, at Mes Aynak, 35 km south of Kabul. 2011 photo by Jerome Starkey, from Wikimedia Commons.Two Chinese state-owned mining companies plan to destroy an ancient Buddhist city in Afghanistan in order to get the copper underneath it, according to a new documentary. According to the film "Saving Mes Aynak," Metallurgical Group Corp. (MCC) and Jiangxi Copper...Read More
Investing.com - Gold ended slightly higher on Friday, after the latest U.S. jobs report showing weak wage growth last month dampened expectations for a faster rate of interest rate hikes this year.Gold for April delivery settled up 0.2% at $1,221.85 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.The Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 227,000 jobs in January from the prior mont...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 5 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures saw mixed trading today with rising SHFE tin and zinc. Nickel dropped close to 2% while lead was down 0.79%. Aluminium and copper also edged down.Ferrous futures prices, however, rose across the board with coke almost 5% higher. Coking coal was up over 4% and iron ore was up 2.5%. Both rebar and hot-rolled coil registered small gains.Copper:...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 5 (SMM) – Copper scrap spot prices fell 100 yuan/mt on Monday February 5 as demand remained sluggish ahead of Chinese New Year.The 1# bare bright copper in Guangdong province traded at 46,400-46,700 yuan/mt, down from 46,500-46,800 yuan/mt last Wednesday, SMM learned. Some sellers had to let go of their cargoes at lower prices due to cashflow requirements before Chinese New Yea...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 5 (SMM) –Copper: Better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls in the US boosted the dollar but we expect the greenback to be weaker in the longer term, which is bullish for copper prices. While weaker physical consumption in the near term could drag down copper prices, a major Chinese fund has long positions further down the curve. We see SHFE copper firmly supported at the 52,500-53,...Read More
Toronto-based mineral company Cordoba Minerals Corp., which trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol "CDBMF," topped the ranking with a total return of 266% for the year. Other Canadian mining companies that made the ranking this year include: Endeavour Mining Corp. (OTCQX: EDVMF), Fotescue Metals Group Ltd. (OTCQX: FSUGY) and Continental Gold Inc. (OTCQX: CGOOF).The OTCQX Best 50 is an annual...Read More
Negotiations between BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) and unionized Chilean workers at its Escondida mine, the world's biggest copper operation, are set to resume as soon as Monday, as the company has requested government mediation to avoid a looming strike.About 2,500 workers at the mine this week rejected the last company wage offer and opted instead to down their tools. However, a union representative t...Read More
Shares in Freeport McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX), the world's largest listed copper miner, were suffering Friday from reports that the company may cut its operations in Indonesia as the government hasn't granted it a promised temporary permit that would allow it to resume exports of concentrate from its Grasberg mine.The stock was down 2.8% to $16.34 in New York at 10:36AM local time, though year-to-date...Read More
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may soon change its "conflict minerals" rule, which requires companies to trace and report whether their products contain minerals from a war-torn part of Africa.The regulation, issued in 2012 under the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law, has mainly targeted the Democratic Republic of Congo, where several armed groups are said to still have mineral-ri...Read More
* Dollar up slightly, poised for fourth week of losses* U.S. payrolls ahead of estimates, hourly earnings fall* No "Trump fatigue" in investment flows: BAML* China unexpectedly tightens policy* Broadly healthier corporate earnings help stocksBy Vikram SubhedarLONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The dollar headed for its fourth straight weekly loss as stocks rose after better-than-expected U.S. payrolls data...Read More
* Dollar up slightly, poised for 4th week of losses* U.S. payrolls eyed for clues on Fed's next move on rates* No "Trump fatigue" in investment flows: BAML* China unexpectedly tightens policy* Broadly healthier corporate earnings help stocksBy Vikram SubhedarLONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The dollar recovered from 12-week lows but was poised for a fourth straight weekly loss in cautious trading on Frid...Read More
By Vikram SubhedarLONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The dollar recovered from 12-week lows but was poised for a fourth straight weekly loss in cautious trading on Friday ahead of U.S. payrolls data while a set of healthy corporate results underpinned gains across European equity markets.Earlier in the day, an unexpected tightening of policy by China's central bank put Asian markets, already on the back fo...Read More
Investing.com - Gold prices moved lower on Friday, as the U.S. dollar recovered from the previous session's shar losses, but the precious metal remained within close distance of a two-and-a-half month peak amid ongoing U.S. political uncertainty and ahead of a key U.S. jobs report.On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery were down 0.30% at $1,215.7...Read More
* Dollar rebounds after hitting mid-November low* U.S. stocks little changed after Trump trade comments* BOE keeps rates unchanged; sterling drops* European shares drop as Deutsche Bank disappoints (Updates to U.S. market close, adds quotes, data)By Dion RabouinNEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The dollar rebounded from its weakest level against six major rivals since mid-November on Thursday, while w...Read More