China's domestic spot battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices fell further on Thursday June 28 on a negative short-term outlook due to sporadic buying and while carbonate prices were unchanged this week, they were still under pressure with downstream buyers starting to receive lower offers. Lithium hydroxide prices continue to fall on negative sentiment.  Lithium carbonate prices still under d...Read More

* Spot gold on track for third weekly fall * Gold down more than 5 pct this quarter * Platinum headed for 8 pct quarterly decline (New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments,adds second byline, NEW YORKdateline)By Renita D. Young and Eric OnstadNEW YORK/LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose onFriday from six-month lows as a weaker U.S. dollar promptedbargain hunting, but b...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

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More

SEMAFO Inc.(TSX, OMX: SMF) has completed the first gold pour at the Boungou Mine inBurkina Faso, the company repots. The first pour yielded approximately 325ounces of gold. Dry and wet commissioning of the Boungou processing plant werecompleted, as was construction. “The first gold pour at Boungou marks animportant milestone in SEMAFO’s growth trajectory as it signals the beginningof a...Read More

Zinc concentrate treatment charges (TC) rose to their highest level so far this year at the end of June on a cif Asia Pacific basis, while the head of the Chinese zinc association has called for a 10% cut in national production to support zinc prices and TCs. Metal Bulletin assessed zinc concentrate TCs cif Asia Pacific at $20-$40 per tonne on Friday June 29. That compares with $20-$35 per to...Read More

Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) rose sharply in late June, with production disruptions at several Asian smelters give Chinese plants greater buying power.The Metal Bulletin TC/RC index firmed to $79.8 per tonne/7.98 cents per lb from $77/7.7 cents. Terms have risen over 11% in a month from $71.60/7.16 cents at the end of May. "Every time you turn around it's $2.50/0.25 c...Read More

DUBLIN (Reuters) - While German politics may dominate the headlines again in the coming week, the less attention grabbing release of industrial data could offer a better indication of the headwinds facing the European Union and its largest economy.With fears of a trade war rattling markets as U.S. President Donald Trump’ “America First” policies become more of a reality and his p...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro jumped on Friday after European Union leaders reached an agreement on migration that eased pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but traders said the gains may be short-lived because of deep divisions within the EU.A tense summit that dragged on into early Friday morning yielded vague pledges from EU leaders to strengthen external borders and explore new migrant...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More

CloseGain/LossOn WeekGold $1252.50+$4.30-1.39%Silver$16.09+$0.09-2.25%XAU81.59+2.21%-0.50%HUI174.52+2.35%-1.36%GDM620.96+1.91%+0.35%JSE Gold1059.76+35.81-0.64%USD94.57-0.75+0.02%Euro116.79+1.13+0.14%Yen90.37-0.12-0.83%Oil$74.15+$0.70+8.12%10-Year2.855%+0.015-1.38%Bond144.90625-0.0625+0.63%Dow24271.41+0.23%-1.26%Nasdaq7510.30+0.09%-2.37%S&P2718.37+0.08%-1.33% The Metals: Gold edged up to $1...Read More

Gold COT Report - FuturesLarge SpeculatorsCommercialTotalLongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort195,118118,44651,434171,601266,564418,153436,444Change from Prior Reporting Period -7,79712,043-5,44810,126-9,035-3,119-2,440Traders18390885050274192 Small Speculators (C) GoldSeek.com LongShortOpen Interest 50,42032,129468,573 3,3472,668228 non reportable positionsChange from...Read More

This quarter was a trader's paradise. Volatility was good in currencies, metals as well as energies. Stock market bears and bulls had a nice tug-o-war. I do not see a repeat in the third quarter. Volatility will be less. Change will be there but it will be smooth and orchestrated by central banks and their aided financial institutions. My only message is invest in instruments which have strong m...Read More

Adam HamiltonArchivesJun 29, 2018 The lofty US stock markets remain riddled with euphoria and complacency, fueled by an exceptional bull. Investors believe downside risks are trivial, despite long years of epic central-bank easing catapulting valuations to dangerous bull-slaying extremes. This has left today's markets hyper-risky, with a massive bear looming as the Fed and ECB increasingly slow an...Read More

(Kitco News)- Goldprices remain relatively unchanged on the day as inflation pressures rise tothe Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target last month.Friday,The U.S. Department of Commerce said that Personal Consumption ExpendituresIndex, 0.2% in May, in line with expectations. For the year, the data showedthat inflation increased by 2.3%, up from April’s reading of 2.0%.Coreinflation, wh...Read More

(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday announced charges against 601 people including doctors for taking part in healthcare frauds that resulted in over $2 billion in losses and contributed to the nation’s opioid epidemic in some cases.The arrests came in dozens of unrelated prosecutions the Justice Department announced together as part of an annual healthcare fraud takedown.The...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

Turkish steel mills skipped Friday June 29, with no deep-sea scrap bookings leaving prices unchanged at the end of the week.Most mills have finished their bookings for July deliveries and are expected to resume scrap buying for August soon, sources said."Turkish mills ended their July bookings and probably...Read More

The Friday Market Minute Global stocks steady as China rebounds on investment restriction ease, central bank signals for liquidity support.China stocks, however, are on pace for worst month in 2.5 years as yuan plunges 3.4% against the dollar over the month of June.Euro posts healthy gains against the U.S. dollar after EU leaders reach framework agreement on migrant crisis, easing domestic...Read More

SHENZHEN, China/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese telecoms giant ZTE Corp announced a new board on Friday in a radical management shakeup as part of a $1.4 billion deal with the United States, moving it closer toward getting a devastating American supplier ban lifted.The United States slapped the crippling seven-year supplier ban on ZTE, China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker, in April...Read More