Getty ImagesSales at U.S. retailers fell in February for the third month in a row, but the declines were small and unlikely a sign of trouble for the broader economy. The numbers: Sales at U.S. retailers fell in February for the third month in a row - the first time that's happened since 2012 - but the declines were small and unlikely a sign of trouble for the broader economy. The monthly decline...Read More

(Kitco News)- Gold continues to wobble around in a tight range, with supportaround the $1,322 level and resistance overhead at $1,328. The tariff scare hasbeen watered down considerably with the Trump administration grantingexemptions to a number of countries. Traders are eyeing any response from China, where President Trump continues to focus on thelarge trade deficit between the U.S. and the wor...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close on Thursday March 15, apart from zinc and lead.A stronger dollar and a hesitant market saw copper and nickel both fall significantly, with the three-month copper price closing $68.50 per tonne lower. The red metal is finding it hard to push back and stabilize above $7,000 per tonne and has undone all of Wednesday's gain...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against 16 big banks by retail foreign currency investors who claimed they were indirectly harmed by a conspiracy to rig prices.U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan said the investors failed to show they had legal standing to pursue antitrust claims, or that the banks’ alleged conspiracy in the $5.1-trillion-a-day...Read More

Pakistan is ready to strengthen its relationship with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the country's prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, told IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano this week. Amano commended Pakistan's efforts to increase nuclear safety and security. Prime Minister Abbasi, on the right, receives Yukiya Amano on 12 March (Image: PMO)According to the Prime Minister's Off...Read More

Major international mining companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have resigned from the country's Chamber of Commerce ahead of a month of talks with the government to resolve their dispute over the new mining code. A legal and technical team representing Randgold Resources, AngloGold Ashanti, Glencore PLC, Ivanhoe Mines, Gold Mountain International/Zijin Mining Group, MMG (...Read More

First Light Fusion (FLF) is investing GBP3.6 million (USD5.0 million) building what it says will be the only pulsed power machine of its scale in the world dedicated to researching fusion energy. The Oxford, England-based company said on 12 March it expects to commission the device - Machine 3 - by the end of this year.A rendering of Machine 3 (Image: First Light Fusion)FLF aims to achieve 'gain'...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the most influential U.S. business lobbying group warned the Trump administration on Thursday that unilateral tariffs on Chinese goods could lead to a destructive trade war that will hurt American consumers and U.S. economic growth.U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue said in a statement that such tariffs, associated with a probe of China’s int...Read More

Comex copper prices reversed lower on the morning of Thursday March 15 in the United States amid general hesitancy from traders and a stronger dollar.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped by 4.55 cents or 1.4% to $3.113 per lb. Yesterday, the contract reached a two-week high at $3.192 per lb."The limited rebound indicates that traders remain ske...Read More

SummaryBetween 2007 and 2016, Ontario was mired in a prolonged period of economic weakness during which it lost ground compared to the rest of the country on many important economic indicators.This bulletin examines the extent of Ontario's economic weakness during this decade by examining a range of economic metrics.Ontario underperformed the rest of the country in each of the metrics examined in...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

(Note: with apologies to Carl Reiner and Steve Martin, who directed and co-wrote "The Jerk," respectively)Just when you thought Trump's "leadership" could not get any more insane, he adds a third ring to the circus going on at 1600 Pennsylvania by hiring "economist," Larry Kudlow to be the head of his economic advisors.For those of you not familiar with financial market history beyond the last 10...Read More

Norwegian ferro-silicon producer Finnfjord Smelteverk will cut about 5,000 tonnes of production between April and June of this year because of planned maintenance to its furnaces, according to an industry source.The company, which has its plant in the north of the country, operates three furnaces, one with capacity for 20,000 tonnes per year and two with capacities for 40,000 tpy."Maintenance shou...Read More

March 15 (Reuters) - Mines run by Glencore, Randgold Resources and three other international companies have quit the Democratic Republic of Congo’s chamber of commerce, saying the industry body does not adequately represent their interests after the introduction of a new mining law.The miners said in a joint statement that a team representing the companies had arrived in Kinshasa and would b...Read More

A junior precious metals miner and iron ore producers were among those to gain on global equities markets.Staff reporterJunior miner, iron ore producers gain15 MARCH 201815/03/2018commentsshareJunior North American miner Klondex Mines (CN:KDX) was the big mover on the S&P/TSX Composite Index's gold sector, up 6.49%, as it promised to learn from its 2017 challenges and move forward.President an...Read More

Dustin Volz, Timothy GardnerWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Thursday blamed the Russian government for a campaign of cyber attacks stretching back at least two years that targeted the U.S. power grid including nuclear facilities.The condemnation is the first time the United States has publicly accused Russia of attempting to hack into the American energy infrastructure, which U....Read More

Spot prices for European molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum have eased in Metal Bulletin's midweek assessment, with dealers booking profits after a market rally for much of the year to date.Market participants expect the move to persist in the near term, with lower spot prices already being offered and expected to be booked soon, they said.Oxide prices have dropped on around 140 tonnes of reporte...Read More

Quadron Cannatech Corporation (CSE:QCC) was recommended as one of the top four marijuna stocks to anticipate by PotNetwork. Companies, with a focus on cannabis oils and extracts, are expected to have higher returns for shareholders.See below for an excerpt.Not content with merely owning the extraction space, Quadron hopes to disrupt the industry with their high flow CO2 system called The Boss....Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve bought $3.195 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities in the week from Mar. 8 to Mar. 14, compared with $3.374 billion purchased the previous week, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said on Thursday.In a move to help the housing market begun in October 2011, the U.S. central bank has been using funds from principal payments on the agency debt and agenc...Read More

Spot prices for European molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum have eased in Metal Bulletin's midweek assessment, with dealers booking profits after a market rally for much of the year to date.Market participants expect the move to persist in the near term, with lower spot prices already being offered and expected to be booked soon, they said.Oxide prices have dropped on around 140 tonnes of reporte...Read More