BEIJING (Reuters) - The launch of China’s yuan-denominated oil futures will mark the culmination of a decade-long push by the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) aimed at giving the world’s largest energy consumer more power in pricing crude sold to Asia.WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS AMONG FOREIGN INVESTORS?* Worries include how to freely exchange the yuan because of a Chinese clampdown on capita...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange plummeted at the close on Thursday March 22, while the dollar index staged a recovery.Nickel prices were the worst affected closing 2.7% lower and trading at a low of $13,060 per tonne - its lowest since February 12. The metal is under pressure from poor underlying demand from Chinese stainless steel mills. "Stainless steel prices in China have strug...Read More

With his stock in freefall, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. chief executive Philip Pascall hopped on a hastily arranged conference call Wednesday morning to soothe investors about a surprise US$7.9 billion tax bill that Zambian authorities sent this week.Pascall rejected the US$7.9 billion figure - more than two-thirds of the company's US$9.5 billion market capitalization. Still, Vancouver-based First...Read More

Volatility is the key risk to lead and zinc prices for the next few years and traders should begin to hedge their risk, Oliver Nugent, commodity strategist at ING Bank, said on a panel at Metal Bulletin's Lead & Zinc conference in London on Thursday March 22. "Volatility is on the horizon and so much can happen - the lead and zinc prices are especially prone to this," he told delegates at the two-...Read More

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. is hoping to talk its way out of a US$7.9 billion tax assessment in Zambia. Investors aren’t so sure, with shares down 17 per cent in the two days since news of the claim emerged.The Vancouver-based miner “completely refutes” the claim and doesn’t understand the authorities’ assessment, chief executive Philip Pascall said on a conference ca...Read More

Rising zinc stocks on the London Metal Exchange could be an effect of "sluggish" conditions in China, Nicholas Snowdon, a metals analyst at Deutsche Bank, said at Metal Bulletin's Lead & Zinc conference in London on Thursday March 22. The largest zinc delivery in nearly five years hit the LME on March 5, with 78,950 tonnes delivered into New Orleans warehouses in one go. "If you look at the state...Read More

Gold and silver prices benefited, as did securities tracking the precious metals, as the U.S. dollar depreciated after the Fed monetary policy release and discussion.The U.S. dollar fell and precious metals rose because of a letdown against a worst case scenario expectation for an upward adjustment to the Fed's rate forecasts for 2018.Moving forward, the dollar could decline further, and metals...Read More

Gold's firmness in the face of equity market weakness is impressive.It shined through on Wednesday after the Fed hiked interest rates.Supporting factors for gold are also favorable, immediate-term.The firmness we've observed in the gold market in recent commentaries conspicuously shone through on Wednesday. Gold experienced an impressive rally on a day when Treasury yields rose and equities sh...Read More

The Fed dovish hike is weighing on the USD. Trump should announce tariffs on China this Thursday. Gold is trading at around the 1330 mark, virtually unchanged so far on the day. On Wednesday the Fed failed to surprise the market. As a matter of fact, the market was surprised to see only two more rate hikes in 2018 as opposed to three. The market reaction was one-sided across the board: sell USD....Read More

Lee AdlerWhen stocks tanked on Monday, the gold mining companies fell with the broad market early.Then, something unusual happened: Around midday, when the sell-off accelerated, the gold stocks suddenly held their ground and, even better, quickly reversed into one heckuva spirited rally.The rally came from a critical support area near the 170 level on the NYSE Arca Gold BUGS Index (NYSE: HUI) of g...Read More

   •  The latest FOMC policy updates helped rebound sharply from 3-week tops.   •  Follow-through USD selling/weaker US bond yields should limit any downside. Gold quickly reversed an intraday dip to $1327 area and moved within striking distance of 2-week tops, set in the previous session. The precious metal rebounded sharply from three-week lows on Wednesda...Read More

Indians hold a relatively low percentage of their total wealth in financial assets but that trend might be changing, according to a Credit Suisse survey. The investment bank released its latest version of the Emerging Consumer Survey that interviewed more than 14,000 respondents in eight emerging economies including India, China and Indonesia. By comparison, the Chinese hold 40 percent or more of...Read More

Just a month after selling its South Wawa gold property, Toronto-based Argo Gold (CSE: ARQ) announced that it is selling its Rockstar Gold Property to Manitou Gold (TSXV: MTU).Rockstar is located in Ontario's Sault Ste. Marie Mining Division, 50 kilometres north-northeast of Wawa, and contains six known gold bearing occurrences. The most significant prospects are the Rockstar Prospect and the Trac...Read More

Investing.com - Gold prices were trading near their highest levels in two weeks in European mid-morning trade on Thursday, boosted by a softer dollar after a less hawkish than expected Federal Reserve and growing concerns over trade tariffs.Gold futures for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were up $9.7 or 0.73% to $1,331.2 a troy ounce by 05:28 AM ET (09:28...Read More

Rising zinc stocks on the London Metal Exchange could be an effect of "sluggish" conditions in China, Nicholas Snowdon, a metals analyst at Deutsche Bank, said at Metal Bulletin's Lead & Zinc conference in London on Thursday March 22. The largest zinc delivery in nearly five years hit the LME on March 5, with 78,950 tonnes delivered into New Orleans warehouses in one go. "If you look at the state...Read More

Asian zinc alloy users from different sectors are quickening their pace to test new alternative raw materials following the price hike last year, major zinc alloy distributor Lee Kee Group told Metal Bulletin in an interview."We talk very often with downstream zinc users. For substitution, the zinc price is only one of the concerns. Yet the high price gap between zinc and aluminium has definitely...Read More

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Friday March 23.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange plummeted at the close on Thursday March 22, while the dollar index staged a recovery. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how LME prices looked at Thursday's close:The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has said that the European Union, Argentin...Read More

Gold futures on Wednesday settled at their highest levels in a week, then gained more ground as the dollar weakened further in the wake of the Federal Reserve's decision to raise a key short-term interest rate. The central bank stuck to its December forecast for three rate increases this year, but pushed up their expected rate path in 2019 and 2020. Investors eyed Fed Chairman's Jerome Powell's pr...Read More

The Chinese zinc market was in surplus by well over 300,000 tonnes last year and experienced significant demand substitution, Claire Hassall of consultancy CHR Metals said at the Metal Bulletin Zinc and its Markets Seminar. Higher prices and developments in technology have meant that aluminium substitution has eaten into Chinese zinc demand, which also took a hit from the government-led environmen...Read More

Comex copper prices failed to maintain Wednesday's gains in US morning trading on Thursday March 22 with the dollar recovering after falling under pressure from the US Federal Reserve meeting. Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.30 cents or 0.8% to $3.0365 per lb. The red metal saw relief yesterday after the United States central bank indicate...Read More