The United States Mint plans to open sales at noon Eastern Time April 22 for its 10-coin 2025 Silver Proof Set, priced at $150 per set.
The coins, all struck at the San Francisco Mint, are secured within two plastic lenses.
Source – Coin World
A flurry of legislative activity in both chambers of Congress in February includes more than a half dozen bills, one of which seeks an extension of production of Presidential dollars and First Spouse gold coins.
S. 633, introduced Feb. 19 by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, seeks to extend the Presidential dollar and First Spouse gold coin series to include deceased presidents and their spouses not yet honored.
Jimmy Carter Presidential dollars would be authorized to be struck with a circulation finish in bags and rolls offered for sale from the Denver and Philadelphia Mints, and Uncirculated finish versions from both production facilities and Proof coins from the San Francisco Mint.
For the First Spouse gold coins, Proof and Uncirculated versions would be produced as numismatic products at the West Point Mint bearing the facility’s W Mint mark.
Source – Coin World
China, the biggest steel maker, is not a top direct exporter of steel to the U.S. but Trump said that China’s exports had forced others to ship more to the U.S., while rising imports “support a conclusion” of transshipment or processing of steel products via third party countries into the U.S.
“Today is a great day for the U.S. aluminum industry,” said Mark Duffy, president of the APAA.
“Unfair trade practices have devastated the domestic aluminum industry and President Trump’s actions today will protect thousands of American workers and their families.”
Source – Reuters
Indonesia’s government may allow Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) to export ~1M tons of copper concentrate, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said Friday.
Freeport Indonesia (FCX) has been seeking permission to export copper concentrate after it was forced to stop copper cathode production at its new smelter in Gresik after a fire broke out at its gas cleaning unit in October.
Source – Seeking Alpha
“The uncertainty surrounding Trump’s first measures as U.S. president fuelled demand for gold as a safe haven. This can be seen, among other things, in the strong inflow of more than 10 tons into the world’s largest and most liquid gold ETF on Friday,” Commerzbank Research said.
“The uncertainty as to whether tariffs will be introduced on gold and silver has already left visible traces on the Comex in recent weeks. In addition, the price premium for gold on the Comex has widened significantly compared to the spot price in London.”
Source – Seeking Alpha
It appears that the Federal Reserve is on hold when it comes to moving interest rates until midyear, said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. But “most of the other major central banks remain in easing mode, providing an additional tailwind for gold.” Ongoing trade and geopolitical uncertainty suggest upside potential to the psychologically important $3,000 level, he said.
Source – Market Watch
U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariff on copper imports has generated a mass relocation of physical metal, swamping the U.S. market and draining the rest of the world.
The physical response has been so powerful that it has caused the futures arbitrage between the CME contract and the London Metal Exchange (LME) price to collapse.
CME copper inventory has risen by 81% since the start of the year and is now at an eight-year high of 168,563 short tons (152,919 metric tons).
LME copper inventory has slumped to a one-year low of 179,375 tons, with 40% of what remains awaiting physical load-out.
China’s imports of refined copper fell 5% on a year-over-year basis and 20% on a quarter-over-quarter basis in the January-March period as metal was diverted to the U.S.
Source – Reuters
