According to SMM, the cash spot prices for national standard silver ingots in Shanghai today were quoted at a discount of 4 yuan/kg to 1 yuan/kg, while the premiums and discounts for large-scale silver ingots were quoted at a range of a discount of 2 yuan/kg to parity.
Source – SMM
Copper, yet to be included in Donald Trump’s widening list of tariff-hit products, continues to rally on the assumption that it is just a matter of time, Saxo Bank said in a note, as it sees a sooner-than-expected tightening of the global market.
Copper futures (HG1:COM) are up 2.8% so far this week, and 6.3% for the month.
The copper market is still awaiting the result of an investigation carried out under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.
“As such an investigation normally takes months to be completed, it has left the door wide open for a massive profitable arbitrage between international prices and those in the U.S. being reflected through the High Grade futures contract in New York.”
Source – Seeking Alpha
China will import even more off-exchange refined copper this year, according to analysts and traders, as output from the Congo booms and users look to alleviate shortages and head off a potential disruption to supplies of U.S. scrap.
“The supply of refined copper, including scrap, concentrate, anode and blister, is still tight. We therefore expect higher imports of plentiful refined copper, including EQ copper to partly compensate for this tightness in other raw materials,” Jonathan Barnes, principal analyst at metals research company Project Blue said.
Source – Reuters
Goldman Sachs says U.S. net copper imports could rise by 50%-100% in the coming months due to higher U.S. prices before the Trump administration’s planned tariffs, which the bank believes will be imposed at 25% and lead to the surge in imports and a 200K-300K-ton increase in U.S. copper inventories by the end of Q3.
“We maintain our forecast that the LME month-month price will average $10,200/ton in 2024 Q3, and see the impact of inventory dislocation predominantly in timespreads,” the bank writes.
Source – Seeking Alpha
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said nothing would stop President Donald Trump’s expanded 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum until U.S. domestic production is strengthened, and that Trump will add copper to his trade protections.
“We can’t be in a war and rely on steel and aluminum from some other country. I mean, it’s just not reasonable,” Lutnick said. “So the president wants steel and aluminum in America, and let me be clear, nothing is going to stop that until we’ve got a big, strong domestic steel and aluminum capability. And by the way, he’s going to add copper to that mix too.”
Source – Reuters
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
Source – KITCO
Platinum demand outpaced supply by 995,000 ounces last year. That was 46 percent higher than forecast.
Meanwhile, platinum jewelry sales grew by 8 percent in 2024, and investment demand took off, rising by 77 percent.
The WPIC forecasts that jewelry demand will reach 2 million ounces this year, an increase of 2 percent year-on-year.
Source – Money Metals
A California man was sentenced to 6½ years in prison Tuesday for his role in ongoing “government impostor” gold-bar scams that are costing Americans millions every year.
“This is a national epidemic,” prosecutor Hannah Gleason said in a courtroom in Montgomery County, Maryland, which has been hit hard by the complex frauds. “These are highly organized criminal organizations.”
The case at hand cost a 64-year-old woman, living in Montgomery’s Leisure World community, $789,000. She had counted on the savings to fund the medical needs of herself and other family members and now fears she may lose her home, Gleason said.
“She worries about her financial security and financial health,” Gleason said. “This has caused great emotional distress and impact to her, and has led her to believe she can’t trust people.”
Source – The Washington Post
Please be careful out there everyone. People are getting scammed everyday and our older community are the targets…usually. It’s really unfortunate for this lady who knows how many others have had this happen to them too. Be safe! – V.
Gold eased on Wednesday as the dollar ticked up, while investors awaited U.S. inflation data to gauge the Federal Reserve’s rate cut path amid trade tensions and economic slowdown fears and market focussed on news of a potential Ukraine-Russia ceasefire.
Spot gold fell 0.2% to $2,908.93 an ounce as of 0720 GMT, while U.S. gold futures lost 0.2% to $2,908.93.
“Gold is operating in ‘consolidation mode’ ahead of the next batch of U.S. inflation data,” KCM Trade chief market analyst Tim Waterer said.
“I expect gold to remain a favoured asset whilst investors are concerned about tariff wars and growth slowdowns. So, the bias for gold remains to the upside due to ongoing tariff dramas,” Waterer said.
Spot silver shed 0.7% to $32.70 an ounce, platinum rose 0.7% to $981.29 and palladium slipped 0.8% to $938.00.
Source – Reuters