Although the high gold-silver ratio might suggest that silver has been a laggard, that is far from the case. Silver has rallied 43% in the past year, and gold has been just a bit better with a 44% gain. This year, using popular exchange traded funds as a gauge, iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is up 10% and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) is up 11%.
Source – Barron’s
China urged the United States on Thursday to halt an investigation into potential new tariffs on copper imports to rebuild U.S. production of the critical metal, vowing to retaliate if Chinese entities got caught up in the levies.
“We urge the U.S. side to withdraw its investigation as soon as possible,” He said.
“If the U.S. insists on imposing tariffs and other restrictive measures, China will resolutely take the required steps to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” He said, without giving any further details.
Source – Reuters
Spot gold was down 1.2% at $2,882.49 an ounce as of 09:42 a.m. ET (1442 GMT), after hitting its lowest level since February 12 earlier in the session. Prices hit a record high of $2,956.15 on Monday, driven by safe-haven flows.
“The direction of gold is very evident, and these short-term bumps and some profit taking is just a normal part of the cycle,” said Alex Ebkarian, chief operating officer at Allegiance Gold.
Spot silver retreated 0.5% to $31.67 an ounce, platinum fell 0.9% to $957.10 and palladium dropped 0.9% to $917.96.
Source – Reuters
“Copper is like the second most important thing the Defense Department uses in order to make its weapons systems. And we’re in a situation now where worldwide there’s a glut of copper,” Navarro told Schmitt. “There’s a dumping of copper into our markets. And we’ve lost our ability to both smelt copper, which is taking the ore and getting the raw copper and refine it into the products we need. And it’s a serious thing.”
Source – Independent Journal Review
“American industries depend on copper, and it should be made in America, no exemptions, no exceptions,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. “It’s time for copper to come home.”
But while the tariffs could be positive for the domestic metals sector, implemented copper tariffs could amplify costs across several segments of the economy. Copper has a broad range of uses, and its cost is an input in the price of everything from electronics to construction materials.
Trump’s tariff probe sparked a surge in copper futures, which rose 1.76% Wednesday morning.
Source – Markets Insider
Proposed designs for the obverses of the Proof 2027 and 2028 American Eagle platinum $100 coins — for the second and third years in the three-coin Charters of Freedom series — were recommended Feb. 18 by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
Source – Coin World
Spot gold fell 0.7% to $2,894.55 an ounce as of 09:44 a.m. ET (1444 GMT). Bullion, a preferred hedge against uncertainty and inflation, hit a record high of $2,956.15 on Monday amid trade war concerns emerging from tariff threats.
“Bullish trend is still in place… We are not surprised by a period of consolidation ahead of some piece of important data,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
Spot silver was down 0.5% to $31.57, platinum eased 0.4% to $963 and palladium dropped 0.4% to $924.01.
Source – Reuters
Zinc, the biggest loser in the LME complex, is currently trading 4.8% lower than at the start of the year.
Meanwhile, tin prices have increased by 13.5% in the first few weeks of the year, making it the biggest winner.
Copper refining grew as expected at 4.2%, but mine production surprised at 2.3%, 0.5% higher than the ICSG September forecast.
The supply of refined copper is under threat due to mine production, which has put downward pressure on processing fees in copper smelters, according to Commerzbank.
The lead market experienced a minor oversupply due to a substantial increase in mine production.
This increase, just under 2%, was fueled by significantly higher supply in the US, Australia, Peru, and Mexico.
Source – Invezz
Pan American Silver has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $28.36, implying a 15.14% upside from current levels. In a report released on February 11, National Bank also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a C$47.25 price target.
Source – Markets Insider
Spot gold fell 0.6% to $2,934.99 an ounce as of 09:55 a.m. (1455 GMT), after reaching $2,956.15 on Monday.
U.S. gold futures declined 0.5% to $2,948.60.
Trump said on Monday that tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports were “on time and on schedule”
“I still think that there’s enough uncertainty out there associated with tariffs (and) trade more generally… dips are going to continue to be viewed as buying opportunities,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.
Spot silver shed 1.2% to $31.96 an ounce, platinum dropped 0.8% to $959.35 and palladium lost 0.8% to $932.50.
Source – Reuters