Indonesia has restricted raw material exports to pressure companies to refine minerals locally and add value to its exports. Freeport has local refining capacity, but is seeking to keep exporting concentrate due to a fire last October at its Manyar smelterin East Java.
Should exports resume, it will relieve, although not reverse, a shortage of copper concentrate that has hit the profits of smelters.
Source – Reuters
Spot gold shed 0.4% to $2,927.95 an ounce by 1204 GMT. Bullion has gained around 1.6% this week after rising to a record $2,954.69 on Thursday.
“The non-stop rally since December remains unchallenged unless prices drop to around $2,850,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
“Gold has been displaying resilience with short-lived retracements, as lingering U.S. trade uncertainties reinforce its appeal as a hedge,” IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said.
Spot silver was flat at $32.92 an ounce, and palladium dipped 0.3% to $974.75. Both metals were headed for weekly gains.
Platinum shed 0.2% to $976.80 and eyed a weekly decline.
Source – Reuters
A landslide at an informal gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo where thousands of people were working has left an unknown number of people trapped underground since Sunday.
Twelve people have been rescued, Mr. Rubabura said, adding that the number of missing would be released only once the search was over.
The Lomera site is an artisanal mine, meaning it is not operated by a mining company with professional equipment but by workers who use basic tools to extract ore, often in dangerous conditions.
On Tuesday, M23 members walked around the site issuing instructions to those who remained, telling them not to film or speak to journalists. There was no sign that a serious search for survivors was underway.
Source – New York Times
Twangiza Mining, a gold miner operating in the rebel-controlled South Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, said it has been ordered to suspend operations by the rebel administration, according to a company-wide letter seen by Reuters.
Manu Birato, who was recently installed as M23 governor of the South Kivu Province, said Twangiza Mining must adapt to new regulations and pay taxes they have not been paying.
“We are in talks with them and showing them that from now on they must start paying taxes,” Birato told Reuters.
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
Gold rose more than 2% on Monday to its highest in over three weeks, as a weakening dollar and a combination of geopolitical risks and economic uncertainty fuelled investor demand for safe-haven assets.
Spot gold was up 2.7% at $3,377.29 an ounce, as of 10:19 a.m ET (1419 GMT), after hitting its highest level since May 8 earlier in the session.
“The latest tariff threats on Friday, including plans to double steel and aluminium tariffs to 50% along with Ukraine’s weekend attacks deep into Russia, have heightened geopolitical risks and are fuelling risk-off sentiment,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zanier Metals.
“For the gold forecast, this backdrop of risk aversion and fiscal uncertainty couldn’t be more favourable.”
Spot silver rose 4.1% to $34.31 an ounce, platinum was up 0.3% at $1,059.55 and palladium rose 1.2% to $982.40.
Source – Reuters
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
