Glencore has suspended production and declared force majeure on copper shipments from its Altonorte smelter in Chile due to an issue affecting the plant’s furnace, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, in a setback that comes just as traders and producers race to ship more metal to the U.S. ahead of tariffs.
Much of the copper produced in Chile is shipped to the U.S., where Comex prices have surged to record highs on worries about shortages due to tariffs; the most active Comex copper contract (HG1:COM) for May delivery hit $5.374/lb, or $11,847/metric ton on Wednesday.
Source – Seeking Alpha
Spot gold gained 0.8% to $3,340.53 an ounce as of 0300 GMT, after hitting its highest level since May 9.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.9% to $3,341.90.
“Gold’s bullish reversal is supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and lingering stagflation risks in the U.S. economy,” said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA.
Spot silver rose 0.5% to $33.54 an ounce, platinum gained 0.1% to $1,077.33 and palladium lost 0.6% to $1,031.46.
Source – Reuters
“Gold is still benefiting from investors looking for safe-haven assets amid concerns of a tariffs and trade war,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.
“We continue to see upside for gold, with the yellow metal expected to rise to $3,000, benefiting also from ongoing central bank demand.”
Spot silver rose 0.3% to $32.24 an ounce after hitting its highest level since October 31 on Friday.
Platinum gained 0.1% to $980.43, and palladium climbed 1.9% to $978.25.
Source – Reuters
Gold prices fell on Friday and were poised for their worst weekly performance in more than a month after the Federal Reserve tempered expectations for rate cuts and on a temporary easing of concerns about an imminent U.S. attack on Iran.
Spot gold slipped 0.7% to $3,347.80 an ounce, as of 1201 GMT, and was down 2.5% for the week so far. U.S. gold futures shed 1.3% to $3,364.00.
“Gold, silver, and platinum all suffered setbacks as traders booked profits after Wednesday’s FOMC meeting,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
“Gold is likely to extend its current consolidation phase with support around $3,320 followed by $3,245.”
Source – Reuters
The Canadian mining company on Wednesday set a 2025 production target of between 520,000 and 580,000 metric tons of copper at its Kamoa-Kakula operation.
Ivanhoe expects to produce between 180,000 and 240,000 tons of zinc at its Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine.
Ivanhoe said that during the last day of the year, a record 750 tons of zinc were produced over a 24-hour period, exceeding the operation’s nameplate capacity.
Source – Market Watch
Source – Money Metals