“Codelco remains a good option to grab some extra spread over sovereign bonds.”
Copper futures are up about 15% this year in New York, although part of that is due to an up-tick in buying ahead of possible tariffs.
“Good governance and high copper prices should be good for bonds. Codelco is interesting.”
Source – Bloomberg
The Silver price (XAG/USD) attracts some sellers to around $39.00 during the early European session on Friday. Optimism surrounding the US trade deal allayed trade war concerns and dampened demand for safe-haven assets.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Friday that US President Donald Trump is now pursuing dealmaking with China. Trump might shift from a strategy of pressure to negotiation, with the goal of securing an economic agreement that will increase US access to Chinese markets, particularly in business and technology.
Source – FX Street
Australia’s Gold Road Resources rejected a $2.1 billion takeover proposal from Gold Fields, calling the offer opportunistic following a drop in quarterly production.
The all-cash proposal was made earlier this month against a backdrop of surging gold prices, which recently surpassed $3,000 a troy ounce for the first time as economic uncertainty fuels demand for the metal as a perceived safe haven.
“Gold Fields will continue to seek the engagement of the Gold Road board to consider the merits of the proposed acquisition and to advance the proposal,” said Mike Fraser, chief executive of Gold Fields.
Source – Wall Street Journal
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
President Donald Trump is taking a step toward granting the U.S. mining industry’s biggest wishes by singling out one metal as a focus of his domestic minerals policy: copper.
From talk of acquiring Greenland and its vast mineral wealth to prodding Ukraine for minerals in exchange for help fending off Russia’s invasion, Trump has made the raw materials of modern life a pillar of his foreign policy.
“Copper is, I think, the metal that is really the most critical because it is the electricity metal,” said Debra Struhsacker, a mining industry policy consultant. “The electricity demand is, I think, going to stay. And copper is indispensable for that.”
“Made in America, America first, starts with American mining and American miners that supported this president across the country,” National Mining Association president and CEO Rich Nolan said.
Source – The Associated Press
Gold prices dipped on Monday as thin holiday trading kept momentum in check. After last week’s sharp decline, gold is attempting to recover but faces resistance between $2607.25 and $2607.35. A breakout above $2629.13 is possible, but traders will need stronger volumes to drive further gains—something unlikely until after the New Year.
Treasury yields edged slightly higher to start the week, with the 10-year yield rising to 4.536% and the 2-year yield ticking up to 4.325%. Yields jumped last week following the Fed’s policy update but eased on Friday after softer-than-expected inflation data. The dollar held steady as markets processed the Fed’s outlook for 2025.
Gold futures reversed early losses to reach new all-time highs Tuesday, gaining for a third straight session on weaker U.S. bond yields and persistent trade and monetary policy uncertainty as investors continue to anxiously await President Trump’s August 1 tariff deadline.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell near two-week low, making non-yielding bullion more attractive.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he plans to meet his Chinese counterpart next week, suggesting a possible extension of an August 12 tariff deadline, but European Union diplomats hinted that the E.U. is looking at broader counter-measures against the U.S. as prospects for a trade agreement dwindle.
“Trade uncertainty is prompting some safe haven demand,” Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff wrote. “The U.S. has got several trade deals in the works and there’s rumors that the E.U. and the U.S. might not be able to come to an agreement or certainly are not anywhere close yet.”
Source – Seeking Alpha
