Australia has not escaped the threat of increased tariffs on its exports to the U.S., but it does have one world-class industry which is reveling in commodity market confusion, gold.
Both Citi and RBC Capital Markets see the gold price continuing to rise while the Resources Department of the Australian Government is forecasting an increase in national output from 286 tons this year to 309 tons next year, cementing Australia’s position as the world’s third biggest gold producer after Russia and China.
Gold’s rise in U.S. dollars is magnified in Australia by the currency effect with an exchange current rate of US63 cents delivering an Australian gold price of A$4903/oz, a record which easily eclipses all earlier gold booms.
Source – Forbes
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
Source – APMEX
“This was an audacious raid which had been carefully planned and executed,” prosecutor Shan Saunders said. “But those responsible were not careful enough, leaving a trail of evidence in the form of forensics, CCTV footage and phone data.”
The purloined potty was stolen just days after its installation. It has never been recovered but is believed to have been cut up and sold.
Jones, 39, was convicted of burglary in Oxford Crown Court.
The theft was planned by James Sheen, 40, who previously pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property.
Doe, 36, also known as Frederick Sines, was convicted of conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
A fourth man charged in the conspiracy, Bora Guccuk, 41, was acquitted by jurors.
Source – CBS News
WOW! Looks like justice was served. I will continue to follow up on jail time. Stealing a gold toilet from Winston Churchills house is bold to say the least. I wonder if the art will be made again after this. We’ll see! – V.
Vicuña Corp, a joint venture of Australia’s BHP and Canada’s Lundin Mining (LUN.TO), opens new tab, on Thursday said it was extending the useful life of its Josemaria copper, gold and silver project in Argentina by six years.
It attributed the longer useful life of the mine, now 25 years instead of 19 years previously, to higher levels of exploitable resources.
Vicuña also predicted an ore processing rate at the site, located in Argentina’s north-western San Juan province, near the Chilean border, at 175,000 metric tons per day.
Source – Reuters
“Investors around the world have started the year looking for protection against sticky and potentially rising inflation, fiscal debt worries and the unpredictability of Trump,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank.
“The market is sleepwalking into a squeeze right now,” Daniel Ghali, senior commodity strategist at TD Securities, said in an interview. “People are completely disregarding this risk.”
Source – Bloomberg / Yahoo Finance
