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BHP Group may sell Australian operations
Mining giant BHP Group flagged rising costs and delays at a giant potash project in Canada and said it may sell its Australian nickel operations, as it reported record annual iron ore and copper production.
The company said Friday it faces rising costs at the Jansen potash project in Canada’s Saskatchewan province, its only major development currently under construction.
The company said it is also reviewing Jansen’s second stage, which is roughly 11% complete. BHP may delay first production from that expansion by two years, to fiscal 2031, because it reckons there might be more potash supply coming into the market over the medium term than previously envisaged.
BHP said it expects to produce between 1.8 million and 2.0 million tons of copper in the year ahead.
Source – The Wall Street Journal
Gold and silver fall
Spot gold was down 0.4% at $3,101.01 an ounce, as of 0710 GMT. Still, bullion was on track for a fifth consecutive weekly gain, buoyed by its safe-haven appeal that aided gold to reach three record highs this week.
“Gold tends to rally amid difficult-to-price uncertainty – like the start of a war – but tends to lose that support once markets learn how to price the risks involved,” said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.
“The Trump administration seems to have picked a road, and while sentiment clearly doesn’t like it, at least the path of least resistance is more visible and easier to price. That is trimming some of gold’s “market confusion” premium.”
Spot silver declined 1.5% to $31.4 an ounce, platinum lost 0.8% to $944.80, and palladium was steady at $928.33.
Source – Reuters
Copper and Aluminum drop
Base metal prices plunged early Friday, with three-month benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange recently -3.7% at $8,985.50/metric ton and three-month aluminum -1.4% at $2,422.50/ton, as President Trump’s worse than expected tariffs trigger global growth slowdown fears, sparking a selloff in industrial metals and mining equities.
Copper and aluminum have dropped 8.7% and 7.7%, respectively, so far this week, as the tariffs drag down demand forecasts
Trump hit China with a 34% “reciprocal” tariff on top of existing duties, and China announced Friday that it will likewise impose 34% tariffs on all U.S. goods starting April 10.
“While we remain structurally bullish copper in the long run, weaker global GDP and copper demand growth risk delaying the deficit we expect to see in the market this year,” Goldman Sachs wrote.
Source – Seeking Alpha
Silver Continues to Pressure Upside
During the trading on Friday, we saw the silver market initially dip, only to turn around and show signs of strength yet again. Because of this, I think the market is likely to continue to be bullish.
In general, this is a market that’s been in an uptrend for quite some time and if we are in fact going to continue to see inflationary issues, things like silver, commodities and stuff could get a little bit of a bid. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Source – FXEMPIRE / Written by Christopher Lewis
Idaho House Bill 40 to end taxes on gold and silver
Idaho yesterday formally ended state income taxes on gold and silver as part of its largest tax cut in state history.
House Bill 40, sponsored by House Speaker Mike Moyle and begrudgingly signed by the state’s liberal Republican governor Brad Little, provides a sweeping $253 million income tax cut for Idahoan taxpayers by lowering the rate from 5.695% to 5.3% while also adding two specific exemptions.
Moyle said today, “I’m proud to help secure another $253 million in income tax cuts for Idaho families. Meanwhile, it makes no sense for Idaho to tax gold and silver, the only money mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.”
Source – Money Metals
Goldman Sachs forecast on copper
Goldman Sachs says U.S. net copper imports could rise by 50%-100% in the coming months due to higher U.S. prices before the Trump administration’s planned tariffs, which the bank believes will be imposed at 25% and lead to the surge in imports and a 200K-300K-ton increase in U.S. copper inventories by the end of Q3.
“We maintain our forecast that the LME month-month price will average $10,200/ton in 2024 Q3, and see the impact of inventory dislocation predominantly in timespreads,” the bank writes.
Source – Seeking Alpha