Aluminium
Copper mixed; sees first monthly gain since June
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were mixed Friday as prices were up in New York trade but declined in London.
March copper added 1 cent to $1.47 per pound in afternoon trade in New York but was down $65 to $3,165 per tonne, or $1.44 per pound, in trade on the London Metal Exchange.
Despite the mixed results, copper was [...]
Gold gains as demand rises on data
by Elaine Frei
Prices for gold and silver were higher Thursday as US and European equities markets declined and the Labor Department reported that about 6.5 million Americans are received jobless benefits in the week ending 17 January, including 1.7 million who are getting extended benefits because they have been out of work for so long.
The disappointing data, [...]
Lihir Gold reports 26% rise in annual production
by Gill Montia
Lihir Gold, the gold miner with operations in Australia, Papua New Guinea and West Africa, has reported a 26% rise in production in the fourth quarter of 2008, to 315,000 ounces.
Of the total, 247,000 ounces were mined at the company’s 100% owned Lihir Island operation located in Papua New Guinea.
The increase takes full-year production up [...]
Nickel up as base metals are mixed
by Elaine Frei
The price of three-month nickel was up $300 to $11,700 per tonne in late afternoon trade in London Wednesday on the possibility that production cuts will tighten supplies.
Copper prices were also higher as March copper added 1 cent to $1.50 per pound in New York and three-month copper gained $60 to $3,370 per tonne on [...]
Copper prices drop in London, New York
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were lower Tuesday after having added 14 percent in the past two sessions on hopes that demand might revive.
Gains in London Metal Exchange stockpiles of 2.8 percent on the session today to more than 451,800 tonnes, the highest level in 5 years, had the effect of dampening that optimism.
Also hurting prices was another [...]
Copper jumps on US home sales data
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were up Monday on signs that the economy is healing after the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales jumped 6.5 percent in December over sales in December 2007 instead of declining as had been expected.
The home sales numbers created optimism that demand for copper in construction will increase even though [...]
Chile earthquake boosts copper prices
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were up Friday on concerns that a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that hit Chile early this morning.
Chile is the world’s biggest producer of copper, and investors worried that damage from the temblor could hurt supplies.
Gains for the metal used in construction also came after investors took advantage of recent low prices to make purchases.
March [...]
Gold adds almost $9 in New York
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices were higher Thursday as equities markets declined in both Europe and the United States, making precious metals look like a much safer, more stable place for investors to put their cash.
February gold added $8.70 to $858.80 per troy ounce in New York, while March silver was up 4 cents to $11.37 per [...]
BHP Billiton to close Ravensthorpe nickel mine
by Gill Montia
BHP Billiton is to cut 3,400 jobs in Australia, where it is closing its Ravensthorpe nickel mine.
The mine, which is near Western Australia’s south coast, was opened in May 2008 and will be closed by June of this year in response to a significant and continued deterioration in the outlook for the nickel market.
The company [...]
Copper down on inventories, ICSG report
by Elaine Frei
With a couple of exceptions, metals prices fell again Wednesday.
March copper was down 7 cents to $1.43 per pound in afternoon trade in New York, while in London three-month copper fell $121 to $3,220 per tonne as inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses added 8,375 tonnes to 417,475 tonnes on the session.
The gains also came [...]
Poseidon Nickel reports on new deposit at Windarra
by Gill Montia
Perth-based Poseidon Nickel has reported on a new deposit at its Mount Windarra project in Western Australia.
The Cerberus deposit is the first major JORC compliant resource to be identified at the project since the 1970s and follows an intensive drilling programme conducted during 2008.
The company has revised the resource at the project to more than [...]
Demand worries again send copper prices lower
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices fell in New York and London Tuesday as investors continued to worry that demand will decline more as the economy falls further into recession.
March copper was down 2 cents to $150 per pound in afternoon trade in New York while three-month copper dropped $95 to $3,336 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange.
Copper’s [...]
Data hurts base metals prices
by Elaine Frei
Prices for base metals fell Thursday on the news that machinery orders in Japan were down 16.2 percent in November over October, more than twice the anticipated decline.
The drop in orders emphasized concerns that demand for industrial metals are likely to continue to fall.
The news that manufacturing in the Philadelphia region of the United States [...]
Rio chairman stands down
by Gill Montia
The chairman of Rio Tinto, Paul Skinner, is stepping down at the end of March.
He will be replaced by Jim Leng, currently deputy chairman of Tata Steel.
Mr Leng began his career in the 1960s with John Waddington, the Monopoly board game maker, moving on to Low & Bonar, the industrial textiles manufacture, where he rose [...]
Alcoa posts $1.19 billion fourth-quarter loss
by Gill Montia
Alcoa Inc has posted a net loss of $1.19 billion in the fourth-quarter of 2008, compared with a profit of $632 million in the same quarter of 2007.
Lower demand and declining metal prices forced the company into its first loss in six years although revenues took a stand and were $700 million above market expectations, [...]
Gold down almost $35 as USD strengthens
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices fell Monday, following oil prices lower as they fell as much as nearly 8 percent during the session and as the US dollar gained ground on the euro ahead of a decision on interest rates from the European Central Bank later this week.
It is widely believed that the ECB will cut rates [...]
Obama stimulus plan helps copper prices
by Elaine Frei
The price of copper rose Friday on the chance that President-elect Barack Obama’s plan for rescuing the US economy could help demand for industrial metals.
The plan includes infrastructure improvements that could not only create jobs that could help pull the economy out of recession, but would also require the use of industrial metals in its [...]
Copper prices hurt by demand concerns
by Elaine Frei
The price of copper dropped Thursday for a second consecutive day on renewed worries that the recession could cut into demand for industrial metals.
The worries were rekindled by dismal numbers regarding how many individuals in the United States are receiving jobless benefits.
In December, that number grew to 4.6 million, the most in 20 years.
March copper [...]
Platinum briefly tops $1,000 per ounce
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices were mixed Wednesday platinum and palladium seeing gains while gold and silver both declined.
April platinum added $21.90 to $990.10 per troy ounce in New York after rising past $1,000 for a time to $1,011.60 per troy ounce, the first time it has done that since October.
Meanwhile, palladium added $1.50 to $200.55 per [...]
Gold drops $22 on stronger dollar
by Elaine Frei
Most metals prices were lower Monday, with gold falling on a stronger dollar and base metals dropping after copper and aluminium stockpiles were up significantly in London.
February gold dropped $21.70 to $857.80 per troy ounce in New York trade and was as low as $843.50 per troy ounce earlier in the session, while March silver [...]