Aluminium
Copper, gold gain on weaker dollar
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were higher Tuesday as the US dollar weakened and on hopes that demand for the metal, used in construction and manufacturing, could be becoming more stable in the United States and China.
May copper added 8 cents to $1.84 per pound in afternoon trade in New York and was set to end the first [...]
Copper prices decline on dollar gains
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were lower Monday after the US dollar strengthened and after investors pulled back from what they saw as risky deals on declines in global equities markets.
May copper was 7 cents lower to $1.77 per pound in New York, while three-month copper was down $135 to $3,915 per tonne in afternoon trade on the [...]
Mwana Africa to re-open Zimbabwean gold mine
by Gill Montia
Zimbabwean gold mine, Freda Rebecca, is to re-open.
The mine is owned by Mwana Africa, a London-listed company, having been acquired from AngloGold Ashanti in 2005.
Freda Rebecca was placed on care-and-maintenance in 2006 and the decision to re-open follows changes in Zimbabwe’s export procedures, allowing companies to operate in foreign currency accounts.
Gold miners are now entitled [...]
DB ups 2009 metals targets as copper declines
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were lower Friday on declines in demand as the US dollar strengthened and equities markets saw declines.
May copper was down 2 cents to $1.84 per pound in New York, while three-month copper was down $52.25 to $4,032.75 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange.
Despite today’s price declines, Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) [...]
Data sends copper prices slightly lower
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were slightly lower in New York and London Wednesday on demand concerns on mixed economic news.
German business confidence was reported at a 26 year low in a survey by the Ifo institute, while the Malaysian central bank forecast that there could be “significant” economic contraction in Malaysia in the first half of the [...]
Gold down on demand concerns
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices were lower Tuesday as investors worried that plans announced by the US government aimed at removing toxic debts from banks’ books will help credit markets will cut demand for the metals as alternative investments.
Prices also fell as equities markets in Asia, most European equities were up and while some US markets were [...]
Copper up on equities, higher China imports
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were higher Monday after imports of refined copper into China were reported up in February.
Also helping copper prices higher was the announcement of a new plan to rid US banks of toxic assets, this time a public/private effort, by the US Treasury Department.
New figures from the National Association of Realtors which showed that [...]
Copper prices fall on day, gain this week
by Elaine Frei
The price of copper fell Friday but was up on the week as the dollar weakened during the week and demand grew as investors looked to commodities as a good alternative investment.
May copper was down 1 cent to $1.80 per pound in New York and was $39 lower to $3,960 per tonne in London on [...]
Gold up on Fed news, inflation worries
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices were higher Thursday after Wednesday’s announcement by the Federal Reserve that it will buy as much as $300 billion worth of Treasury notes sent the dollar sharply lower.
April gold added $69.70 to $958.80 per troy ounce in New York as investors worried that Fed actions will feed inflation and bought gold in [...]
Platinum prices lower in New York
by Elaine Frei
The price of platinum was lower in New York Monday, along with most other precious metals, after equities markets saw gains.
Rising equities made precious metals a less enticing alternative investment, although palladium managed a gain even though demand is expected to decline after reports from Europe said that car registrations there dropped 18 percent in [...]
Copper gains on lower London, Shanghai inventories
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were higher in New York and London Friday as inventories in both London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses were lower, raising hopes that demand could be seeing gains.
London Metal Exchange stockpiles were down to 497, 625 tonnes during the day, while Shanghai inventories dropped to 34,735 tonnes over the week.
Also helping [...]
Gold, silver see gains in New York
by Elaine Frei
Gains in equities markets and for oil prices helped sentiment enough to push the price of gold higher Thursday.
April gold added $13.30 to $924 per troy ounce at the end of floor trade in New York, while May silver was also up, gaining 14 cents to $12.94 per troy ounce.
April platinum dropped $5.70 to $1,054 [...]
Copper prices fall despite higher imports into China
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices fell Wednesday on new data from China.
While Chinese imports of copper were up around 42 percent in February from January to 329.311 tonnes, as had been hoped, total exports from China fell 25.7 percent last month from February 2008, creating concerns that growth is slowing in China, which could cut demand for the [...]
Copper gains ahead of China imports report
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were higher in New York and London on the possibility that a report due tomorrow will say that China imported more of the metal in February than it did in January, when it imported almost 233,000 tonnes.
The hopes come on data showing that London Metal Exchange inventories of copper have gone down by [...]
Copper lower as demand fears return
by Elaine Frei
The price of copper was lower Monday on renewed demand concerns after the World Bank issued a report predicting that the world-wide economy will shrink by as much as 15 percent from last year.
May copper was down 5 cents to $1.64 per pound in New York while three-month copper dropped $106 to $3,614 per tonne [...]
Copper up on lower inventories, China news
by Elaine Frei
The price of copper was higher Friday on a pledge from the head of China’s central bank to restore confidence in his nation’s economy and said that he saw signs that the economy is beginning to stabilize.
Copper prices were also helped by another decline in London Metal Exchange stockpiles, which were taken as a sign [...]
Copper prices fall on China news
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were lower Thursday in New York and London after China’s premier said that China doesn’t need more stimulus spending than already planned to grow the nation’s economy this year.
May copper dropped 4 cents to $1.65 per pound in New York trade while three-month copper was down $60 to $3,685 per tonne, or $1.67 [...]
Copper up on inventories decline
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were higher Tuesday after inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses fell again and as the dollar remained relatively weak.
Additionally, there was speculation that as much as a quarter of LME copper inventories – between 100,000 and 150,000 tonnes of the metal – could be bought up by China in the next three months.
May [...]