Aluminium
Aluminium, zinc higher on China quake aftermath
by Elaine Frei
Prices for most base metals were higher on Thursday, with aluminium and zinc both rising on issues related to the aftermath of the earthquake in China earlier this week.
Three-month aluminium added $72 to $3,010 per tonne in London on the possibility that power shortages due to the earthquake could shut down smelters and interrupt supplies.
Additionally, [...]
Platinum prices surge
by Elaine Frei
Metals prices were mixed Thursday, with precious metals prices up and base metals mostly on the decline.
June gold added $10.80 to $882 per troy ounce while July silver was up 27 cents to $16.96 per troy ounce and July platinum surged $73.30 to $2,042.30 per troy ounce.
Precious metals prices rose as the dollar weakened after [...]
Copper gains as other metals prices decline
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices bucked a declining trend among metals, rising 3 cents to $3.91 per pound in New York and finishing the day even at $8,540 per tonne in London after going as low as $8,465 per tonne earlier in the session.
Prices were supported by a report from one Chilean mine that showed first quarter output [...]
Weak dollar, IMF forecast help metals
by Elaine Frei
Metals prices followed crude oil higher on Wednesday as the dollar weakened again versus the euro and the International Monetary Fund predicted that the United States will see a recession this year.
The IMF forecast that the US economy would only grow by 0.5 percent this year and by just 0.6 percent next year, and that [...]
Most metals prices see gains
by Elaine Frei
The price of gold climbed slightly on Friday, with June gold adding $3.90 to $913.50 per troy ounce after the US dollar weakened and oil prices saw gains, but it remained 2.7 percent lower on the week.
Other precious metals followed gold’s lead, with May silver up 28 cents to $17.76 per troy ounce while July [...]
Metals prices mixed on session
by Elaine Frei
Metals prices were mixed but mostly higher on Wednesday.
Gold saw gains on speculation that recent gains for the US dollar will not hold and that the Federal Reserve will cut US interest rates again soon.
June gold added $11.70 to $899.50 per troy ounce in New York, while May silver gained 30 cents to $17.19 per [...]
Copper down $90 per tonne in London
by Elaine Frei
Base metals prices followed precious metals prices lower on the first day of the new quarter on profit-taking and a stronger US dollar.
May copper was down 2 cents to $3.81 per pound in New York while three-month copper dropped as low as $8,160 per tonne in London before ending $90 lower at $8,300 per tonne.
London [...]
Base, precious metals see mixed results
by Elaine Frei
Base metals prices were mixed on Tuesday, with copper seeing gains before dropping to end the session.
May copper was up by nearly 7 cents per pound early in the session on supply worries that were amplified by a strike that stopped work at a mine in Papua New Guinea which produces about 1 percent of [...]
Copper declines after record high in London
by Elaine Frei
Prices for base metals fell Thursday after early gains.
May copper dropped 8 cents to $3.90 per pound in New York after going as high as $4.02 per pound earlier in the session, while three-month copper dropped $130 to $8,560 per tonne in London after it soared to a new high at $8,820 per tonne earlier.
The [...]
Base metals see gains on demand, inflation
by Elaine Frei
Base metals were higher on Wednesday on higher demand in emerging markets, increasing inflation, and a declining US dollar which hit a new low versus the euro during the day.
May copper was 6 cents higher to $3.83 per pound in New York while three-month copper added $125 to $8,400 per tonne in London as London [...]
Most metals prices lower on session
by Elaine Frei
Most metals prices were lower Friday, with the silver the exception among precious metals and tin the gainer among base metals.
March silver added 9 cents to $18.04 per troy ounce in New York, while three-month tin gained $170 to close at $17,570 per tonne in London after going as high as $17,600 per tonne earlier [...]
Precious, base metals see price gains
by Elaine Frei
Both precious and base metals prices saw advances on Wednesday.
April gold added had added $15.20 to $905.50 per troy ounce by just after the close of floor trade in New York, seeing a gain after recent declines as investor demand increased.
Analysts said that gold could be helped even more if the European Central Bank holds [...]
Copper, other base metals see gains
by Elaine Frei
Base metals prices were higher Thursday.March copper added 7 cents to $3.30 per pound in New York while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up $155 to $7,315 per tonne as there were reports that China’s second-largest producer will close over 40 percent of its smelting capacity until the middle of February due [...]
Precious, base metals prices down in London
by Elaine Frei
With floor trade in New York closed due to observance of the Martin Luther King Day holiday in the United States, precious metals were lower in London on Monday as the US dollar strengthened.
At 5 p.m. in London, gold was $19.93 lower to $863.24 per troy ounce, while silver for immediate delivery was 58 cents [...]
Most metals prices decline on session
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices nosedived on Wednesday as the US dollar strengthened in relation to the euro and on demand worries after the International Energy Agency reduced its forecast for oil demand for this year, citing reduced demand in the US due to a weakening economy.
February gold dropped $21.10 to $881.50 per troy ounce in New [...]
Copper lower on data
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were lower Tuesday as retail sales data from the US Commerce Department renewed concerns that the US is either already in or is heading for a recession.
A recession in the US, which uses about 15 percent of the copper produced in the world would likely hurt demand for the metal.
March copper dropped 10 [...]
Base metals gain on US factory orders data
by Elaine Frei
Base metals prices were higher on Thursday, following gold and oil prices that traded at or near record highs during the day.
The metals, used in industrial applications, were helped by data showing that US factory orders were up more than expected in November.
March copper added 12 cents to $3.19 per pound in New York while [...]
Base metals prices up despite US manufacturing data
by Elaine Frei
Base metals prices rose Wednesday as trading resumed after the New Year’s Day holiday despite sentiment that was depressed after a report from the Institute for Supply Management in the United States showed that manufacturing activity there contracted rather than expanding in December.
The drop in US manufacturing activity called into question demand for the use [...]
Copper, zinc, tin, lead all see gains
by Elaine Frei
Prices for base metals were mixed on Thursday in slow trade ahead of the Christmas holiday.
Copper gained slightly in both New York and London as stockpiles in London Metal Exchange warehouses dropped 250 tonnes on the session after three consecutive days of gains.
March copper added 1 cent to $2.97 per pound in New York while [...]
Metals prices mixed
by Elaine Frei
Base metals prices were mixed but mostly higher on Wednesday.
March copper added 7 cents to $2.96 per pound in New York, while three-month copper was $135 higher to $6,515 per tonne in London.
While prices were higher, some analysts question whether those gains can be sustained, especially after London Metal Exchange inventories of the metal added [...]