Commodities

Consolidation continues in the global gold industry with US major, Newmont launching an all-share bid for Canada’s Goldcorp, a deal that will bring the combined company closer to the industry leader of Barrick after it bought London-based Randgold.

Iron ore was the unexpected star of the commodities complex in 2018 as it held its value while gold, copper, silver and especially oil lost ground, especially in the final weeks of the year.

Global oil futures dropped on Thursday with benchmark prices slumping to their lowest settlements in 17 months after the Federal Reserve hiked US interest rates and Donald Trump sent the US to the edge of a partial government shutdown.

EVs, Belt & Road, Made in China 2025 – Ahead of the Herd’s Rick Mills explains why China is set to send the world into copper deficit.

Despite the inverse relationship between the US dollar and commodities prices, the copper market has proven itself to be resilient in the face of a rising dollar. When a market does not move lower in the face of a traditionally bearish influence, it tends to be a sign of fundamental strength.

China’s crude steel output slumped to a seven month low in November thanks to falling profit-margins at mills and winter pollution controls on emissions in the major northern steel-producing cities and regions.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) claims that the production cap of around 1.2 million barrels a day from OPEC and Russia has helped put a line under global oil prices at around $US60 a barrel.

So will the latest attempt by OPEC and Russia to put a line under global oil prices work?

The US exported more oil and petroleum products than it imported for the first time in decades last week, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)’s weekly report revealed on Thursday.

Uranium spot market volumes in 2018 are almost 40% above record 2015 volumes with another month to run.

Odds are rising that OPEC and Russia will announce a 1 million to 1.3 million barrel a day production cap at Thursday’s meeting to try and put a line under global prices which slumped more than 20% in November.

Global iron ore prices rose on Tuesday, ending the recent fall that culminated in Monday’s 8.4% plunge.

The slide in oil prices last week dragged other commodity prices with them. Gold, nickel, copper, and iron ore were among the sliders.

Crude-oil prices plunged on Friday and look like adding to the losses this week with US crude sliding 10% and Brent, the most important global price shedding almost 12%.

Copper’s price resilience over recent years, despite near-term uncertainty related to rising interest rates and the US currency, is a reflection of sound copper market fundamentals. Demand is being driven by both traditional and new-age applications, whilst the supply-side reflects challenges around a market that’s heavily reliant on ageing mines.

Ahead of the Herd’s Rick Mills follows the global battle for lithium security.

A weakening US dollar saw US oil futures prices settled flat on Friday as global Brent crude notched up a small gain that did nothing to erase yet another loss for the sixth week in a row.

Metal prices fell, gold and silver rose, iron ore weakened and oil suffered yet another weekly sell-off.

Do you know that rising oil prices are now officially ‘good’ for Australia, which means the current 20% slide must be bad? We don’t mean at the petrol pump where the reverse is true but in the country’s terms of trade and current account.