Global markets greeted the Chinese holidays on Thursday and Friday with relief following the capitulation of Chinese stock markets and the high volatility experienced by global equities and commodities in recent weeks. This capitulation continued early in the week on the back of China’s official manufacturing PMI index, which fell below the 50 mark in… Continue Reading
Global Markets Rattled as Shanghai Index Crashes and Grexit Looms The ongoing Greek crisis and the continued collapse of the Shanghai and Shanzhen Indices (subsequently rebounding Thursday and Friday) dominated news during the week, with commodity prices and mining equities crashing; the S&P/TSX Global Mining Index fell below the 57 mark before recovering slightly at… Continue Reading
Iron Ore Price Surge Short-Lived as Long-Term Fundamentals Take Hold It appears the two week surge in the price of iron ore was short-lived as reality surrounding the steelmaking industry in China (accounting for ~50% of global steel production) took hold. The 62% Fe import price failed to break the $60 psychological barrier and suffered… Continue Reading
Precious Metals Steady Despite Renewed Concerns of a Greek Euro Exit The week saw re-escalating concerns surrounding Greece’s ability to finance its sovereign debt. There is growing speculation that finance ministers will not grant further financial support to Greece after the next Eurogroup meeting beginning next Friday (April 24th), resulting in a debt default that… Continue Reading
Gold Rises After Fed Tempers Interest Rate Forecast Playing down expectations of an interest rate rise in the short-term, the Federal Reserve’s speech was reflective of a negative week in economic data in the U.S., translating to a depreciating dollar and rebound in precious metals prices. Major economic indicators including housing starts, industrial production and… Continue Reading
Friday Plunge in Gold Price After Better-Than-Expected U.S. Job Numbers The price of gold plunged on Friday after better-than-expected U.S. jobs figures, with the country’s economy expanding by 295,000 jobs in February compared to 239,000 in January, while the unemployment rate fell to 5.5% from 5.7%. Gold fell $32 on Friday, and finished at $1,167… Continue Reading
Copper Continues Rebound on Positive Manufacturing Data This week saw the continued rise in the copper price after the red metal dropped as low as $2.42 per pound in early January. The early year decline was exacerbated by a dramatic ~8% decline over two sessions, marking the lowest price of copper since July 2009. However,… Continue Reading
Does Early-Year M&A Activity Signal Market Bottom? A recent spate of friendly M&A deals announced since the start of the year raises the question: Do these deals signify the beginning of the end of a bear market that has lingered for over 3 years? These M&A deals also coincide (but are not necessarily related to)… Continue Reading
Gold falls as Oil undergoes biggest two week rally in almost two decades The price of gold slumped on Friday following positive job data out of the U.S.; non-farm payroll figures showed 257,000 jobs were added in January; well ahead of the 228,000 forecast, and higher than December’s 252,000. Despite the unemployment rate rising slightly… Continue Reading
Concerns over EU Economy Grow as Greece Elects Anti-Austerity Government News for the week was dominated by the election of the left-wing Syriza party in Greece, whose election platform centred on anti-austerity rhetoric, concerning EU leaders. It was a decisive victory for the hardline party, falling just two seats short of an outright majority; shortly… Continue Reading
China Interest Rate Cut Sends Mining Equities/Commodities Higher Mining equities and commodities were on Friday after China cut its interest rate for the first time in over two years, and European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi reiterated the banks readiness to expand its stimulus program. The cut in interest rates in China was… Continue Reading
Friday Precious Metals Rally Bucks Downward Trend – Equities Take Note Gold and silver were relatively flat during the week up until Friday, where both metals surged to monthly highs. Gold and silver rose 3% and 5% respectively from Friday morning before finishing at US$1,190 and US$16.30 per ounce respectively. The sudden rise in gold… Continue Reading
Uranium Price Surges Ahead of Positive Vote in Japan – Spawns Sector Rally Overnight in Japan 38 of 47 prefectural assembly members voted in favour of restart, and Yuichiro Ito, Governor of Kagoshima, announced his positive final approval decision shortly thereafter. The approvals open the door to complete the final step required ahead of restarts,… Continue Reading
Mining Equities / Precious Metals Fall Further As Fed Cuts Stimulus Program Contrasting economic policies in the U.S and Japan during the week coincided with the continued decline in mining equities and metal prices over the same period. The Federal Reserve in the U.S. announced a end to its stimulus program on Wednesday, while on… Continue Reading
Haywood Commodity Price Revisions: Moderating for a New Paradigm This week, Haywood released a revised commodity price forecast. Changes to several commodity price decks are echoed in the negative performance of mining equities and commodity prices during the last quarter. Changes include the long-term gold price, which was lowered from $1,300 to $1,250 per ounce, silver… Continue Reading
