MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
-
Today - Thursday, May 23, 2013
-
5:55 PM Serious overcapacity in China's steel industry is unlikely to ease in 2013, which could continue to hamper steel prices (SLX), analysts say at Platts Steel Market Europe conference. China is set to produce ~750M metric tons of crude steel in 2013 while capacity will rise to 950M, putting heavy pressure on steel prices in Europe and in the world steel industry as a whole. 2 Comments
-
3:25 PM China's exports of rare earth metals have rallied in recent months, a trend attributed to low rare earth prices and Japanese demand. But Molycorp (MCP -2.9%), whose shares have jumped 30% in the past two weeks, says it might be premature to assume a firm turnaround in global demand: "Inventories have been built up over the past several years, and they are returning to more normal levels now." 4 Comments
-
2:46 PM Gold's sharp rise today can be attributed to the dollar's drop vs. the yen; when the dollar drops, gold should rise, as their correlation during the past 24 days has hit -86%. A stock sector that's standing out is emerging market gold miners: South Africa’s Sibanye (SBGL), Harmony (HMY) and AngloGold (AU), plus Peru's Buenaventura (BVN) are stronger, even as their corresponding country ETFs (EZA; EPU) are in the red. 5 Comments
-
1:13 PM Revett Minerals (RVM -20.3%) plunges after providing an update on the Troy Mine. RVM says the "unexpected discovery of ground fall" in the "A Drive" and the projected time frame for establishing alternative development have necessitated an "immediate and significant reduction" in the Troy Mine workforce."The realization that the recommencement of underground mining operations will not resume by the end of the second quarter as planned has forced us to take difficult cost reduction measures," CEO John Shanahan says. (PR) Comment!
-
12:27 PM New Gold (NGD +1.8%) is initiated with a Buy rating and $9.50 price target at Global Hunter. NGD is a mid-cap gold producer with four operating mines which also gets a significant portion of its revenue and earnings power from copper and silver exposure, which the firm believes gives it an advantage over peers in a declining gold price environment. 1 Comment
-
11:55 AM "The Real Bubble is Gold: and It's Deflating," writes MKM's Mike Darda, who says the key turning point was the metal's (GLD. IAU) failure to rally in wake of last fall's QE∞ inception. "Investors simply took it at face value that gold was soaring and would continue to rise because of (the Fed)." Inflation picking up will be even worse for gold, he says, as this would make the Fed an aggressive tightener of policy. 15 Comments
-
8:11 AM BASF (BASFY.PK) and Monsanto (MON) plan to commercially launch a drought-tolerant variety of genetically modified corn in the U.S. next year, a senior BASF official says. The two companies have a revenue sharing arrangement, with 60% of revenue going to MON and the rest to BASF. Comment!
-
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
-
5:18 PM Barrick Gold (ABX) is considering shrinking in size as it focuses on returns over production volumes, CEO Jamie Sokalsky says. Shrinkage makes sense for ABX, Stifel Nicolaus says, adding selling the company’s Australian assets would be a good place to start: "In order to have better managerial control, you’re better off with fewer but much larger assets, preferably in the same north-south time zones.” 3 Comments
-
3:59 PM Prospects for gold mining stocks (GDX +1.2%) could be turning around at least in the short term, MKM Partners' Katie Stockton says. She would consider adding some exposure to take advantage of a short-term relief rally within the downtrend, adding "the trade is likely to play out in the near term or not at all, so we expect to know if it is working in the next week or two." 8 Comments
-
3:27 PM Terex (TEX -2.3%) gives back all the love plus more from an earlier Barclays upgrade to Overweight. The bank says that despite the stock recent 20% runup this month, it sees more upside from its consistent execution, leverage to an improving crane cycle and still-positive trends in the aerial-work-platform space. Comment!
-
2:17 PM Up as high as $1,413 following Bernanke's (at the time) perceived dovish testimony this morning, gold (GLD -0.9%) reverses along with stocks. Markets make opinions, and now the focus on Bernanke is he's prepping the markets for tapering. The just-released FOMC minutes push down gold even further, now at $1,357/oz. 9 Comments
-
9:16 AM Outflows from gold ETPs of 10.27 metric tons YTD have surpassed the combined inflows of the previous 2 years, according to Bloomberg. One portfolio manager notes the outflows about equal the amount mined, meaning new supply has doubled this year. "The market has a lot of metal to absorb." GLD +1.3% premarket. 9 Comments
-
9:06 AM Freeport Indonesia (FCX) remains uncertain when it will restart operations following last week's mining accident, news that has helped push copper prices up 2% in global markets. FCX says it is losing production of ~220K metric tons/day of concentrated ore since the tunnel collapse that killed 28 people. Comment!
-
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
-
10:24 PM Don't say Goldman didn't warn you (I, II). Corn (CORN) prices fell Tuesday to multi-week lows after the Department of Agriculture reported a 43 percentage point increase from last week to this week in the amount of the corn crop planted, bringing the total to 71% compared to just 28% a week ago. Comment!
-
3:47 PM Freeport McMoRan's (FCX -2.8%) Indonesian mine could face a prolonged closure and scrutiny over its underground mining plans, as the death toll from the collapsed tunnel at the Grasberg complex reaches 28, analysts and mining sources say. The bigger strategic question concerns whether FCX engineers fully understand ground conditions or rock mechanics of the area. Comment!
-
2:17 PM South Africa's rand falls to its lowest level in four years as clashes between mine owners and workers erupt again today. Government "heavy-handedness" with mining companies has created a "major negative" for investors both inside and outside mining, as it reduces companies’ abilities to set their balance sheets and control their own destinies, Greenbriar Partners says. AU -3.3%, GFI -3%, HMY -2.6%. 5 Comments
-
11:59 AM Risks surrounding the Chinese-fueled commodity supercycle leave higher, fixed-cost specialty metals and miners vulnerable, so in preparing a list of stocks to buy, BAML seeks companies able to control more of their destiny beyond waiting for improving market conditions. BAML says a rebound in global growth over 12-18 months could spark these favorites: NUE, KALU, SXCP, TMS, RS, ATI, RTI, CNX. Comment!
-
10:57 AM Given their activity in the Platts oil trading window, it’s not surprising that European regulators would send questionnaires to Glencore (GLCNF.PK), Vitol and other trading houses asking for information about how fuel pricing works. But no one knows exactly what is being investigated; a look at the Platts daily European oil markets newsletter shows the EU could be looking at any of dozens of daily price assessments. Comment!
-
9:41 AM IAMGOLD (IAG -4.9%) reports encouraging drill results from its Boto Gold project in West Africa, saying drilling continues to return wide intervals with good grades, confirming previous results and further extending the zones drilled. But gold miners (GDX -2.5%) are broadly lower as futures resume their descent after yesterday's wild ride: KGC -4.7%, EGO -4.6%, GFI -3.6%, ABX -2.8%, GG -2.2%, NEM -1.8%. Comment!
-
8:05 AM Molycorp (MCP) +5.4% premarket on a report that China exported 2,196 metric tons of rare earth in April, a 28% rise from March, and 6,112 tons in the first four months of this year, double the year-ago volume. The data indicates bargain hunting may be reviving global demand for rare earth metals. Comment!
Latest Commodities Articles
