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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
 Posted - 08/14/2006 : 20:20:17
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And yes, POSCO contacted me to help cover their shorts. But my reply was "Not a nickel, not a nickel!"  
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If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. -Napoleon Hill |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 08/15/2006 : 18:39:42
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Copper Rises for 2nd Day in London; Aluminum and Nickel Gain
Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose for the second consecutive day on the London Metal Exchange. Aluminum and also gained, while nickel matched its all-time high.
Copper for delivery in three months on the LME increased $90.50, or 1.2 percent, to $7,740 a metric ton as of 10:14 a.m. local time. Nickel increased $150 to $27,250 a ton, after earlier trading as high as $27,300, equaling the record set Aug. 11. Aluminum gained $26 to $2,507.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Simon Casey in London at scasey4@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: August 15, 2006 05:23 EDT
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If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. -Napoleon Hill |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2006 : 17:28:48
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Nickel Soars, Prompting London Exchange to Set Limits (Update1)
Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- A shortage of nickel drove prices to the highest since at least 1987, forcing the London Metal Exchange to impose trading restrictions for the first time in a year.
After nickel surpassed $29,000 a metric ton, twice its level at the start of this year, the LME ordered the suspension of rules for delivery of the metal. Inventories have plunged 83 percent in the past year.
``We now have a genuine material shortage,'' Simon Heale, chief executive officer of the exchange, said in an e-mailed statement today, explaining the exchange's decision.
The price of nickel, a metal used to make steel rust- resistant, is four times higher than the average of the 1990s because of a surge in demand from China. The high prices have led to a seven-week, $17 billion battle for Inco Ltd., the world's second-largest producer of the metal.
Nickel for three-month delivery jumped $1,645, or 6 percent, to $29,100 a metric ton in London. Earlier, the contract gained as much as 6.4 percent, the most since January 2004.
The extra cost, or premium, paid for immediate delivery of the metal compared with delivery in three months more than doubled to $3,600 a ton, the highest in at least 11 years. Nickel stored in warehouses tracked by the LME has dropped to 6,162 tons this year, equal to less than two days of global use.
The LME ordered that holders of so-called short positions, or bets that prices will fall, can borrow nickel at no more than $300 a ton each day. The exchange last intervened in metal trading in August last year after hurricane Katrina left stockpiles of zinc stranded in New Orleans, pushing the metal to an eight-year high.
`Something Going on'
``There's certainly something going on and somebody has got large short positions'' in nickel, said Stephen Briggs, an analyst at Societe Generale, one of the 11 companies trading on the floor of the LME. ``It's a very tight market but the physical nickel market is rarely as tight as the LME market suggests.''
Posco, the world's fourth-largest steelmaker by output, said two days ago it had a short nickel position on the LME of ``less than 1,000 tons.'' The company commented after the Wall Street Journal's Asian edition reported it made wrong-way bets involving 10,000 tons of nickel. Posco has been scrambling to cover the positions and is being forced to roll them forward at ever greater expense, the newspaper said, citing unidentified metal market sources in London. The company said rumors of such a large position were ``groundless.''
Nickel producer Inco has been the focus of a takeover battle since June 26, when Phelps Dodge Corp. first bid for the Toronto- based company. Teck Cominco Ltd. and Brazil's Cia. Vale do Rio Doce subsequently made proposals, pushing the offer price to C$19.4 billion ($17.4 billion). Teck today withdrew from the race after failing to sell stock to finance its offer.
``It's looking like there's a trader out there with a fairly large short position,'' David Davidson, a partner and senior analyst at Paradigm Capital in Toronto. ``There's not a lot of sympathy out there for someone buying to cover.''
To contact the reporter on this story:Matthew Craze in London at mcraze@bloomberg.net
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If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. -Napoleon Hill |
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Canadian_Nickle
Penny Hoarding Member
Canada
938 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2006 : 17:50:40
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Friggin' awesome, eh? Nothing beats watching the short-speculators taking a hard one up the backside. Now we just have to wait for the same thing to happen in the silver market, where the big loosers will be mainstream financial institutions, not steel companies.
Some other good coverage about the expected continuation of the short supply situatoion :
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And, in case you weren't paying attention, Gold is in a supply defecit position also:
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It's a good time to be a metals bug! |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2006 : 18:44:49
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Nickel Soars, Prompting London Exchange to Set Limits (Update2) Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- A shortage of nickel drove prices to the highest since at least 1987, forcing the London Metal Exchange to impose trading restrictions for the first time in a year.
After nickel surpassed $29,000 a metric ton, twice its level at the start of this year, the LME ordered the suspension of rules for delivery of the metal. Inventories have plunged 83 percent in the past year.
``We now have a genuine material shortage,'' Simon Heale, chief executive officer of the exchange, said in an e-mailed statement today, explaining the exchange's decision.
The price of nickel, a metal used to make steel rust- resistant, is four times higher than the average of the 1990s because of a surge in demand from China. The high prices have led to a seven-week, $17 billion battle for Inco Ltd., the world's second-largest producer of the metal.
Nickel for three-month delivery jumped $1,645, or 6 percent, to $29,100 a metric ton in London. Earlier, the contract gained as much as 6.4 percent, the most since January 2004.
The extra cost, or premium, paid for immediate delivery of the metal compared with delivery in three months more than doubled to $3,600 a ton, the highest in at least 11 years. Nickel stored in warehouses tracked by the LME has dropped to 6,162 tons this year, equal to less than two days of global use.
The LME ordered that holders of so-called short positions, or bets that prices will fall, can borrow nickel at no more than $300 a ton each day. The exchange last intervened in metal trading in August last year after hurricane Katrina left stockpiles of zinc stranded in New Orleans, pushing the metal to an eight-year high.
`Something Going on'
``There's certainly something going on and somebody has got large short positions'' in nickel, said Stephen Briggs, an analyst at Societe Generale, one of the 11 companies trading on the floor of the LME. ``It's a very tight market but the physical nickel market is rarely as tight as the LME market suggests.''
Posco, the world's fourth-largest steelmaker by output, said two days ago it had a short nickel position on the LME of ``less than 1,000 tons.'' The company commented after the Wall Street Journal's Asian edition reported it made wrong-way bets involving 10,000 tons of nickel.
Posco has been scrambling to cover the positions and is being forced to roll them forward at ever greater expense, the newspaper said, citing unidentified metal market sources in London. The company said rumors of such a large position were ``groundless.''
Nickel producer Inco has been the focus of a takeover battle since June 26, when Phelps Dodge Corp. first bid for the Toronto- based company. Teck Cominco Ltd. and Brazil's Cia. Vale do Rio Doce subsequently made proposals, pushing the offer price to C$19.4 billion ($17.4 billion). Teck today withdrew from the race after failing to sell stock to finance its offer.
``It's looking like there's a trader out there with a fairly large short position,'' David Davidson, a partner and senior analyst at Paradigm Capital in Toronto. ``There's not a lot of sympathy out there for someone buying to cover.''
Russia's OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel is the biggest nickel producer by 2005 output. Its stock has almost doubled this year.
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If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. -Napoleon Hill |
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Canadian_Nickle
Penny Hoarding Member
Canada
938 Posts |
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n/a
deleted
143 Posts |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2006 : 20:35:11
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Copper Rises Most in 7 Weeks on Signs of Improved U.S. Demand
By Millie Munshi
Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose the most in seven weeks as U.S. government reports showing improved consumer spending and tame inflation eased concern that a slowdown in new-home construction will curb demand for metals.
Personal spending climbed the most since January and a gauge of prices posted the smallest gain of the year, the Commerce Department said today. The data suggest interest rates may remain steady, softening a slump in the housing market. Prices have more than doubled in the past year as demand surged from builders, the biggest users of the metal.
``The U.S. is still a huge consumer of copper,'' said Mark Lewon, vice president of operations at Utah Metal Works Inc., a scarp-metal recycler and broker in Salt Lake City. ``We need people to keep spending on housing and durable goods to keep up copper demand.''
Copper futures for December delivery rose 14.75 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $3.50 a pound at 12:12 p on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A close at that price would be the biggest gain since July 6. Prices have fallen 14 percent since reaching a record high of $4.04 on May 11.
Copper for delivery in three months rose $250, or 3.4 percent, to $7,700 a metric ton at 5:12 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange.
The inflation data was ``surprising,'' said Marc Kaplan, a scarp metals trader at Mews Metal Trading in Verona, New Jersey. Traders have been watching inflation and interest rates for hints at the pace of housing demand, he said.
Housing Demand
``Housing prices have gone down dramatically and there are lots of houses for sale,'' Kaplan said. ``Of course that's going to affect copper.'' Steady interest rates may slow the decline in housing, he said.
Prices fell yesterday after BHP Billiton and union officials reached a preliminary agreement that could end the strike at Chile's Escondida mine, the world's biggest source of the metal.
Workers are set to vote today on a new labor contract, ending a 25-day strike that cut output by half. BHP, the world's biggest mining company, agreed to increase wages by 5 percentage points above inflation and pay a bonus of 9 million Chilean pesos ($16,705), company spokesman Mauro Valdes said yesterday from Santiago.
``The industry has been anticipating a relatively quick end to this Escondida strike for a while,'' said Dan Vaught, a commodity analyst at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis. ``Most people who were willing to sell on that news did it yesterday.''
Also on the LME, lead rose $27 to $1,242 a metric ton, nickel added $150 to $27,650 a ton, tin was $175 higher at $9,025 a ton, zinc advanced $30 to $3,370 a ton and aluminum gained $10 to $2,495 a ton.
To contact the reporter on this story: Millie Munshi in Chicago at mmunshi@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: August 31, 2006 12:15 EDT
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If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. -Napoleon Hill |
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n/a
deleted
143 Posts |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2006 : 19:49:17
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Gold, Silver, Copper Slide, Sending Commodities to 10-Month Low
By Pham-Duy Nguyen
Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Gold fell below $600 an ounce for the first time in 10 weeks on speculation demand won't rebound in the fourth quarter. Silver plunged more than 8 percent, and industrial metals slid, leading commodity prices to the lowest in 10 months.
Global demand for gold dropped in the second quarter, the third straight decline, as higher prices deterred jewelers, the biggest buyers. Gold has gained every September since 2000 as jewelers stocked up on the metal before year-end holidays. The metal is down 18 percent from a 26-year high of $732 an ounce in mid-May.
``We are in the middle of a correction,'' said Daniel Vaught, a commodities analyst at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis. ``Historically, traders look for a little strength from the yellow metal in September. I wonder if this year is an exception.''
Gold futures for December delivery fell $20, or 3.2 percent, to $597.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest since June 29.
Silver futures for December tumbled $1.055, or 8.6 percent, to $11.24 an ounce. The Reuters-Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities fell 6.6, or 2.1 percent, to 313.79 after touching 313.54, the lowest since Nov. 30. Natural gas, aluminum, sugar and coffee also led the decline.
A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a set price for delivery by a specific date.
Global gold demand fell 16 percent in the second quarter, according to the producer-funded World Gold Council. Jewelers accounted for 73 percent of purchases last year. Investment demand helped drive gold futures to $732 an ounce on May 12, the highest since January 1980.
`Sentiment Has Turned'
``The whole market had expected gold to break out on the upside in the fall,'' said Paul McLeod, vice president of precious metals at Commerzbank Securities in New York. ``Now, the sentiment has turned. The investor community is looking to lighten the load.''
Gold fell below its 100-day moving average in the past two sessions, signaling the metal may drop further, traders who follow historical price charts said. Losses accelerated after the metal also dropped below the 200-day moving average.
``It's significant for the trend-trading community,'' McLeod said. ``That's going to trigger further sell signals for them.''
Declining oil prices in the past two weeks helped pull gold and other metals lower as investors bet on a slowdown in global economic growth, analysts said.
`Catharsis'
``We're going through a catharsis,'' said William O'Neill, a partner at the commodity research firm Logic Advisors LLC in Upper Saddle, New Jersey. ``This is a correction from an over-frenzied market sector. We are seeing a tremendous amount of fund liquidation and asset reallocation. The funds are not as aggressive to come in and buy when these assets are weak.''
Copper prices dropped 4.2 percent and were down for the third straight session. The metal has slid 15 percent from a record $4.40 a pound on May 11, partly because of a slump in the U.S. housing market.
``People are looking to sell anything that's not nailed down,'' said Paul Sutherland, chief investment officer for Traverse City, Michigan-based Financial & Investment Management Group. ``People are worried about liquidity. They're saying, `I'll take my bets off the table and raise some cash and be able to sleep tonight.' ''
Copper for December delivery declined 15.05 cents to $3.4175 a pound on Comex. A gauge of prices on the London Metal Exchange, including aluminum, copper and zinc, fell 4.5 percent, the most since mid-June.
$550 and $60 a barrel?
Oil and gold generally move in lockstep as investors buy the metal to hedge against inflation when energy expenses climb. Gold had gained as much as 39 percent this year partly on concern tensions in the Middle East would cut oil supplies. Oil fell for the sixth straight session to below $65 a barrel, the longest losing streak in three years.
Oil may fall below $60 a barrel, and gold may touch $550 an ounce before rebounding, O'Neill of Logic Advisors said.
``The geopolitical scene has gotten amazingly quiet,'' O'Neill said. ``The pressure still seems to be to the downside, but we're not headed for the demise of commodities.''
Some investors said gold's drop below $600 presents an opportunity to buy.
``We're probably going to be adding to our positions,'' said Sutherland of Financial & Investment Group, who helps manage $600 million in individual portfolios and the Utopia Fund. ``We started buying back last Friday, nibbling at it.''
The firm has less than 3 percent in gold and gold stocks.
``Speculators are moving this market, and this creates a buying opportunity for long-term investors,'' said Richard Steinberg, president of Steinberg Global Asset Management in Boca Raton, Florida, which has $400 million in assets. ``Commodity cycles are extremely volatile. I don't think this is the end to the bull run in commodities.''
The firm owns shares in two commodity exchange-traded funds, including 84,116 shares of the StreetTracks Gold Trust.
To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: September 11, 2006 14:49 EDT
________________________
If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. -Napoleon Hill |
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Canadian_Nickle
Penny Hoarding Member
Canada
938 Posts |
Posted - 09/13/2006 : 18:19:40
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Dutch government tries to gather old coins
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- The Dutch government is trying to collect some of the billions of old guilder coins from before the euro era.
Officials say that about 3.5 billion coins with a total value of $634 million are still out there somewhere, Expatica reported. The coins can be turned in for euros until the end of the year, while guilder notes can be exchanged until 2032, 30 years after the Netherlands changed to the euro.
Beginning on Oct. 2, guilder coins can be turned in at post offices. The euro equivalent will be credited to the bank account of the person handing them over.
But officials expect many coins to remain missing. Some were taken by tourists as souvenirs while others were lost at the beach, are under sofa cushions or in the pockets of old jackets, Expatica said.
The coins being turned over will be melted down and sold as scrap metal.
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pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 09/13/2006 : 19:16:13
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The article didn’t mention the fact that the Dutch 1 cent piece was made of bronze, wt 2 grams while the new Euro cent is copper plated steel. The old Dutch five cent coin was 3.5 grams bronze while the new Euro is copper plated steel.
Many of the old Dutch 10 cent, 25 cent, ˝ Gulden and 1 Gulden were made of silver before 1941.
Of, course, the government will give the Netherlanders a fair price for their honesty, won’t they? |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 09/13/2006 : 19:16:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Canadian_Nickle
Dutch government tries to gather old coins
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- The Dutch government is trying to collect some of the billions of old guilder coins from before the euro era.
Officials say that about 3.5 billion coins with a total value of $634 million are still out there somewhere, Expatica reported. The coins can be turned in for euros until the end of the year, while guilder notes can be exchanged until 2032, 30 years after the Netherlands changed to the euro.
Beginning on Oct. 2, guilder coins can be turned in at post offices. The euro equivalent will be credited to the bank account of the person handing them over.
But officials expect many coins to remain missing. Some were taken by tourists as souvenirs while others were lost at the beach, are under sofa cushions or in the pockets of old jackets, Expatica said.
The coins being turned over will be melted down and sold as scrap metal.
The article didn't mention that maybe a bunch of guys and gals over there are just hoarding them in bulk like us.
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If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. -Napoleon Hill |
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pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 09/13/2006 : 19:27:58
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| If they lived under the German occupation when their coins were all zinc, or if they remember the inflation they had to live with for the past few decades they are fools not to hoard coins for their melt value. |
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Canadian_Nickle
Penny Hoarding Member
Canada
938 Posts |
Posted - 09/13/2006 : 22:46:57
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| What's funny is that for a few years there, you could no longer exchange old dutch coins for Euros - IIRC they stopped accepting them and the national bank, with very little notice to the population. I guess they belatedly realized that they want that metal back ;) |
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pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 09/14/2006 : 15:50:05
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| Meant to say the new Euro 5 cent piece is copper plated steel, the One Euro "dolar" coin is cupro-nickel and brass, but of course, not worth much melt wise. |
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n/a
deleted
143 Posts |
Posted - 09/14/2006 : 16:23:40
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talking of melt value, after a few years of using nickel plated steel(with mint mark "p"), the royal canadian mint decided to use cupronickel(25% nickel, 75% copper) as material for minting some of the 2006 5-cent pieces again, indicated by the absence of a mint mark;
if you are interested in hoarding cupronickels, you might want to look deeper into this situation, as this does not make a lot of sense to me with the recent spike in copper and nickel prices...
this site is thus made obsolete: (but still very useful)
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Edited by - n/a on 09/14/2006 20:48:10 |
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Canadian_Nickle
Penny Hoarding Member
Canada
938 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 03:38:21
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GUATEMALA CITY, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Mayan Indian families have invaded land owned by a Canadian nickel mining firm in Guatemala, setting up makeshift camps and demanding the company cede land for subsistence farming.
Skye Resources Inc. (SKR.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to reopen a long-dormant nickel project near Guatemala's Lake Izabal and begin producing 11,000 tonnes of ferro-nickel late in 2008.
But environmental concerns and disputes over land rights prompted more than 1,000 Mayan Indians living near the site to occupy two different areas within the company's concession over the weekend, said activists working in El Estor, the town closest to the mine.
"People are building houses and it looks like they are not planning on leaving anytime soon," said Daniel Vogt, who represents local Mayan development group Aepdi.
The company said it is open to negotiation but that the townspeople refused to enter into discussions to resolve the dispute.
"Right now they are just near the roads to the mineral deposits, and the landing strip," mine official Omar Dieguez told Reuters. "We would like to resolve this or else there could be conflicts once we start operations."
Skye's shares rose last week after news that mining giants Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (VALE5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research), BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) and Xstrata Plc (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) were all considering bids for the Vancouver-based company.
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2006 : 13:44:11
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Inco:Nickel Producers Struggling To Meet Strong Demand
Mercredi 20 septembre 2006 / 13h56
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Extremely strong demand for nickel, especially from the stainless steel industry, has left major producers struggling to supply their customers and has driven prices to record highs, Canada's Inco Ltd. (N) said in a statement Wednesday.
"Inventories throughout the supply chain are at the lowest levels we have ever seen," said Peter Goudie, Inco executive vice president marketing. "Our customers are looking for more nickel and we are doing all we can to supply them, but it is difficult to meet all demands," he added.
Production problems at a number of producers was another factor behind the tight market, Inco said. It expects the "great strength we are seeing in the nickel market" to continue through the remainder of the year.
The market is "now in a place where the industry has never been before," Goudie said.
"This is creating, as expected, considerable volatility in prices as the market adapts to the new pricing levels," he added.
London Metal Exchange three-month nickel Aug. 23 hit a record high of $30,000 a metric ton.
-By Andrea Hotter, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 20 7842 9413; andrea.hotter@dowjones.com
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If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. -Napoleon Hill |
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n/a
deleted
103 Posts |
 Posted - 09/26/2006 : 11:41:33
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posted on GIM 9/26/06 by marketnutral
NICKEL AND COPPER
NICKEL AND COPPER: Based on the prices, it appears these two metals are in shorter supply. Mining CEO Richard Faucher gives the report.
You must be logged in to see this link. (audio)
All communication presented to this forum is private commerce by this forum user/member. All terms of private commerce are as this forum user/member understands it. Member F.D.I.C. Substantial penalty for early withdraw. |
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pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2006 : 16:52:12
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Seems like the Philippines may start hoarding
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Home About Metal Value of Philippine Coins
August 13th, 2006
Recently, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP / Philippine Central Bank) changed the composition of coins it produces. In general, this development is due to higher prices of metal. In particular, the prices of copper and nickel—the main components of RP coins—have soared because China is consuming a lot of them (or what they’re made of).
According to Reuters, one-peso coins produced until 2003 are made of material worth P3.50. That means, if you have a million pesos in the bank, you are a million pesos rich. But if you have a million pesos in your piggy bank, you are 3.5 million pesos rich. (My computations say you are P4.19 million rich.)
Let’s see how much each coin is worth if they’re melted and sold as chunks of metal.
Based on prices I got from You must be logged in to see this link. (for metal prices) and finance.yahoo.com/currency (for the peso-dollar exchange rate), I’ve computed that:
zinc — P0.1728 per gram,
nickel — P1.5249,
and copper — P0.4066.
Since BSP publishes what each coin is made of, we can compute how much they actually cost. (If you want my Excel matrix of this, leave a comment.)
Which coins to melt and which to keep?
Of the six coins I studied, three have metal prices significantly higher than their monetary values.
The one-peso coin is worth P4.19 (419% of its monetary value).
The 25-centavo coin is worth P1.23 (494%).
The one-centavo coin is worth P0.05 (488%).
The three other coins are P5 (P3.16 metal value, 63% of its monetary value), P0.10 (0.06, 61%), P0.05 (0.05, 93%).
The bottomline is, if all of your money is made out of one-peso, 25-centavo or one-centavo coins, you should be four to five times richer than you actually are.
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2006 : 11:29:14
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Copper Prices Rebound From Three-Month Low on Supply, Economy
By Chanyapr0n Chanjaroen and Dale Crofts
Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose from a three-month low on speculation that demand will exceed mine output as economies grow in Europe and China, the world's largest consumer of most industrial metals.
China will help fuel a fourth-quarter rebound in commodities such as copper, Morgan Stanley said in a report. Copper prices that are down 17 percent from a record high almost five months ago may return to that level by year end as mine output falls short of demand by 110,000 tons, the bank said.
``The copper industry faces unprecedented pressure in keeping pace with global demand growth,'' said Morgan Stanley analysts, led by Wiktor Bielski in London.
Copper for delivery in three months gained $250, or 3.6 percent, to $7,280 a metric ton at 4:18 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange. The metal declined 4.2 percent yesterday to $7,030, the lowest close since June 28. Prices, which reached a record $8,800 on May 11, are up 87 percent from a year ago.
Copper futures for December delivery gained 9.7 cents, or 3 percent, to $3.3025 a pound at 11:18 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A close at that price would be the biggest gain for a most-active futures since Sept. 18. A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a fixed price for a specific delivery date.
Prices also got a boost from a report on jobless claims in the U.S. that signaled a resilient labor market even as the economy slows.
Fewer Claims
First-time claims for jobless benefits in the U.S. fell more than expected last week to the lowest in more than two months, according to a report from the Labor Department today in Washington. Copper demand, used for wire and pipe by the construction industry, depends on robust economic activity.
``All the metals are rebounding,'' said Donald Selkin, director of equity research at Joseph Stevens & Co. in New York. ``We've had a drawdown in copper supplies, lower jobless claims in the U.S. and buyers have been attracted to the lower prices after a sharp sell-off in the last couple of days.''
Copper has fallen from its record highs as central banks in the U.S., Europe and Japan raised interest rates, triggering speculation that global economic growth will slow next year, curbing demand for industrial metals.
``These fears are overdone,'' Morgan Stanley said. An increase in business spending in Asia and Europe will cushion the effects of a U.S. housing slowdown, the bank said.
Falling inventories may indicate expanding demand. Copper stockpiles tracked by the LME dropped 2,550 tons, or 2.2 percent, to 114,425 tons today. That's less than three days of global consumption.
Interest-Rate Cut?
Morgan Stanley raised its 2007 forecast for average copper prices by 17 percent to $3.50 a pound, or $7,716 a ton. It also increased this year's forecast to $3.15 a pound from $2.98. Joseph Stevens's Selkin said copper will trade between $3.20 and $3.50 a pound for the foreseeable future.
``I don't see anything to break us out of this range,'' he said. ``The copper price will probably keep moving sideways.''
Investors may be buying copper and other commodities after oil prices rose today, he said. Crude oil rose the most in a week, surpassing $60 a barrel, on speculation the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut production after a 26 percent drop in prices from a record $78.40 in July.
A majority of OPEC's members support reducing output by 1 million barrels a day, Algeria's state news agency reported, citing unnamed people. Kuwaiti and Qatari officials said there was no agreement to cut output. Nigeria and Venezuela said last week they will cut production by a combined 170,000 barrels a day.
Inflation Outlook
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday inflation will recede over time, boosting speculation about a lending rate cut next year. The Fed raised its benchmark rate 17 times in two years to 5.25 percent.
Producers of wires and pipes bought the metal today, said Rick Holmes, managing director at Mitsui Bussan Commodities (Australia) Pty Ltd.
Elsewhere on the LME, lead rose as inventories in exchange- monitored warehouses fell for the eighth straight session. Stockpiles are down 20 percent to 52,800 tons since Sept. 25. That's less than three days of global consumption estimated at 7.6 million tons last year by the Lisbon-based International Lead and Zinc Study Group.
Lead gained $45, or 3.3 percent, to $1,397 a ton on the LME. Prices have gained 33 percent this year.
Three tin smelters in Indonesia were closed for running without a permit and failure to pay taxes, Reuters reported, citing a police spokesman.
Tin gained $175, or 2 percent, to $9,075 a ton in London. Prices were up 38 percent from a year ago.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyapr0n Chanjaroen in London at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net ; Dale Crofts in Chicago at dcrofts@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: October 5, 2006 11:21 EDT
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If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. -Napoleon Hill |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2006 : 11:29:38
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Copper Prices Rebound From Three-Month Low on Supply, Economy
By Chanyapr0n Chanjaroen and Dale Crofts
Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose from a three-month low on speculation that demand will exceed mine output as economies grow in Europe and China, the world's largest consumer of most industrial metals.
China will help fuel a fourth-quarter rebound in commodities such as copper, Morgan Stanley said in a report. Copper prices that are down 17 percent from a record high almost five months ago may return to that level by year end as mine output falls short of demand by 110,000 tons, the bank said.
``The copper industry faces unprecedented pressure in keeping pace with global demand growth,'' said Morgan Stanley analysts, led by Wiktor Bielski in London.
Copper for delivery in three months gained $250, or 3.6 percent, to $7,280 a metric ton at 4:18 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange. The metal declined 4.2 percent yesterday to $7,030, the lowest close since June 28. Prices, which reached a record $8,800 on May 11, are up 87 percent from a year ago.
Copper futures for December delivery gained 9.7 cents, or 3 percent, to $3.3025 a pound at 11:18 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A close at that price would be the biggest gain for a most-active futures since Sept. 18. A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a fixed price for a specific delivery date.
Prices also got a boost from a report on jobless claims in the U.S. that signaled a resilient labor market even as the economy slows.
Fewer Claims
First-time claims for jobless benefits in the U.S. fell more than expected last week to the lowest in more than two months, according to a report from the Labor Department today in Washington. Copper demand, used for wire and pipe by the construction industry, depends on robust economic activity.
``All the metals are rebounding,'' said Donald Selkin, director of equity research at Joseph Stevens & Co. in New York. ``We've had a drawdown in copper supplies, lower jobless claims in the U.S. and buyers have been attracted to the lower prices after a sharp sell-off in the last couple of days.''
Copper has fallen from its record highs as central banks in the U.S., Europe and Japan raised interest rates, triggering speculation that global economic growth will slow next year, curbing demand for industrial metals.
``These fears are overdone,'' Morgan Stanley said. An increase in business spending in Asia and Europe will cushion the effects of a U.S. housing slowdown, the bank said.
Falling inventories may indicate expanding demand. Copper stockpiles tracked by the LME dropped 2,550 tons, or 2.2 percent, to 114,425 tons today. That's less than three days of global consumption.
Interest-Rate Cut?
Morgan Stanley raised its 2007 forecast for average copper prices by 17 percent to $3.50 a pound, or $7,716 a ton. It also increased this year's forecast to $3.15 a pound from $2.98. Joseph Stevens's Selkin said copper will trade between $3.20 and $3.50 a pound for the foreseeable future.
``I don't see anything to break us out of this range,'' he said. ``The copper price will probably keep moving sideways.''
Investors may be buying copper and other commodities after oil prices rose today, he said. Crude oil rose the most in a week, surpassing $60 a barrel, on speculation the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut production after a 26 percent drop in prices from a record $78.40 in July.
A majority of OPEC's members support reducing output by 1 million barrels a day, Algeria's state news agency reported, citing unnamed people. Kuwaiti and Qatari officials said there was no agreement to cut output. Nigeria and Venezuela said last week they will cut production by a combined 170,000 barrels a day.
Inflation Outlook
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday inflation will recede over time, boosting speculation about a lending rate cut next year. The Fed raised its benchmark rate 17 times in two years to 5.25 percent.
Producers of wires and pipes bought the metal today, said Rick Holmes, managing director at Mitsui Bussan Commodities (Australia) Pty Ltd.
Elsewhere on the LME, lead rose as inventories in exchange- monitored warehouses fell for the eighth straight session. Stockpiles are down 20 percent to 52,800 tons since Sept. 25. That's less than three days of global consumption estimated at 7.6 million tons last year by the Lisbon-based International Lead and Zinc Study Group.
Lead gained $45, or 3.3 percent, to $1,397 a ton on the LME. Prices have gained 33 percent this year.
Three tin smelters in Indonesia were closed for running without a permit and failure to pay taxes, Reuters reported, citing a police spokesman.
Tin gained $175, or 2 percent, to $9,075 a ton in London. Prices were up 38 percent from a year ago.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyapr0n Chanjaroen in London at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net ; Dale Crofts in Chicago at dcrofts@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: October 5, 2006 11:21 EDT
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If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. -Napoleon Hill |
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pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2006 : 18:22:04
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Some good business stories about nickel found here.
You must be logged in to see this link.
On this site you have to click on the word highlighted in red to read the story.
Although this site is primarily about stainless steel, nickel is a main component in making said steel.
Whatever effects stainless steel prices will effect nickel prices.
Something to consider per nickel prices and demand
You must be logged in to see this link.
Excerpt
The health of the worldwide nickel market is heavily dependent upon stainless steel production. The pricing of stainless steel is also dependent on the market prices of worldwide nickel. Two-thirds of all nickel mined and produced in the world will make its way into stainless steel.
Discovered in 1751, nickel held very little value to industry until Michael Faraday, in 1820, discovered that adding nickel, strengthened iron. Later development would produce nickel steel in 1885, which tests sponsored by the U.S. military, showed made superior weaponry.
This use has made nickel a critical commodity in time of warfare.
Nickel and cobalt are used today in the production of super alloys used in jet aircraft and missiles, among numerous other military uses.
While stainless is primarily made of chromium, nickel is less abundant and far more volatile.
Generally speaking, history has shown the pricing of stainless closely follows the cost of nickel.
This is due in part to the fact that while nickel may make up a small percentage of stainless in mass (8% in 304), it contributes upwards of 60% of the cost.
With the United States currently not mining any nickel or ferrochrome,
and the U.S. Defense Logistical Agency selling off its strategic stockpile of nickel in 1999,
the United States is now 100% dependent on foreign imports and scrap for these two key ingredients of stainless steel. Stay tuned.
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Edited by - pencilvanian on 10/08/2006 18:35:45 |
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Nickel & copper news. (ongoing)
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