Kitco NEWS Roundtable

The gold market is spinning its wheels, caught in a stalemate, which could create some profit-taking among investors and weigh on prices in the near term, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Heading into the weekend, markets continue to digest the disappointing nonfarm payrolls numbers. The U.S. economy created 175,000 jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The monthly figure missed expectations as economists were looking for job gains of 238,000.

At the same time, the unemployment rate increased, and wages didn’t rise as mu...

Given higher than expected inflation print this week, the Federal Reserve is less likely to lower interest rates.

On Friday mining audiences manager recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Gold investors could see higher volatility next week as the Federal Reserve is expected to signal it will not be ready to lower interest rates before the summer.

The weakness comes as the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge – the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index – showed that inflation remains higher than preferred, rising 2.8% over the prior year in March, above estimates for 2.7%

On Wednesday the Fe...

With Middle East conflict unwinding, a focus on the Fed could slow gold's momentum.

On Saturday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

For now, the Israel-Iran conflict seems to have tamped down, which removes some safe-haven demand for gold and puts renewed focus on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

This week Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell surprised markets with a brief hawkish comment. While speaking at an event in Washington, D.C., Powell said that after the release of hotter-than-expected inflation data, the central bank has less confidence it is re...

Gold jumped another 5% this week with June gold futures hitting $2,350 an ounce.

On Saturday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Copper was also on fire, which were up 4.6% for the week to close above $4.20.

The copper miners are up 20% year to date and trading at a 52 week high. Gold miners are up just 10% year to date, according to the GDX.

U.S. job growth blew past expectations in March and wages increased at a steady clip. However the strong job numbers suggest that the Federal Reserve will put off...

Metals could get a lift with the Fed signaling that it wants to cut interest rates, note mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Gold ended the week flat with spot at $2165.The metal did spike mid-week. The Federal Reserve has given the all-clear to gold after signaling it still wants to cut interest rates three-times this year, even as inflation remains above the 2% target.

In mining news Calibre Mining (TSX: CXB) announced a C$100 million bought-deal financing at a price of $1.68 per common share of Calibre. Calibre is...

Copper gained nearly 6% this week to trade above $4 pound, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Copper got a boost with news that potentially less metal will be available. According to Reuters, China announced that it was cutting production at some loss-making copper smelters. Copper bulls see years of low prices along with diminishing production as a good sign for the metal when the energy transition theme fully kicks in. 

The lithium sector looked bullish with big financings announced. Lithium Americas received a record $2.2 billion loan from the U...

Gold's run is having limited benefit for gold miners, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday, McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

After an impressive seven-day rally, which pushed prices to an all-time high of $2,203, the gold market could see some consolidation in the near term, writes editor Neils Christensen. Profit taking and the lack of any near term catalysts could dampen gold's run going forward.

Gold's run has had muted impact upon gold equities. Although gold companies are up 9% this month, they are still down for the year and more than half their...

Both copper and gold were higher this week with signs that the Fed may be easing as soon as June.

On Saturday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris.

Gold recovered after tumbling mid week due to a hotter than expected CPI number, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday McCrae and Kitco correspondent Paul Harris recorded Kitco Roundtable.

On Tuesday the Labor Statistics said that its Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% in January, higher than the Consensus forecasts of 0.2% increase. Markets tumbled and gold dropped below the 2000 level.

The week started with a tragic mine accident in Turkey. SSR Mining suspended production at its Copler mine after a landslide resulted in at least nine miners missing.

New Gold announced a big production update this week, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday, McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris.

New Gold reported that consolidated gold production is expected to increase by approximately 35% from 2023 to 410,000 to 460,000 ounces in 2026 driven by increasing production profiles at both Rainy River and New Afton as growth projects are completed in the near-term. The company still sold off in a down market for gold miners, off 6% for the week to $1.58 a share.

New Gold is a Canadian-focused intermediate mining Company with a portfolio...

Metals traded lower end of week when jobs data came in stronger than expected, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris.

On Friday jobs data showed the U.S. economy created a whopping 353,000 jobs last month, significantly beating expectations. Markets see only a 20% chance of a rate cut in March, and they have pared back expectations for a rate cut in May.

Copper spiked mid-week, nearing $4 pound to settle back where it started, due to the strong job's number. Gold finished the week...

The copper market is setting up nicely and prices for the metal should head higher, noted Kitco correspondent Paul Harris.

On Monday Harris, mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and Soar Financial CEO Kai Hoffmann recorded Kitco Roundtable at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference.

Harris noted that copper supply is starting to dwindle, while energy transition is increasing demand.

The three panelists also noted the downbeat mood at the first major mining show of 2024, as resource companies hope to turn the page on a mostly forgettable 2023.

A Chinese miner made a large investment into a Latin American copper developer, noted Kitco correspondent Paul Harris.

On Saturday Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Earlier this week Solaris Resources announced a $130 million strategic investment by Zijin Mining Group. Solaris is advancing its Warintza project, a high-grade open pit copper resource in Ecuador.

McCrae noted that both gold and copper were under pressure due to a hawkish turn by the Federal Reserve.

Uranium leaped to a new high, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday McCrae and Kitco correspondent Paul Harris recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Uranium traded as high as $100 this week according to pricing data provider UxC. The metal is has tripled in the past two years. Uranium was propelled higher when mining giant Kazatomprom announced a production shortfall of the metal due to lack of sulphuric acid needed for production.

Gold has had a solid year, overcoming the Fed's higher interest rate regime, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Spot gold managed to finish the final trading day of 2023 in the 2060 range, up about $200 from the start of the year.

In mining news top ten gold miner, Agnico Eagle (NYSE: AEM), announced today it was investing $23.12 million in Canada Nickel Company (TSXV: CNC). Agnico will own about 12% of the Ontario-focused, early-stage nickel company.

On Friday gold prices fell on strong job numbers from the U.S., noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Friday was jobs day. The U.S. economy created 199,000 jobs last month, beating expectations. At the same time, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.7%, down from 3.9% in October.

The strong economy implied that the Fed is further away from easing. On the news gold prices hit a two-week low and silver a three-week.

According to some analysts, Monday's rally and subsequent selloff was not helpful for gold's...

Gold finally hit a record high, and the copper markets had a big supply shock, said mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

February gold futures last traded at $2,091.90 an ounce, up more than 4% from last Friday's close. Gold's previous record was at $2,089.20 in August 2020, wrote Kitco editor Neils Christensen.

Gold is seeing renewed buying momentum as markets continue to price in a potential rate cut as early as March. The precious metal's rally comes even as the central bank maintains its tightening stance. Friday, Federal Reserve chair Jerome...

To end the week gold has spent much of the time trading above $2,000 a ounce, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

After the good CPI numbers earlier this month that may allow the Fed to stop hiking, gold has found room to rise.

Notable economic number this week were the the S&P Global Flash U.S. manufacturing and services PMI.

Manufacturing contracted while services expanded. Bottomline is that the numbers put the U.S. economy at neutral.

Copper was up again this...

Commodities and markets were up this week off the good consumer price index report, which came in below market expectations, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

The GDX, a index of gold miners, was up 5% on the week. The S&P was up half that amount. Gold added about $40 for the week to end at the 1980s range.

Mid-week consumer price index report was below Wall Street estimates, which sparked a major rally on Wall Street. The core CPI rose 0.2% and 4%, against the forecast of 0.3% and 4.1%. The...

Commodities traded down this week after the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made hawkish remarks at a news conference.

On Sunday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Powell warned markets that although inflation has come down from last year’s 40-year highs, the Fed still has work to do. He said that the central bank is not “confident” that it has inflation under control enough to shift its current tightening bias, according to reporting by editor Neils Christensen.

Powell also said that the Federal Reserve wouldn’t hesitate to raise interest rates if...

Gold is deferring a break higher, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris.

Key economic news this week was the jobs report. Non-farm payrolls number come in at up 150,000 versus market expectations of 170,000. The report fell into the camp of the U.S. monetary policy doves, who want the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates.

Gold was helped but not much. Spot gold finished the week at $1,998 ounce.

Gold’s inability to convincingly break above $2,000 an ounce is creating some cautious se...

A Fed rate-hike pause at next week's FOMC meeting is likely, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris.

Also noted during Roundtable was Piedmont Lithium and partner Atlantic Lithium obtaining permits for the Ewoyaa project in Ghana.

War worries and a possible end to Fed tightening are some of the reasons gold is rebounding, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris and QC Copper & Gold CEO Stephen Stewart.

The gold price has been on an unstoppable move higher when war fears entered the marketplace last week, that according to Kitco contributor David Erfle. Despite the U.S. 10-year bond yield rising to 5%, the safe-haven metal has risen from $1825 just two weeks ago to move closer to the key $2000 level notching up an impressive...

The set up for copper looks good, said EMX Royalty CEO David Cole.

On Friday Cole recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

With the Federal Reserve looking to be near the end of its tightening cycle and geopolitical concerns, the vice-grip that monetary policy has exerted on gold through most of 2023 is starting to weaken, giving the market room to run.

After hitting a seven-month low a week ago, the precious metal is seeing its best weekly gains since mid-March, noted Kitco's Neils Christensen. Prices are over $90 higher than last...

Many commodities were routed in October, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris.

Gold prices dropped to a fresh seven months below after data showed that the us economy created 336,000 jobs last month, significantly beating the market's expectations. However, according to some analysts, disappointing wage growth and an unchanged unemployment rate gives the federal reserve room to leave rates on change next month.

And with that gold recovered slightly and finished the week in the 1840 range, copper traded lower this week to hitting...

During the last week of September, gold suffered its second largest monthly decline of 2023 with only February having a greater devaluation of gold futures, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

The precious metal droped 5%, nearly $100. According to Kitco contributor Gary Wagner, the root cause the Federal Reserve including a major revision that was announced at last week’s September FOMC meeting.

In mining news, battery metal investments led the headlines.

Swedish lithium-ion battery manufacturer Northvolt announced that it will establish a fully integrated lithium-ion battery gi...

Due to travel schedules, we reprised an interview with Exploration Insights’ Joe Mazumdar.

Mazumdar spoke to Kitco in mid-September at the Precious Metals Summit 2023 in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Mazumdar is editor and analyst of Exploration Insights. Brent Cook, who is founder of Exploration Insights, also joined the interview.

There is a big disconnect between gold prices and gold miners, noted panelists on Kitco Roundtable.

On Friday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae, Kitco Correspondent Paul Harris and David Erfle with the juniorminerjunky.com recorded Roundtable at the Precious Metal Summit in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

During the first quarter of the year, gold futures traded above $2,000. Since then, the metal has mostly traded within a healthy band of $1,900 to $2,000. Yet, the gold mining index, the GDX, is down 3% year-to-date, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ composite is up nearly one-third.

Gold mining shares..."look like...

While gold and copper slipped 1% and 3.5% respectively this week, oil is gaining, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris.

Copper prices dropped 3.5% this week to finish at the low $3.70 level. Gold trended downward this week, with prices falling around 1% after the Labor Day holiday finishing the week at $1,919 an ounce.

But oil is surging. On Tuesday Brent crude saw $90 a barrel for the first time since November, a 10-month high. Oil gained on news that Russia and Saudi Arabia committed to reducing production over...

Base metals are trading higher due to China's efforts to shore up its struggling property sector, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Friday, McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris and Srini Godavarthy, the CEO of Li-Metal.

China is issuing directives to prop up its property sector, such as easing borrowing rules to aid homebuyers. Other measures included lowering the existing mortgage rate for first-home buyers and the down payment ratio in some cities, noted Reuters.

Worries about China's economy has been a drag on metals through most of the summer...

All eyes were on the Jackson Hole meeting in Wyoming, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris and Stillwater Critical Minerals' CEO Michael Rowley.

Stillwater Critical Minerals (TSX.V: PGE | OTCQB: PGEZF) is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on its flagship Stillwater West Ni-PGE-Cu-Co + Au project in the Stillwater mining district of Montana, U.S. 2023 drilling is currently underway. In the spring the company received an investment from mining giant Glencore.

On Friday Fed Chair Jerome Powell gave a much-anticipated speech at the...

Metals are sliding due to recession worries, higher for longer rates and China concerns, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris.  

China is the story that is dominating commodity markets. A handful of large Chinese property development companies are under stress. Today Evergrande announced it filed for bankruptcy protection in the US. Earlier this week China's largest private real estate developer Country Garden missed a bond payment.  

With China worries, investors fled to the U.S. and the dolla...

Gold did not get much of bounce from the favorable job numbers, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.  

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris.  

U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 187,000 last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released the numbers on Friday. The monthly figure was below the market consensus estimates of 205,000.

The gold market didn't react much. December gold futures last traded at $1,970 an ounce, roughly unchanged on the day.

Companies are releasing their second quarter financial results. In its outlook, uranium gi...

The gold market is seeking direction, noted Kitco's mining audience manager Michael McCrae. 

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. 

McCrae noted that the big news this week was the  Federal Reserve pushing interest rates to a 22-year high on Wednesday. The Fed resumed its hikes from last month's pause. The big data point this week was core Personal Consumption Expenditures price index increased 0.2% last month, compared to May's increase of 0.3%. The report revealed that in June inflationary pressures continues to diminish while consumer spending continues to expand. The news sent equ...

Gold approached $2,000 earlier this week but then fizzled as the upcoming Fed hike weighed, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. 

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable. 

The Fed skipped a raise in June. There were signs that the Fed is winning its inflation battle with favorable data about jobs and inflation, but the Fed will not be deterred. Analysts say that The Fed is almost certain to hike its policy rate by 25bp to between 5.25% and 5.50% at next week's FOMC meeting.  

Gold finished the week in the $1,960 range. 

Copper was off for...

A good inflation report pushed the gold market to a three-week high, with prices holding solidly above $1,950 an ounce, and sentiment turning bullish, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. 

On Saturday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable. 

Roundtable covered the lift in metal prices due to good inflation numbers. The Consumer Price Index dropped to 3%. The Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.1%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting an increase in the PPI of 0.2%. 

Roundtable also features an interview with  Fastmarkets' CEO Raju Daswani. Last month Raju hosted his company's 15th Lithium Supply and...

Lithium companies enjoy a funding advantage, noted Bradda Head Lithium CEO Charles FitzRoy.  

On Friday FitzRoy recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.  

Bradda Head is advancing projects in Arizona and Nevada.  

With energy transition underway and governments supporting critical mineral businesses, FitzRoy noted that lithium companies have more options to raise money to continue their work.  

"There's a lot of support around funding," said FitzRoy. "Whether it's from [the Inflation Reduction Act] or from OEM's or major miners getting interested in the l...

Robert Friedland warned about a coming copper crunch due to increasing demand and dropping supply, noted Kitco correspondent Paul Harris.  

On Friday Harris recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. 

The bleak picture for gold stocks was also covered. Gold is seeing its worst month since February as markets shift expectations, pricing in a nearly 100% chance of a rate hike in July. 

After kicking off the month above $1,980 an ounce, gold finished June at the $1,910 level. 

McCrae talked about some of his favorite #MinTwit follows on Twitter: @michaelbhorner, @jrminingguy and...