Bullion fell 0.5% to trade near $3,353 an ounce on Friday, and is down more than 2% for the week. US President Donald Trump will decide whether to join Israel’s attacks on Iran within two weeks, his spokeswoman said, reducing fears of imminent action that could escalate hostilities, threaten energy flows and spur inflation.
Those pressures are building, though. Half-yearly treatment charges are currently being negotiated, and given the shortage of ore it’s global miners that are firmly in the driving seat. They began the talks by proposing negative fees, a first for term contracts that would severely affect profits at smelters.
It takes about 12 tons of sulfur to make 1 ton of mixed-hydroxide precipitate, or MHP, a form of nickel aimed at automakers. Given the surge in sulfur costs, HPAL factories need to pay over $2,500 more than last year for each ton of MHP, pressuring margins in an industry that is still growing, said […]
The Health Ministry has been working closely with other government agencies, including the National Security Council, to enhance Taiwan’s medical preparedness for emergencies, Deputy Health Minister Lin Ching-yi told Bloomberg News. Strengthening domestic production capacity for key medical supplies, including blood bags, is a part of the strategy, she said, as was ensuring that imports […]
Good morning, this is Chiranjivi Chakraborty, an equities reporter in Mumbai. Local equities are looking up, with Nifty futures pointing to a positive start. However, the mood’s still cautious with no signs of a let up in Israel-Iran conflict. Oil’s still a key focus for traders, given the conflict’s impact on India, a major energy […]
“Prices are still very close to the record, and given the geopolitical situation any further escalation will push them higher,” said John Feeney, an analyst at Guardian Gold Australia. “Gold has performed very well as a haven recently, and it seems a lot of investors are moving funds out of US bonds and into the […]
While the government’s efforts on rice appears to have helped Ishiba, last week’s moves to address the rising cost-of-living with cash handouts were less well received. The same Kyodo survey showed 54.9% were against the ruling party’s promise to hand out ¥20,000 ($138) per person, while 67% of respondents to the Asahi poll said they […]
That type of action may draw the US, the world’s most powerful military, into the conflict, something Tehran has probably calculated it can’t afford, according to Bloomberg Economics analysts. That’s partly because the Iranian economy is already weak, with inflation at almost 40%, and public frustration with the government is high.
A trade deal with Canada was not listed as a priority for the UK government last year, when Trade Minister Douglas Alexander listed agreements with the Gulf Cooperation Council, India, Israel, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and Turkey as the areas his department was focusing on. But Trump’s return to the White House and his […]
It’s unclear if Tehran is entertaining last-resort options — such as attacking tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, through which Middle East producers ship about a fifth of the world’s daily output. That type of action may draw the US, the world’s most powerful military, into the conflict, a risk Tehran has calculated that it […]