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LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Funds have dumped their bets on higher copper prices as the turbulence triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank continues to roil financial markets. The investment community has turned net short of CME copper for the first time in five months, while funds have cut their long exposure on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Investors' negativity towards Doctor Copper contrasts with the bullish headlines generated by the FT Commodities Global Summit. Investment funds bought into copper in January, the net long position expanding from 11,830 to 32,397 contracts at the end of the month. Bulls such as Trafigura and Goldman Sachs contend it's a very thin inventory cushion if China rediscovers its copper mojo.

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) has discovered that some of its registered nickel is missing. Bags of stones shouldn't pass any inspection, whether at original load-in or during the annual audit of registered stock required by the LME's warehousing agreement. But it folds into the bigger issues around the exchange's governance and regulatory capacity after the blow-out of the nickel contract this time last year. BROKEN NICKELThe latest scandal will also intensify the question of whether the LME nickel contract is fulfilling the function of efficient price discovery forum. The nickel market was already looking for different pricing solutions before the March 8, 2022 suspension of LME nickel trading.

☆ Gold eases as traders fret about interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold prices ticked lower on Monday as central banks indicated further interest rate hikes to tame stubbornly high inflation, diminishing bullion's appeal as a hedge against price increases. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,853.99 per ounce, as of 0305 GMT, after climbing to its highest since Feb. 15 on Friday. Interest rate hikes to contain high inflation discourage investors from placing money in non-yielding assets such as gold. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said on Friday he could see U.S. rates in the 5.5%-5.75% range. Spot silver firmed 0.1% to $21.27 per ounce, platinum slipped 0.3% to $974.36 and palladium was down 0.2% at $1,449.82.

☆ Column: The devil's metal strikes again in Trafigura nickel fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Andy Home | Thomson Reuters | Senior Metals Columnist Who Previously Covered Industrial Metals Markets For Metals Week | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Appearances can be deceptive when it comes to nickel, as Trafigura has just found out half a millennium later. Just as it's impossible to say whether some of the recent price volatility on the LME nickel contract was down to Trafigura restructuring hedge positions. The problem is that LME nickel trading has been volatile and unpredictable ever since last year's meltdown. There is now also a growing crisis of confidence in the world of physical nickel trading. Nickel could really do with a reputational break but recent history suggests it's just a matter of time before the devil's metal strikes again.

☆ Gold rebounds but holds below $1,900/oz level on Fed fears, firm dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Twenty kilogram gold and silver bricks sit at the ABC Refinery smelter in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on Thursday, July 2, 2020. Gold prices regained some ground on Monday but a firmer dollar and concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve might keep hiking interest rates kept bullion below the key $1,900-an-ounce level. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,872.96 per ounce, as of 0257 GMT, after hitting its lowest level since Jan. 6 earlier in the session. Those bets helped the dollar index rise 0.2%, adding pressure on gold by raising its cost for buyers holding other currencies. Spot silver edged up 0.2% to $22.39 per ounce, platinum was little changed at $973.88 and palladium added 0.2% to $1,626.38.

☆ Gold slips as dollar gains momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ashitha Shivaprasad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Gold will bounce around $1,900 level in near term - analystBarrick set to report highest quarterly gold output for 2022Jan 18 (Reuters) - Gold prices inched lower on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar firmed, while expectations of a slowdown in the pace of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes limited the losses. A stronger dollar tends to make gold more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. If the narrative continues to be that inflation is cooling and interest rates will come down, then it will be bullish for gold." FEDWATCHLower interest rates tend to be beneficial for bullion, decreasing the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset. On the physical front, Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) reported on Tuesday a 13.4% sequential rise in gold production in what could be its highest quarterly output last year.

☆ Gold set for weekly gain on smaller U.S. rate-hike bets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Ashitha Shivaprasad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,898.57 per ounce, as of 0234 GMT. But we see gold continuing to rise despite cooling inflation because the market is looking at a lower dollar and smaller interest rate hikes," said Edward Meir, metals analyst, Marex. Gold is seen as an inflation hedge, but higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding the asset. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank president Raphael Bostic said the inflation data may allow the Fed to scale back to quarter-point rate hikes at its upcoming meeting. Spot silver edged 0.1% higher to $23.79, platinum gained 0.1% to $1,068.79 while palladium slipped 0.6% to $1,780.91.

The sugar and ethanol (S&E) industry, as well as international sugar traders, were widely expecting the resumption of federal taxes on gasoline and ethanol, as indicated by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad last week. "In our perspective, this measure might have negative effects on the S&E sector, as it maintains the ethanol prices below the market's forecast, while the expectation was for an increase in ethanol prices in the beginning of 2023," said Citi Research. Sugar and ethanol industry group Unica said the new administration had become "an accomplice" to the attack on the environment begun under the former administration, adding that the measure contradicts Lula's speech at the COP 27 U.N. climate meeting in November. The group said that the tax exemption was unconstitutional, since the law requires the federal government to give a tax incentive to biofuels. Mauricio Muruci, an analyst with Safras & Mercado, said fuel distributors were actively buying ethanol late last year before the expected tax return.

☆ Analysis: Turbulence still haunts LME nickel, months on from trade debacle
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Pratima Desai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Months after turbulence highlighted shortcomings in LME oversight, the nickel contract remains broken. Declining liquidity, together with low stocks, has led to high LME nickel prices this year, pushing up costs for industrial users already grappling with surging inflation. LIQUIDITY SLUMPSMany investors, traders, consumers and producers have abandoned LME nickel in the aftermath of the chaos in March. LME nickel typically trades at a discount to the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) contract because China is a net importer of nickel and the ShFE nickel price takes into account logistical costs and local taxes. "There's a major disconnect between LME nickel (futures) and the physical market," a nickel trader said.

☆ Nickel prices tumble as LME scrutinises volatile trading
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Marianna Parraga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) said on Wednesday it was conducting enhanced monitoring of nickel trading after prices fell as much as 12% in volatile and illiquid conditions. The London Metal Exchange (LME) on March 8 cancelled all nickel trades and suspended the market for more than a week after prices doubled in a matter of hours. "The LME notes the current volatility in nickel," the exchange said in a statement. "The price limits in place are functioning as expected and the LME is undertaking enhanced monitoring to ensure that participants' trading activities are being conducted appropriately." Benchmark LME nickel racked up six consecutive days of gains between Nov. 8 and Nov. 15, starting the first at $23,330 a tonne and reaching as high as $31,275 on the last.

☆ Lumea bea mai puţină cafea când lucrează de acasă
▼ + stars: | 2020-07-12 | by ( On | In | ) omniapres.md time to read: +1 min

Consumul mondial de cafea ar urma să scadă în acest an pentru prima dată după 2011, prognozează Departamentul american al Agriculturii (USDA), transmite Bloomberg. Într-o lume care lucrează de acasă, mersul zilnic la cafea pentru doza zilnică de cafeina a dispărut iar acest fenomen afectează fiecare mare regiune. Firma de cercetare Marex Spectron estimează că la nivel global peste 95% din piaţa cafelei “out-of-home” a fost închisă la un anumit punct pe perioada pandemiei. O relansare anemică a cererii de cafea ar putea fi un fenomen devastator pentru cele aproximativ 125 de milioane de persoane din întreaga lume care îşi asigură mijloacele de trai de pe urma cafelei. Cultivatorii de cafea se confruntau deja cu probleme după ce mai mulţi ani de recolte consistente au declanşat o situaţie de tip “bear market” pentru piaţa cafelei.

Persons: restricţiile, Robert Robinson Organizations: Agriculturii Locations: Londra, City

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