ICSG: Copper market remains in balance as prices wallow
The following is an edited summary of the International Copper Study Group’s (ICSG) January 2016 Copper Bulletin. For more information and to buy the bulletin, visit www.icsg.org.
Commodities Markets
Editorial: Oil-to-gold ratio hitting all-time high
We’ve had another momentous week in the commodity markets, with oil prices dropping to 13-year lows below US$30 per barrel, copper sliding under US$2 per lb., the Canadian dollar dipping under US70¢ and world stock markets hobbling…
Commentary: Coal’s place in the shifting global energy mix
Given the mining industry’s extended cycle times, companies regularly look for insight relative to long-term commodity demand patterns. One area that may require more concerted focus relates to the shifting global energy mix.
Supplier news: Finning cuts 1,100 jobs amid sales slump
Citing weak sales, Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) dealer Finning International (TSX: FTT; US-OTC: FINGF) announced it would cut its global workforce by 1,100 people, or 8%.
Editorial: Copper, iron, oil, gold prices all head south
Miners across the globe gritted their teeth in mid-November as commodity prices slumped further, continuing a decline that began more than a month ago.
Low gold prices in Q3 fuel rise in demand
The following is an edited summary of the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends report for this year’s third quarter. For the full report, please visit www.gold.org.
Rough year creates opportunity in diamonds: Q&A
Diamond equities have had a rough ride in 2015, but what about next year? In an interview in early November, Matthew O’Keefe, vice-president and senior analyst at Dundee Capital Markets,…
Stornoway’s ‘good timing’ at Renard
Since it raised $946 million last July to build its Renard diamond mine in Quebec, Stornoway Diamond (TSX: SWY) has kept construction and engineering at the project on time and…
Editorial: Diamond market in wait-and-see mode
The response of diamond miners to the decline in rough prices over the past year — they’ve fallen around 16%, according to the WWW rough diamond index — has been…
Big changes at De Beers Canada
In a plan that is expected to be complete by the end of next June, De Beers Canada is moving its headquarters to Calgary from Toronto as part of a…
Editorial: Teck, Freeport burned by falling oil and gas prices
It must have seemed like a good idea at the time a few years ago when Teck Resources and Freeport-McMoRan management bought deeper into the oil and gas sector and diversified further away from their mining businesses, but those decisions to…
Caterpillar launches major restructuring
Heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) will transform how its mining, customer and dealer divisions operate with an eye toward increasing efficiency and customer satisfaction.