In today's commentary you talked about Brazilian copper miners. Vale's chart seems to suggest a bottoming pattern. It is primarily an iron ore producer but it does have a copper interest. This may be a medium to long term level.
a contact living in northern Portugal has informed me of the ecological disaster there being caused by Lithium mining. In the attached article we can read that thousands of protesters are marching in Serbia in opposition to Lithium mining there. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/05/rio-tinto-lithium-mine-thousands-of-protesters-block-roads-across-serbia Regards A.
In today’s Audio you stated that there was an increasing risk of deflation. This is unsurprising because the capitalist system rewards the production of cheaper and better goods, while the continuing industrialization of the under-developed countries maintains downward pressure on wages. Throw in the emergence of crypto currencies and one must ask if gold will ever regain its former status in the economic system. Your views would be appreciated.
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December began with record warm temperatures across the central U.S. and the promise of seasonally balmy weather for weeks ahead, holding down natural gas consumption when the world struggles with high fuel prices and inflation.
Denver reached 73 degrees Fahrenheit (22.8 degrees Celsius) on Wednesday, a record for the day, while new highs were also set in North Platte and Broken Bow in Nebraska, Bismark, North Dakota, and Rapid City, South Dakota, according to the National Weather Service. Overall, it looks like mild temperatures will dig in across the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. through at least Dec. 16.
December will likely be the third warmest going back to 1950 based on natural gas consumption, said Bradley Harvey, a meteorologist at commercial forecaster Maxar. Some of those mild trends may start to spill over into Europe and Asia as well.
“The European pattern should warm up in the middle third of the month,” Harvey said.
Atmospheric and Environmental Research updated its winter forecast earlier this week, calling for more mild conditions across the U.S. The outlook for warmer weather has killed bullish expectations that sent natural gas prices surging to the highest level in seven years in October. Traders were betting that inventories were too low to withstand a harsh winter. But warmer conditions have eroded heating demand, allowing producers to refill stockpiles to near normal levels.
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Turkey’s direct intervention in its currency markets on Wednesday, the first in seven years, shows policy makers are intent on drawing a line in the sand on how far they are willing to tolerate weakness in the lira.
However, how long policy makers are able to buy the currency some respite will essentially come down to the size of the war chest and how willing the central bank is to run down those assets. The Turkish central bank’s gross reserves add up to $128.5 billion, with $60.5 billion coming from the bank’s swap deals, according to latest data released on Nov. 19. When swaps and other liabilities such as required reserves are stripped, Turkey’s net reserves stand at -$35 billion. The bank has repeatedly said that its gross reserves -- the total amount at its disposal at the time -- are more important than net reserves.
The central bank’s intervention this morning is significant if only for the signaling it sends. During a previous episode of similar stress in the lira back in 2018, there was no reported intervention. In other words, the policy makers may be telling the markets that their strategy to ward off any speculation on the currency will take a different tack this time. In 2018, the central bank took the benchmark rate to 24% from 8% in a short span to arrest the decline in the lira.
Last week the lira tumbled more than 11% against the dollar in a single day, representing a 10-standard deviation shock based on its moves in the past five years. The currency has weakened after the central bank slashed its benchmark by 400 basis points since the end of August. The monetary authority meets next on Dec. 16.
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British Columbia on Monday extended a state of emergency and fuel rationing until mid-December as it braces for more heavy rain. Parts of the province are still struggling with damage from floods and landslides that closed highways and railways two weeks ago, sharply reducing the flow of goods like grain and lumber to Canada’s biggest port in Vancouver.
Rainfall warnings are in effect for Vancouver, with Environment Canada forecasting a prolonged period of heavy rain through Wednesday. Total rainfall of 60 millimeters (2.4 inches) is expected over the region, and rising freezing levels and snow melt may contribute to increased runoff.
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Early spring rainfall had helped yields across eastern states, while cropping regions in South Australia and Western Australia were boosted by rain and mild temperatures in October. The damage and losses from torrential rains in November are likely to be worst in New South Wales.
Receivals of grain are already showing signs of reduced quality, though canola crops are indicating good oil content, the forecaster said. There is a risk that more heavy rains in December could spur further downgrades and the potential for more crop losses. The national winter crop is expected to reach a record 58.4 million tons, an increase of 6.6% from the September forecast.
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The result is likely to boost the Reserve Bank of Australia’s confidence in the economy’s prospects as the board prepares to review the A$4 billion weekly pace of its bond-buying program in February. Su-Lin Ong at Royal Bank of Canada put the odds of quantitative easing ending at that meeting at 30%.
The capex data is “likely to see markets continue to price in multiple hikes over the year ahead,” said Ong, head of Australian economic and fixed-income strategy at RBC. Money markets are wagering the RBA will start its policy tightening cycle with a 15 basis point hike to 0.25% by May 2022.Today’s report showed the Covid lockdowns weighed on outlays, with total capital expenditure slipping 2.2% in the three months through September from the prior quarter. Spending on equipment, plant and machinery fell 4.1%, suggesting it will detract from economic growth in the period.
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Hochschild Mining Plc jumped as much as 26% after Peru’s government appeared to back away from a plan to withhold further permitting extensions at its two most important mines
“We are pleased that our Inmaculada and Pallancata mines can continue to operate without further uncertainty and, furthermore, we reaffirm our goal to increasing our resources and extending our mine lives, in accordance with current legislation,” Hochschild Chief Executive Officer Ignacio Bustamante said Thursday in a statement.
The company’s London listed stock rose as high as 153.4 pence, before trading 15% higher as of 8:16 a.m. local time.
Hochschild lost a third of its value on Monday as investors reacted to news that the company may be forced by the government to close two silver mines in the country. That followed an announcement by Prime Minister Mirtha Vasquez on Friday that four mines in the Andean region of Ayacucho wouldn’t be allowed extensions. Vasquez’s comments sent shock waves through the local mining industry.
Those concerns now seem to easing. Vasquez said yesterday that there will be no “unilateral shutdowns.”
Investors have been nervous about Peru’s mining sector since the April elections were won by Pedro Castillo, a former rural union activist from a Marxist party who had vowed to nationalize assets, block projects and take a bigger share of the mineral windfall to fight poverty.
Peru is one of the world’s biggest copper producers, with operators including BHP Group, Anglo American Plc and Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
