Analysis: Commodities

Gold gains over 1% as focus turns to Biden administration

Gold prices rose more than 1% on Wednesday as U.S. Treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen bolstered bets for another stimulus package under President Joe Biden....

China's imports of Australian copper ore plunged to zero

China's imports of copper concentrate from Australia dried up completely in December, customs data showed on Wednesday, with monthly arrivals at zero for the first time in over 16 years as smelters...

Ivory Coast cocoa backlog threatens forward sales, sector sources say

Ivory Coast's large backlog of unsold cocoa could cause an around 10% slump in the guaranteed price for the 2020/21 mid-crop and jeopardise the outlook for next season, industry sources said, amid a...

Oil gains on stimulus optimism ahead of Biden inauguration

Oil prices climbed with U.S. stock markets on Tuesday ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration as U.S. president on optimism that more government stimulus will eventually lift global economic growth....

Malaysia initiates WTO dispute over EU palm oil measures

Malaysia has filed a complaint against the European Union over its palm oil measures at the World Trade Organization, the WTO website showed on Tuesday. ...

Tanzania and Kabanga Nickel strike deal to develop nickel project

Tanzania and UK-based mining firm Kabanga Nickel Limited signed a framework agreement on Tuesday to jointly develop the Kabanga nickel project formerly owned by Barrick Gold and Glencore....

Cash-strapped Zambia takes on $1.5 billion debt to buy Glencore copper mine

Zambia's state mining investment arm ZCCM-IH has agreed to buy Glencore's majority stake in Mopani Copper Mines in a $1.5 billion deal funded by debt and will seek a new investor, the government said...

Vedanta : REFILE-Vedanta Resources settles Zambia copper mine pollution claim

Vedanta Resources has agreed to settle all claims brought against it by Zambian villagers following alleged pollution by a copper mine run by Konkola Copper Mines Plc , Vedanta and law firm Leigh...

Striking Ivory Coast cocoa growers threaten to block deliveries

Top cocoa producer Ivory Coast's largest growers' union called on its members on Monday to strike and threatened to block port deliveries in response to low prices and warehouse backlogs. ...

Exclusive: Indonesia, Malaysia eye joint campaign in Europe to counter palm oil critics

The world's top producers of palm oil, Indonesia and Malaysia, are looking to join forces for the first time to run an advocacy campaign in Europe, where increasingly tight regulations are threatening...

Gold inches higher as U.S. dollar eases off one-month peak

Gold prices ticked up on Tuesday, off a 1-1/2-month low hit in the previous session, as the U.S. dollar slipped while prospects of further global stimulus underpinned the safe-haven metal....

Software data shows freight groups avoiding UK, prices rising

An increasing number of freight groups rejected contracts to move goods from France into Britain in the second week of January, while prices rose, according to data that shows the impact of Brexit and...

Gold recovers as U.S. stimulus hopes buoy appeal

Gold inched away from a 1-1/2-month low touched earlier on Monday as expectations of additional fiscal stimulus in the United States buoyed bullion's appeal as an inflation hedge. Spot gold ...

Ivory Coast cocoa exports hit hard by COVID-19 second wave -CCC

The second wave of the global coronavirus pandemic has hit Ivory Coast's cocoa trading and exports hard, dashing hopes of an early recovery from the first wave, the director of the country's cocoa...

Ghana 2020/21 G&S cocoa arrivals up 2.2% from last season -COCOBOD

Ghana's graded and sealed cocoa arrivals stood at 543,152 tonnes as of December 31 since the start of this year's harvest on Oct. 1, up from 531,000 tonnes the previous season, figures from Ghana's...

Vedanta reopens Gamsberg zinc mine in South Africa

Vedanta Zinc International said on Saturday that mining has started again at its Gamsberg mine in South Africa following a closure in November when the pit wall collapsed, trapping miners underground....

Gold falls 1% as dollar accelerates rally

Gold prices slumped more than 1% on Friday and the metal was heading for a second straight weekly drop as the dollar continued its upturn, overshadowing bullion's appeal as an inflation hedge as the...

Indonesia's Pertamina conducts trials on 100% palm oil biodiesel and jet fuel

Indonesia's state energy company PT Pertamina said on Friday it had started trials on diesel made entirely out of palm oil at its Cilacap refinery on Java island after conducting trials on jet fuel...

Oil prices climb on Chinese data, dollar weakness

Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, boosted by a weak dollar and bullish signals from Chinese import data but pressured by renewed worries about global oil demand due to surging coronavirus cases in...