Scotiabank's Mohr: near-term copper prices to remain flat

Copper prices will likely hover around current levels until the second quarter, Scotiabank said on Tuesday, in the latest instalment of its monthly Commodity Price Index. The red metal, used in plumbing and electric wiring, pushed as high as...

Riding out commodity uncertainty, producers limit output, close plants

While mining firms enjoyed massive profits last year as commodity and metals prices remained elevated in the first half of 2011, the US debt downgrade in August and the eurozone’s wobbles have brought about fresh fears.

Grande Cache says $1bn friendly offer is 'compelling'

Alberta-based Grande Cache Coal on Monday said it agreed to a $1-billion, or $10 a share, takeover bid from Hong Kong-listed Winsway Coking Coal and Japanese trading house Marubeni Corporation. Grand Cache said its board unanimously approved the...

Copper to average $4/lb in 2012 - Scotiabank's Mohr

Copper has been on a rollercoaster ride over the past year, with the price of the metal hitting a record $4.60/lb before diving to $3.08/lb, but Scotiabank economist and commodity markets specialist Patricia Mohr said the metal would likely...

No slowdown in Chinese coal demand – SouthGobi

In the face of reports of a drop-off in demand and prices for metallurgical coal, TSX-listed SouthGobi Resources found it fit to inform investors on Monday that it had not noticed any weakness in Chinese markets, where the company sells its...

Copper miners still enjoying 54% margin, says Scotiabank's Mohr

The Scotiabank commodity price index, measuring Canadian exports, gave up 3.3% in August compared with July as fears over European debt defaults heightened, the firm said on Friday. “China's economy — of vital importance to global commodity...

No 2008 repeat, analysts say of falling commodities

Financial journalists around the world have been dusting off all the old clichés they wore out as the 2008 collapse unfolded, with headlines of “bloodbaths” and “meltdowns” accompanying tired depictions of desperate traders holding their...

Gold M&A 'wave' ahead as loaded majors eye cheap juniors: analyst

There could be a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the gold mining sector as cash-flush producers seek to snap up juniors that the market has cut a swathe through, Dahlman Rose analyst Adam Graf said on Friday. Despite the uncertainty in the...

Potash junior Karnalyte rises on big resource boost

Shares in TSX-listed Karnalyte Resources rose 4.5% to a new record on Thursday, after the potash explorer increased the resource at its Wynyard project in Saskatchewan more than three-fold to 201.3-million tons. BMO Capital Markets analyst Joel...

Potash prices could beat $650/t by end 2012

As the supply-demand equation for potash continues to tighten, prices will continue to climb, analysts said on Tuesday, with one predicting they may even top $650/t by the end of next year. “The average spot price of potash should climb to at...

Finally, a deal between Canpotex and India

It would appear, borrowing Potash Corp CEO Bill Doyle’s analogy, that India’s potash buyers have managed to catch their tail. Agrium CEO Mike Wilson on Wednesday said that Canpotex, the marketing cartel for Canada’s three biggest producers...

Potash prices to flourish further this year, says Scotiabank's Mohr

Spot potash prices at the Port of Vancouver climbed to $490/t in July and another $30/t to $40/t increase is likely before autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, Scotiabank said on Wednesday. “With strong demand in most of Asia and Latin America,...