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1. Gold has firmed up today in the wake of yesterday’s ho-hum FOMC meeting that revealed no surprises…as of 7:00 am Pacific, Gold has rallied $10 an ounce to $1,314…today’s range has been between $1,306 and $1,319…Silver has added 12 cents to $16.46…Copper has climbed 3 pennies to $3.10…Nickel is up slightly at $6.32 while Zinc is off a penny at $1.37…Cobalt remains steady at $40.26…Crude Oil has retreated 41 cents to $67.52 while the U.S. Dollar Index has pulled back one-fifth of a point to 92.53…tomorrow features the much-anticipated April U.S. employment report from the Labor Department, arguably the most important U.S. data point of the month…the key non-farm payrolls number is forecast to come in at 195,000…
2. Gold prices pushed modestly higher in Q1 despite the fact that overall global Gold demand fell to its lowest 1st quarter level since 2008, according to a report issued today by the World Gold Council…the drop in demand was driven by a slump in the sale of Gold bars while ETF inflows took a hit, falling to 32.4 metric tons from 96 metric tons in the same quarter a year earlier…total Gold investment demand fell to 973 metric tons in Q1, down 7% from 1,047 metric tons in the 1st quarter of 2017…
3. Oil prices are under mild pressure today as swelling U.S. Crude inventories and record weekly U.S. production clashed with OPEC supply cuts and the potential for new U.S. sanctions against Iran…yesterday’s EIA report showed a much larger than expected Crude build for last week as well as an unexpected build in gasoline inventories, but bullish factors including an increase in Saudi Arabia’s official Oil selling price to Asia are providing support to the Crude market….state-owned producer Saudi Aramco has raised the June price for its Arab Light grade for Asian customers to a premium of $1.90 a barrel to the Oman/Dubai average, the highest since August 2014…additionally, the latest Reuters‘ survey of OPEC production showed it pumped around 32 million barrels per day in April, slightly below its target of 32.5 million bpd, due largely to plunging output in Venezuela…
4. The Dow is off more than 150 points through the first 30 minutes of trading on a revival of (overblown) U.S.-China trade worries…shortly before much-anticipated trade talks were set to take place today in Beijing between the U.S. and China, traders perceived that the mood between the world’s two largest economies worsened amid reports the U.S. administration is considering taking executive action to restrict some Chinese firms’ ability to sell telecom equipment…in Toronto, the TSX is up slightly while the Venture has dropped another 2 points to 770…Venture RSI(2) conditions are at an extreme low, suggesting an imminent reversal to the upside with the Index also trading in an area of strong support…Northern Vertex Mining (NEE, TSX-V) reported this morning that it has completed 5 Gold shipments and the company continues to meet the design expectations of its feasibility report at its Moss mine in northwest Arizona…
5. Strange earnings call yesterday between Tesla (TSLA, NASDAQ) CEO Elon Musk and analysts and investors, one that trimmed a couple of billion dollars off Tesla’s market cap. “These questions are so dry. They’re killing me,” Musk said after an analyst asked what percentage of Tesla 3 reservation holders have started to configure options for their cars, an indicator of how much profit Tesla will be able to wring from the vehicles…another analyst asked about a capital requirement before being cut off. “Excuse me. Next. Next,” Musk said to the call operator. “Boring, bonehead questions are not cool. Next?” Tesla’s future is anchored to the Model 3 and the company said that it had largely overcome production bottlenecks, with Musk vowing a dramatic turnaround that would reverse losses and generate positive cash flow in just a few months…some analysts and investors aren’t so sure…Tesla did post a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and its burn rate was slower than most analysts had anticipated, but that doesn’t put to rest questions about the company’s need to raise more money in the near future…Tesla shares have fallen more than 5% in early trading as the impact of Musk’s evasiveness sank in…the impact has been felt across the sector with tech shares overall under pressure this morning…
6. Musk did reveal yesterday that the carmaker had reduced the amount of Cobalt in its Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum battery cells produced by Panasonic below rival battery companies who use a different chemistry…Korean battery companies such as LG Chem and Samsung SDI, who produce Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt batteries, are expected to commercialize a lower Cobalt battery chemistry by next year. “Cells used in Model 3 are the highest energy density cells used in any electric vehicle,” Tesla said in its Q1 earnings release. “We have achieved this by significantly reducing the Cobalt content per battery pack while increasing Nickel content and still maintaining superior thermal stability.”
7. Do governments across Canada, provincial and federal, realize what they’re doing in terms of killing investment in the critical Oil and gas sector? Suncor Energy (SU, TSX) says it’s giving up on big-ticket investments, with CEO Steve Williams saying the company will not sink cash into new Oil sands projects without progress on pipelines…Williams told investors on a call yesterday, “We need to see shovels in the ground and pipelines being built” before contemplating major new investments…the comments by Canada’s biggest Oil sands producer underline growing pessimism about the viability of new investments in one of the world’s priciest extraction zones as shipping constraints show few signs of easing…Suncor reiterated that it would prioritize increasing dividends and share repurchases, while limiting spending to several smaller projects designed to lift margins at its operations near Fort McMurray…the company bought back $1.85 billion in stock over the past 12 months and said earlier this week that it would repurchase up to $2.15 billion in shares over the next 12 months starting May 4…
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You guys often talk about mining and the oil and gas sector being pressured together. The future for oil and gas investment looks bleak… at least for now, but my question is; will money taken from the oil and gas sector be moved into mining? Could it be seen as a boon for mining exploration? This might be the perspective of a simpleton… Your thoughts?
Comment by Charles — May 3, 2018 @ 10:39 am
Jeff Stevens posted an updated in the group
image: ci3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/tb1e8aNM1UVf4rtG0h6IqTXYEFAFgEeXGLnQMgU9oHxugLjYwGlqqWpBHzHaAdG1IlotaLC9ZTSOUiNRTBygTv141CElKLOwCTyf6WKwQvNlm4tf0lmh_i1T02Sy4cM3CK4=s0-d-e1-ft#https://8020connect.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/group/logo/203/DM_413_x_176.png
Datametrex AI Limited.
Hi everyone, I understand some people are still unclear about the process for Graph Blockchain going public. I will try to provide some clarity. We have submitted our Non Offerring Prospectus to the OSC for review. This is a process that typically involves a couple of rounds of back and forth with additional comments/questions from the OSC that require our attention. We can not determine the record date until we have sign off from the OSC. As previously announced, we have proposed 1 new share in Graph Blockchain for every 20 shares of Datametrex AI Limited held on the record date. The record date will be determined once we have direction from the OSC, it will be in advance of Graph trading on an exchange. As always, everything remains subject to regulatory approvals. We are excited to provide shareholders of Datametrex with a dividend share of Graph Blockchain giving them additional direct exposure in Graph beyond the ownership stake that Datametrex will continue to hold. We strongly believe Graph is well positioned to be a stand alone public company. The contracts and revenue they have secured with multinational conglomerates (previously announced) in their first five months is tremendous and we are confident the team will continue to deliver. Hope this helps. Best – Jeff
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Comment by robtr31 — May 3, 2018 @ 10:46 am
Something is going on with clm bids are building and asks are thinning, as for Ggi I’m trying to accumulate as much as I can before a major steps in for a 10% stake through common shares
Comment by Gregory — May 4, 2018 @ 5:57 am
50 day on AIS just turned yesterday…
Comment by flyinthruu — May 4, 2018 @ 7:00 am
Yes, AIS is looking a lot healthier, flyinthru, and the pressure is certainly to the upside with the turn in the 50-day, and the turning of the rigs…
Comment by Jon - BMR — May 4, 2018 @ 7:11 am
Still no close on pp for ggi, which makes me want to take a wild guess and say that just maybe it’s being revised, higher? That be sweet…
Comment by Laddy — May 4, 2018 @ 7:15 am
I suspect it’s closing literally any day now, Laddy…rather than revised higher (already $3.35), perhaps an effort by some to grab more?…we’ll see…
Comment by Jon - BMR — May 4, 2018 @ 7:45 am