Gold Pricing ::Uranium mining recommendations

The Department of Mining is to look at implementing recommendations from a report which highlights shortcomings in the state's potential uranium mining. The Uranium Advisory Council was set up by the Department of Mining to review the framework of uranium mining and bring it in line with the world's best practises. The council has released a report which makes a number of recommendations, including the need to be more transparent when it comes to regulation and decision making. The Department of Mining's Phil Gorey says they will implement strategies to get more information into the public arena. "We set ourselves a very high standard with achieving world's best practise," 
he said. "Effectively, that is having the best possible regulatory system for Western Australia, that's something we're going to strive for and I think it's something that WA expects." The Conservation Council's director Piers Verstegen says the report exposes serious flaws and highlights a lack of transparency when it comes to regulation and decision making. "One of the biggest failings of mining regulation in Western Australia is that it's undertaken in almost complete secrecy by the Department of Mines," he said. "When you add that to the fact that the department lack any real compliance and enforcement powers to prosecute mining operators, we've got a regulatory system that's not really working at all, let alone delivering world's best practise." There are no uranium mines currently operational in WA but there are about 190 companies with interests in mining uranium. One, Toro Energy, expects the federal and state governments to make a final decision on its Wiluna mine by the middle of this year.

Oil :: Price will increase in Weekend

Oil prices rebounded Thursday as traders feared being caught short ahead of a long holiday weekend amid tightening sanctions on Iran. The market fretted about Friday's keenly awaited official numbers on US jobs and unemployment for March, but took courage from an upbeat report Thursday on weekly initial unemployment claims, a sign of slowing layoffs. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for May, jumped $1.84 from Wednesday's closing level to finish at $103.31 a barrel. In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in May settled at $123.43 a barrel, adding $1.09. The New York oil market will be closed Good Friday, and its London counterpart will be closed on Friday and Monday due to a bank holiday. However, electronic trading will continue in New York.

 The market fell sharply on Wednesday after the US government reported a big jump in the nation's crude stockpiles, adding to concerns about growth in the world's biggest oil-consuming nation. The New York futures contract, which started the Thursday session slightly higher, leaped on news that US jobless claims fell to a four-year low last week. "The employment figures gave us a boost -- it shows that the job market is getting better," said Phil Flynn at PFG Best. VTB Capital commodities analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said the oil market would give its full verdict next week on the US jobs data. "Much will depend on how the market opens next week with a delayed reaction to the US March nonfarm payrolls report this coming Friday," Kryuchenkov said. Matt Smith at Summit Energy pointed to tensions over Iran keeping worries about tight supply on the boil. "News of Chinese insurers refusing to insure Iranian oil shipments has geopolitical tension coming back to the fore," Smith said. PFG Best's Flynn said the deepening sanctions on Iran by the United States and its allies is stirring worries that "very high quality crude is going to be in tighter supply."

Oil Price :: Increse

France is the latest nation to contemplate tapping its strategic petroleum reserves, thus raising the possibility that a joint release of oil with the United States and United Kingdom could curb rising oil prices. "It is the United States which has asked, and France has welcomed favorably this hypothesis," French Energy Minister Eric Besson said Wednesday. Such a move, if implemented, could happen in a “matter of weeks” French daily Le Monde reports. "The use of strategic reserves can be justified because it is related to geopolitical tension." The move had immediate political overtones, with a French presidential election a month away.


Although President Sarkozy has enjoyed a small bounce in the polls after recent home-grown terrorist attacks, he still trails his main rival, Francois Holland. In the face of meager economic growth, consumer discontent over rising gasoline prices is rising. Prices have hit record levels with motorists in Paris paying $5.54 a gallon, according to CNN. Earlier this month, President Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron discussed releasing oil from their strategic reserves to curb rising gasoline prices. Mr. Obama faces reelection later this year. Any action will come only after the conclusion of tripartite talks with the International Energy Agency (IEA), which coordinates releases of emergency oil reserves. “France is accompanying the US and UK in the IEA consultation, which could allow the release of strategic oil reserves in order to break the rising price spiral,” Bloomberg quoted French Budget Minister Valerie Pecresse as saying.

For its part, the IEA has indicated there is no need to release oil stocks. "There is no fear of disruption of supplies, and you know Saudi Arabia is going to bring more oil to the market," IEA Head Maria van der Hoeven said during a conference in New Delhi earlier this month, Reuters reports. Speculation about a release of oil stocks pushed crude prices down Wednesday. In New York, crude futures fell $1.98 to $105.35 per barrel. In London, Brent crude prices dropped $1.67 to $123.87, still up about 16 percent since the beginning of the year. But there's broad skepticism that a release of oil reserves will do much to dent oil prices in the long term. A recent Reuters study estimated that the world oil demand may be outstripping supply by more than a million barrels a day, caused primarily by the fall in oil sales from Iran, which is being pressured by the West to halt its nuclear program. All that a release of strategic reserves might accomplish, even a coordinated one by the US, UK, and France, would be a short-term dip in oil prices. "It's looking more and more like they are going to go ahead and do it," Carl Larry, of analysis from Oil Outlooks and Opinions, told NASDAQ magazine. Even if the US, UK, and France release their strategic reserves and prices fall toward $100 a barrel, Mr. Larry was skeptical that the release would have long-term effects.

IMF :: Gold Sale Profits

The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved a plan to distribute about $1.1 billion in profits from past gold sales to IMF member countries, with the expectation they would return the money to fund an anti-poverty loan programme. "This is an important contribution to ensure the Fund's continued support of its low-income members through adequate financing of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement. Under the IMF board's decision, the $1.1 billion in gold sales profits would be distributed once member countries have provided "satisfactory assurances" that they will return at least 90 percent, or $978 million, for the currently zero-interest loan program for low-income countries.

 The profits will be divided among IMF members in proportion to their financial commitment to the fund, known as their quota share. As a result, the United States, Japan, France, Germany, Britain and China will receive the largest sums. "I urge Fund members to quickly confirm their pledges (to return the money) so that we can move forward," Lagarde said. The IMF board approved a limited sale of the Fund's gold reserves in 2008 to diversify income soures. The sales carried out between October 2009 and December 2010 generated total revenue of about $14.8 billion, of which $10.6 billion was profit. The Fund has already decided to place at least $6.8 billion of the profits in an endowment to diversify the IMF's income away from the money it earns on loans. It still has not decided how to distribute another $2.7 billion in profits from the gold sales.

Gold Price :: Increased

The Gold Traders Association on Monday morning announced the buying price at 24832.08 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments and 25,200 baht per baht-weight for gold bar. The selling prices were set at 25,700 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments, and 25,300 baht per baht-weight for gold bar. LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose more than half a percent on Monday as growing optimism that European leaders will sign off on a rescue deal for Greece lifted the euro, and after China's central bank further loosened monetary policy. Spot gold was up 0.4 percent at $1,730.80 an ounce at 1019 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for February delivery were up $6.70 an ounce at $1,732.60. Gold prices are up 10.8 percent so far this year, benefiting from a rebound in the euro and expectations that U.S. monetary policy will remain loose, cutting the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. But analysts say the appeal of other investments could keep gold prices rangebound this year.
 "The risks (in Europe) could dissipate modestly in the near term. Certainly, in China, there is a growing acceptance that the government will step in to support growth, and things look like they're stronger than expected in the United States," said Deutsche Bank analyst Daniel Brebner "Globally, it looks like risk assets are being accumulated by investors, and in that kind of environment, gold should perform reasonably well," he added. "But I would argue it could underperform some of the other metals, the base metals and the white precious metals." The euro rose 0.4 percent on Monday after China eased monetary policy to stimulate growth and expectations mounted that euro zone policymakers were set to approve Greece's long-awaited second bailout, averting a messy default. Euro zone finance ministers are expected to approve a second deal for Greece when they meet at 1600 GMT, a move they hope will draw a line under months of turmoil that has shaken the currency bloc. "The market's attention is to remain fixated on developments in the euro zone as finance ministers gather in Brussels to finalise the details of the second bailout for Greece," said VTB Capital in a note. "We see subdued action today as a positive decision on Greece is pretty much priced in." Other assets seen as higher risk rallied along with the euro, with European equities reaching their highest in nearly seven months and oil prices up more than $1 a barrel. Safe-haven German government bonds slipped. Money managers in gold futures and options reduced their net long position by about 6 percent in the week of Feb. 14, their first decline in weeks, latest data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday. 
 "The decline in net speculative length affirms our view that the aggressive moves at the end of January were largely as a result of overexcitement after the Fed's dovish announcement (that rates will stay low)," said Standard Bank in a note. "Consequently, we remain cautious of gold's near-term prospects, and would not be surprised to see further weakness emerge this week." Holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds tracked by Reuters meanwhile rose by 115,730 ounces last week, a sixth consecutive week of gains, to 70.3 million ounces. In China, which is currently challenging India for the title of world's top bullion consumer, the Shanghai Gold Exchange said it will cut trading fees for several of its precious metals contracts to reduce transaction costs, as it sought to keep its fees competitive after a rival bourse cut margins last week. Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.5 percent at $33.40 an ounce, while spot platinum was up 0.7 percent at $1,642 an ounce and spot palladium was down 0.9 percent at $688.70 an ounce. Platinum prices have climbed nearly 18 percent this year, benefiting from supply concerns in major producer South Africa.The South African miners' union said on Saturday Impala Platinum, the world's second-largest platinum producer, has agreed to re-instate all 17,200 workers who were dismissed following an illegal strike.