Eramet produces first lithium from Centenario plant in Argentina
Eramet becomes the first European company to produce lithium carbonate at an industrial scale.
Gold for December delivery only briefly broke the psychologically important $1,800/oz level on Wednesday and in after hours trade pulled back sharply to trade at $1,770.50.
Gold failed to take advantage of its traditional role as a hedge against inflation and a safe haven in troubled economic times, despite European Union finance ministers failing to make progress on ways to shore up the zone’s sagging banks and Italy’s deepening credit crisis. Bullion’s failure to build on a three-day rally also comes after data out this week that showed a quickening in demand from China’s consumers who bought a record 56.9 tonnes in September, a sixfold increase year-on-year.
MarketWatch quotes Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault.com: “Gold offers financial insurance, not a knee-jerk safe haven.”
Reuters quotes Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland business school: Europe is approaching the end game – credit markets and other governments know what its leaders won’t admit – the euro is failing. And then gold, more than the dollar, is set to rocket in value as the crisis unfolds.”
MINING.com reported yesterday quarterly data from the Hong Kong census and statistics office showed the Middle Kingdom imported about 140 tonnes of gold via Hong Kong in the three months from July to September ahead of the festival season, more than the roughly 120 tonnes for the whole of 2010.
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