Hedge funds slash bullish wagers on gold over Trump election win
Hedge funds and other large speculators boosted net-long positions by 11% to 197,362 as of Nov. 12, the lowest in 14 weeks.
Bloomberg reports on Saturday a worker representative at a rally at Anglo American Platinum’s mines near Rustenburg, northwest of Johannesburg, vowed to continue the strike until demands are met.
On Friday Angloplat issued an update on the ongoing illegal industrial action which is now its eight week.
On November 7, 2012, management reopened discussions and revised the initial offer to a once off allowance of R4,500 ($520) to be paid to each qualifying employee, comprising a R2,000 loyalty or hardship allowance and a R2,500 safe start-up allowance to be paid two weeks after employees returned.
Angloplat also agreed to an early re-opening of wage negotiations, but said any deal reached would only be implemented from July 1, 2013, in line with the current wage negotiation cycle.
The company currently does not have sufficient employees at work for safe operations in the affected areas and continues to carry out essential services only.
Angloplat confirmed that it is losing an average of 3,613 ounces to the value of some $5.6 million of platinum production per day and has lost a total of 167,681 ounces of platinum production to date.
Platinum futures contracts were changing hands at $1,555 an ounce on Friday, up from around the $1,400 level before the labour unrest prompted by killings at a Lonmin platinum mine began.
(File image of  protesting mine workers in South Africa)
