* Gigaba under pressure to spark recovery, avoid downgrades* Economy emerged from recession but sill underperforming* Consumer, business confidence key to revival (Adds manufacturing figures, background)By Ed Stoddard and Mfuneko ToyanaEAST LONDON/JOHNANNESBURG, Jan 11 (Reuters) - South Africa's economy may grow 2 percent this year if the government takes needed policy decisions, Finance Minister...Read More

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 11 (Reuters) - South Africa's Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) said one person was killed and a conveyor belt was burnt during overnight protests at one of the platinum producer's shafts in the country's North West Province."An individual within the crowd was shot and killed by live ammunition. Based on preliminary evidence, including video footage, it is believed that the s...Read More

The U.S. stock rally appears ready to resume today, with futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) above fair value. The benchmarks logged their first loss of 2018 yesterday, on reports China was considering scaling back its U.S. bond purchases, though Beijing has since dismissed the speculation as "fake news." While bank stocks appear ready for a positive session ahead of four...Read More

The world's mining sector is firing on all cylinders again, and one of it's biggest investors can't wait to get paid.After five years of under-performance, a combination of synchronous global growth and under-investment in new supply has driven up commodity prices, increasing cash flow and profit margins for the world's biggest mining companies, according to BlackRock Inc.'s Evy Hambro."When those...Read More

?>>?(Bloomberg) - The world's mining sector is firing on all cylinders again, and one of it's biggest investors can't wait to get paid.After five years of under-performance, a combination of synchronous global growth and under-investment in new supply has driven up commodity prices, increasing cash flow and profit margins for the world's biggest mining companies, according to BlackRock Inc.'s Evy...Read More

On Dec. 10, 1999, Amazon.com stock closed at $106 per share, a mind-blowing 67 times its price only 2 1/2 years earlier. Opinion articles in major newspapers declared there was no doubt that Amazon shares were in an irrational bubble. The disbelievers were right. Less than two years later, in September 2001, Amazon's AMZN, +1.78%share price had collapsed to $6. While many of Amazon's dot-com p...Read More

Yamana Gold Inc. (TSX: YRI; NYSE: AUY) says it topped guidance forgold and copper output in 2017. The company lists fourth-quarter preliminaryoutput of 259,000 ounces of gold, 1.17 million ounces of silver and 34 millionpounds of copper. For the full year, output included 977,000 ounces of gold, toppingguidance of 960,000; 5 million ounces of silver, roughly matching guidance; and127 million pound...Read More

(Kitco News)- Gold prices are holding on to modest gains as producer inflationpressures in the U.S. came in below expectations in the final month of 2017Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 0.1% in December, followingan increase of 0.4% in November, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.According to consensus forecasts, economists were expecting to an increase of0.2%.Despite the monthly decrease,...Read More

Editor's Note: Updating earlier story to include more details from report.(Kitco News) - Initialweekly U.S. jobless claims rose by 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 261,000in the week to Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday.Thiswas more than consensus forecasts compiled by various news organizations, whichcalled for initial claims to be around 245,000 to 248,000. The government left the...Read More

* Communication to shift gradually* Should consider broader policy guidance* Accounts point to early 2018 discussion* Euro jumps after accounts published (Adds detail)By Balazs KoranyiFRANKFURT, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank should revisit its communication stance in early 2018, accounts of its December meeting showed, suggesting that policymakers could soon start preparing markets...Read More

Mr. Walter Coles reportsSKEENA INTERSECTS 19.26 G/T GOLD OVER 11.85 METRES AT SNIPSkeena Resources Ltd. has released additional drill results from 13 holes at the company's Snip gold project located in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia.Drilling highlights: UG17-027: 74.35 grams per tonne gold over 2.00 metres; UG17-033: 77.41 g/t Au over 1.10 metres; UG17-034: 26.28 g/t Au over 2.03 metres;...Read More

Mr. Walter Coles reportsSKEENA INTERSECTS 19.26 G/T GOLD OVER 11.85 METRES AT SNIPSkeena Resources Ltd. has released additional drill results from 13 holes at the company's Snip gold project located in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia.Drilling highlights: UG17-027: 74.35 grams per tonne gold over 2.00 metres; UG17-033: 77.41 g/t Au over 1.10 metres; UG17-034: 26.28 g/t Au over 2.03 metres;...Read More

* Euro gains after ECB minutes released* Dollar up against yen after hitting 6-week low* Traders still see dollar weakness* Graphic: World FX rates in 2017 By Tommy WilkesLONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The euro jumped almost a cent on Thursday after the European Central Bank said it could revisit its communication stance in early 2018, boosting expectations that policymakers are getting ready to reduc...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices are modestly up in early U.S. trading Thursday, supported by a weakerU.S. dollar index and by rallying crude oil prices that hit a three-year highovernight. Some chart-based buying is also featured in both gold and silverthis week, as the near-term technical postures for both markets are bullish. February Comex gold was last up $3.30 an ounce at $1,322.70. March Comex si...Read More

Mr. Mark Utting reportsKIRKLAND LAKE GOLD REPORTS RECORD ANNUAL AND QUARTERLY PRODUCTIONKirkland Lake Gold Ltd. has provided record annual and quarterly production for the full year and fourth quarter of 2017, respectively. Comparative information for the full year and fourth quarter of 2016 includes results for the Fosterville, Cosmo and Stawell mines prior to the merger between Kirkland Lake Gol...Read More

Mr. Mark Utting reportsKIRKLAND LAKE GOLD REPORTS RECORD ANNUAL AND QUARTERLY PRODUCTIONKirkland Lake Gold Ltd. has provided record annual and quarterly production for the full year and fourth quarter of 2017, respectively. Comparative information for the full year and fourth quarter of 2016 includes results for the Fosterville, Cosmo and Stawell mines prior to the merger between Kirkland Lake Gol...Read More

The final stretch of 2017 started with a bang for our Weekend Trader options recommendation services, as traders closed out three winners in three days. First, our Dollar Tree (DLTR) call option was closed out at a 102% gain on Nov. 29, less than two months after it was initially recommended. Then, on Nov. 30, a Kroger (KR) call option hit its target for a 104% return in a little over two weeks, w...Read More

Editor's Note: Welcome to Kitco's new Bitcoin Daily Technical Alert. Every trading day veteran Kitco technical analyst Jim Wyckoff will provide you with a concise and easy-to-understand near-term technical brief on Bitcoin. Importantly, Jim will glean the short-term charts and technical studies, and then alert you to the signals he sees regarding upcoming potential bigger price moves or price tren...Read More

The search for directioncontinues in gold as the metal stays in a range between $1,305 and $1,328. Theprecious metal is still preparing to make a big move, and the inability tobreak out over $1,330 on a weekly chart suggests that prices will be headedlower before they go higher. This consolidation patterncan last for an extended period of time and although a big move is coming, it'snot imminent. C...Read More

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is diversifying its foreign exchange reserves in order to safeguard their value, the country’s currency regulator said on Thursday, while dismissing a media report the government is halting or reducing its purchases of U.S. debt.Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that Chinese officials reviewing the country’s vast foreign exchange holdings had recommended sl...Read More