Much has been written about rare earth metals. They are used in electronics, batteries and specialized magnets. China controls more than 90% of rare earth production and has put a ban on exports of the minerals.

The largest miner of rare earths outside China is Molycorp (MCP), a U.S.-based company. The company mines lanthanide and molydenum. Lanthanides include cerium, lanthanum and yttrium. These exotic elements are used in cell phones, computers, X-ray film and TV glass.

Continue reading Rare Earth Miner Molycorp Acquires 90% of AS Silmet

Rare Earth Miner Molycorp Acquires 90% of AS Silmet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's an interesting story, which speaks volumes about the psychological dynamic of the markets. On Friday the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will report on end-of-season inventories, often called 'ending stocks.' Traders are getting word the report may show inventories are lower-than-usual. Against that backdrop, as a trader you certainly don't want to take a short position. So what to do? You buy, of course.

Monday's buying drove corn prices to a record high of $7.6025 per bushel, up 24.25 cents, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. Country Hedging, a brokerage firm, said: "Federal forecasters could drop the projection to less than 500 million bushels from last month's 675 million. This is a 15 year low."

Continue reading Supply Concerns Send Corn Prices to a Record High

Supply Concerns Send Corn Prices to a Record High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• OPEC production fell 411,000 barrels per day to 29,343 million bpd.
• Libya's production fell 343,000 barrels per day, from 1,396,000 bpd.
• Nigeria fell 107,000 barrels per day due to Royal Dutch (RDS) Oil maintenance.

Continue reading Brent Crude Oil Explodes to $120 Per Barrel

Brent Crude Oil Explodes to $120 Per Barrel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Gold and Silver Hit New Highs

Gold and Silver Hit New Highs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here it is in a nutshell: Prices of grains and cotton have skyrocketed year to date. The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) report released Thursday stated that corn and wheat prices have doubled in the past year. Soybeans were up 50% and cotton was up 155%, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

What has caused these sharp increases? The key mover has been exports. China, India and countries in the Mideast are stockpiling grains over fears that they will not have enough to feed their people. Corn in storage fell 15% on March 1. Corn has been hit doubly hard because 40% of it is used for ethanol production and a large amount goes for livestock feed.

Continue reading USDA's Crop Report Signals Higher Food Prices

USDA's Crop Report Signals Higher Food Prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Financial Times has seen a U.S. diplomatic cable from WikiLeaks that states that Iran has bought significant amounts of gold. The word is that Tehran holds 300 tons of gold, up from 169 tons in 1996.

Gold, oil and the U.S. dollar: The oil-rich Middle East sells oil throughout the world. Oil is priced in dollars. The U.S. dollar is the reserve currency for oil. That means that Mideast countries are loaded with U.S. dollars.

Continue reading WikiLeaks Cable Cites Iran's Gold Buying

WikiLeaks Cable Cites Iran's Gold Buying originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Japan has closed 11 nuclear plants. They will need a different energy source to replace their nuclear losses. Natural gas is one such energy source. Natural gas must be liquefied for transport. Much of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply could come from Europe.

One company, Golar (GLNG), has a fleet of transport ships that can carry LNG. Their ships have the capacity to dock at a port and transfer their LNG supply to an onshore receiving unit. Their ships have special units that can do the transfer operation. The fleet is capable of carrying 1.7 cubic meters of LNG.

Continue reading Will Golar's Fleet of LNG Transport Ships Fill Japan's New Energy Needs?

Will Golar's Fleet of LNG Transport Ships Fill Japan's New Energy Needs? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Except for the safe haven of U.S. treasuries and the U.S. dollar, most other commodities are getting slaughtered in the wake of the Japanese crisis.

Here are some prices of nearby contracts compared to five days ago:

• WTI crude is trading at $97.68 per barrel, down from $105.
• Wheat is at $6.89 per bushel, down for $7.89.

Continue reading Commodities Have Been Clobbered over the Past Week

Commodities Have Been Clobbered over the Past Week originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Every major crisis has its winners and losers. With the Japanese crisis, most prominent may be the uranium stocks. As you might guess they are getting hammered. The presumption is that governments will be reluctant to approve nuclear projects in the wake of Japan's nuclear meltdown.

Here are just a few companies and recent stock prices:

• Denison Mines (DNN): $2.55, down 74 cents. Denison is a worldwide mining and exploration company. It has two uranium waste recycling plants in the U.S.

Continue reading Uranium Stocks Hammered in the Wake of Tragedy in Japan

Uranium Stocks Hammered in the Wake of Tragedy in Japan originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East has put pressure on the Obama Administration to resume issuing permits for deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Noble Energy (NBL) was the first to obtain a permit since the BP (BP) disaster.

Noble is an international oil and gas exploration company that operates in the U.S. and internationally. In the U.S. it has operations on the West Coast, Rocky Mountains, mid continent and the Gulf of Mexico. Its international operations are located in the Middle East, South American and West Africa.

Continue reading Noble Energy Resumes Deep Water Drilling in the Gulf

Noble Energy Resumes Deep Water Drilling in the Gulf originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gas prices are rising and show no signs of coming back down. In fact the predictions are for higher prices to come. At the moment, gasoline averages $3.542 per gallon, according the the AAA motorist group, as reported by CNNMoney.

The highest recorded nationwide price was $4.114 on July 17, 2008. Forecasters are looking for the $4.00 per gallon marker to be hit by this summer.

Continue reading Will Rising Gas Prices Hurt the U.S. Economy?

Will Rising Gas Prices Hurt the U.S. Economy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We have yet another food product to add to the inflation list. This time it's cattle. Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed at an all-time high of $1.1752 per pound, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Beef is a in a special category. Unlike grains, which are harvested yearly, it takes about three years to raise cattle and bring them to market. High grain prices and high exports have shrunk the size of herds. They are at their lowest levels since the 1950s. With prices so high, some cattle ranchers choose to slaughter their cattle rather than let them mature to full term. These young cattle are called feeder cattle.

Continue reading Cattle Futures Are at a Record High

Cattle Futures Are at a Record High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Department of Energy has had to up its forecast its forecast for oil prices for 2011 and 2012 from last month. The updated forecast takes into account the loss of one million barrels per day from the Libyan conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Last month, the DOE's Energy Information Administration's (EIA) estimate for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was $91 per barrel for 2011. Now, EIA forecasts WTI crude to average $102 per barrel in 2011 and $104 per barrel in 2012. The EIA qualified its forecast with this statement: "There is significant uncertainty surrounding this forecast."

Continue reading DOE Raises Forecasts for Oil and Gasoline Prices

DOE Raises Forecasts for Oil and Gasoline Prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• BHP Billiton (BHP), the world's number one miner, had earnings before interest and taxes of $14.82 billion. Of that amount, iron ore accounted for $5.8 billion, up 177%
• Number three miner, Rio Tinto (RTPPF), had earnings of $26.6 billion. Iron ore unit accounted for 60%, or $16.6 billion, up 133% for the year.

Continue reading Iron Ore Tops All Commodities

Iron Ore Tops All Commodities originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bernanke Finally Admits to Inflation Gain from Commodity Prices

Bernanke Finally Admits to Inflation Gain from Commodity Prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ArcelorMittal (MT) is currently the largest steel manufacturer in the world, formed by the merger of two steel giants, Arcelor and Mittal in 2006. The company competes with other international Steel giants like BaoSteel, Posco, Nippon Steel and ThyssenKrupp.

Our price estimate for Arcelor Mittal stands at $40.67, roughly 10% above market price.

Continue reading ArcelorMittal Results Suggest Slow and Steady Recovery in Steel Industry

ArcelorMittal Results Suggest Slow and Steady Recovery in Steel Industry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Libyan unrest has triggered a surge in oil prices. Unlike Egypt, Libya exports 1.1 million barrels of oil per day. The turmoil drove Brent crude prices to a multiyear high of of $105.per barrel.

European equities fell 1% and gold powered above $1,400 per ounce. For weeks the Egyptian unrest did not affect the markets. In fact U.S. equities rallied to new two-year highs. Now, however, the situation is different. Libya has taken a hard line against protesters, throwing the country into a deep crisis.

Continue reading Libyan Unrest Triggers Oil Price Surge

Libyan Unrest Triggers Oil Price Surge originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Back in the late 1970s, the Hunt brothers from Texas tried to corner the silver market. That drove prices to $48 an ounce. Now, 31 years later, silver is shooting higher again. The March silver futures contract closed at $32.296 per ounce, up 72 cents.

Since gold is expensive, investors are turning to silver to hedge against inflation. Many fear that the Federal Reserve will not be able to control the spike in commodity prices. The Fed is buying $600 billion of treasuries and keeping interest rates near zero.

Continue reading Silver Near a 31-Year High

Silver Near a 31-Year High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 19 Feb 2011 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The cotton market is in a state of chaos. On Friday, March cotton on the ICE exchange closed at $2.1102 per pound, up the 7 cent daily limit, the Financial Times reported. The market opened limit up at $2.1102. That means that you cannot buy cotton even if you wanted to. The market is frozen.

Commodities are much different from stocks. Commodities are a zero sum game. Contracts usually last for three months. At the end of the three months, the longs take delivery from the shorts who deliver their cotton, and zero contracts are left.

Continue reading Cotton Closes Above $2 per Pound as Market Remains in Chaos

Cotton Closes Above $2 per Pound as Market Remains in Chaos originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

China is allowing its citizens to buy physical gold bars. This new program is unleashing an unbridled demand for the metal. The program works this way: The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China's largest, sells the bars to customers at real-time prices. Persons who own the bars can resell them to the bank.

To give you an insight into the magnitude of these sales, here are a few statistics. The ICBC sold 7 tons of bullion in January alone. In all of 2010, sales were only 15 tons.

Continue reading Chinese Citizens Are Hungry for More Gold

Chinese Citizens Are Hungry for More Gold originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.