Mining production takes another beating, but comes out better than expected

The mining sector took another beating in May, though the decline slowed a little more than expected.
Mining production fell 2.6% from a year earlier, after a fall of 4.3% in April 2018.
The biggest drags were gold (down 16.2% and contributing 2.5 percentage points of the
decline); coal (down 4.2% and contributing 1.1 percentage points of the decline); manganese ore (down 23% and contributing 1.1 percentage points of the decline); and platinum group metals (down 9.6% and contributing 1.9 percentage points of the decline).
The month-on-month comparison showed a marked improvement, with growth of 5% in May — following a 2.5% decline in April and a 3% fall in March.
Seasonally adjusted mining production decreased by 2.6% in the three months ended May 2018 compared with the previous three months, with eight of the 12 mineral groups and minerals reporting declines over this period.
Investec economist Laura Hodes expected mining to remain on a downward trajectory.
She anticipated that the sector’s output would contract for a third month in a row, and by about 3.5% year on year, while macroeconomics website Trading Economics expected a contraction of 3%.
"Uncertainty still plagues the sector, inhibiting investment, with consultations on the draft mining charter having been extended to the end of August," said Hodes.
FNB chief economist Mamello Matikinca also anticipated a contraction, due to rising import costs, softening demand and lower commodity prices.

How to Simplify your Forex Trading

It’s entirely possible to trade profitably using just our eyes, charts, and grey matter as “hunting” for setups can cause more pain than gain. In this article, we will go through some high probability price patterns.
The Complexity Trap Complexity can creep into your thought patterns and trading habits in the subtlest ways. Picture this: someone has told you that the way to make money in the markets is to play trends. So you start with that belief, and you want to trade trends.
Here is a potentially dangerous train of thought that many aspiring traders display in the attempt to build some kind of structure around market movement:
How can I trade trends profitably? I can draw trend lines and play bounces off of them. Trend lines are quite discretionary – playing bounces off a moving average could be better? But which moving average? 5? 10? 20? 50? 100? And should it be simple? Exponential? Maybe something else? Or maybe a super trend is something even better? After all, it has “trend”…

Gold slides to one-week low on buoyant dollar

London — Gold prices slid on Friday to their lowest in more than a week as the dollar rose due to easing trade tension and weak demand for the metal due to the expectation of higher interest rates in the US.
Spot gold was down 0.5% at $1,240.3/oz, at 10.31am GMT from an earlier $1,238.90, its lowest since July 3.
It has fallen about 9% since the middle of April. US gold futures slipped 0.5% to $1,240.9/oz.
Tension between the US and China eased after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that talks between the world’s two largest economies could be reopened if Beijing was willing to make significant changes.
A rising US-currency makes dollar-denominated gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, which potentially weighs on demand.
"When the dollar rises we see gold falling, but when the dollar falls we don’t see gold recovering because there is very little appetite for gold at this time," said ActivTrades analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa. "Higher…

Germany’s KfW grants Eskom a loan worth almost R1.4bn

German state-owned bank KfW has agreed to loan Eskom $100m, equivalent to about R1.38bn at Friday’s exchange rate.
The German embassy issued a media statement saying the loan added to R29bn that Germany had committed since 1995 "to address SA’s triple challenge of overcoming poverty, unemployment and inequality by empowering people, improving institutional capabilities, building skills and stimulating inclusive economic growth".
"A reliable energy supply is the backbone of growth, job creation and innovation," deputy German ambassador Klaus Streicher said in the media release.
"Clean energy is a prerequisite for health and quality of life. When we work together on the basis of trust, leveraging each other’s strengths, we make the greatest strides towards a greener and more inclusive society."
The loan from KfW — originally Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, which translates to "reconstruction credit institute" — is to co-finance three transmission…