Gold fell to its lowest in nearly six years, extending losses as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she was "looking forward" to an interest rate hike that will mark the US economy's recovery from recession.
The Australian dollar is flat after heightened speculation about a US interest rate hike caused the currency to lose all the gains made on the back of local economic growth data.
Western Australia has experienced a complete recovery in confidence following a year of damper sentiment, given strong optimism on household spending and long term economic conditions (up 32.2 per cent and 15.7 per cent respectively).
Consulting firm Deloitte has picked ten trends which it says will dominate the mining industry in 2016, including further pressure for producers to reduce costs and adoption of innovations from other industries.
Southern Gold has cancelled plans to conduct a capital raising to offshore investors, while Norwest Energy amended the terms of its own raising just hours after it was announced to the market.
Perth-based explorer Goldphyre Resources has entered into an agreement to purchase a large area of potash-prospective land near Kalgoorlie, which is owned by prominent prospector Mark Creasy.
Higher consumption and exports have helped the national economy grow 0.9 per cent in the September quarter, ahead of forecasts, while Western Australian state final demand shrunk around 1.3 per cent.
Potato growers have poured cold water over reports earlier today that they'll support deregulation of the industry, with the Potato Marketing Corporation saying it did not make any such recommendations and one senior grower representative labeling it a media stunt.
The state's corporate donors still prefer their gifts to be in cash, while in-kind contributions have fallen away in favour of increased staff volunteering, according to the latest Giving West survey.
Southern Cross Electrical Engineering has recruited NRW Holdings chief operating officer, Graeme Dunn, to lead the company as its new managing director.
Oil prices have moved sideways as traders awaited the weekly US petroleum report and an OPEC meeting seen as unlikely to reduce output despite persistently weak prices.
Gold has risen for a second day, rebounding from last week's five-and-a-half-year low, as a retreat in the US dollar prompted investors to cover short positions ahead of a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting and US payrolls data this week.
