Platinum jumps most in 10 weeks on economic rebound hopes

Platinum futures jumped the most in 10 weeks on speculation that a global economic rebound will boost demand for the metal used for pollution-control devices in cars. Gold also rose.

Platinum jumped as much as 3.8% to a two-week high at 8:20 a.m. New York time in the most-active trading of the session. The price will rally to $1,650 an ounce in 2014 as consumption surpasses output, a Bloomberg survey showed. Demand exceeded supply this year by the most since 1999, according to Johnson Matthey Plc.

“There’s a deficit in platinum, and people probably have just realized how cheap it is,” Dominic Schnider, the head of commodity research at UBS AG’s wealth-management unit in Singapore, said in a telephone interview. “Unlike gold, platinum benefits from a global economic recovery.”

Platinum futures for April delivery climbed 2 percent to settle at $1,363.80 an ounce at 1:24 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest gain for a most-active contract since Oct. 17.

On the Comex in New York, gold futures for February delivery rose 0.7 percent to $1,212.30 an ounce. Earlier, the price reached $1,215.40, the highest since Dec. 19.

The global economy is set to expand 2.8 percent next year from almost 2 percent in 2013, according to forecasts compiled by Bloomberg. Platinum’s shortfall will increase 78 percent to 605,000 ounces this year and will probably widen into 2014, according to London-based Johnson Matthey, which makes one-third of the world’s catalytic converters.

Holdings of exchange-traded products backed by platinum rose to a record 77.98 metric tons on Dec. 20. Assets in gold ETPs have tumbled to the lowest since November 2009.

Platinum has dropped 12 percent this year, and gold has tumbled 28 percent, heading for the biggest drop since 1981.

Silver futures advanced 2.2 percent to $19.916 an ounce on the Comex, the biggest increase since Dec. 16. Palladium futures for March delivery advanced 0.8 percent to $700.75 an ounce on the Nymex, the largest gain since Dec. 5.

--With assistance from Debarati Roy in New York. Editors: Patrick McKiernan, Thomas Galatola

Alcoa commercialises ‘Engineered Wetlands’ wastewater treatment technology

Alcoa has entered into an agreement with Germany-based engineering and construction company, Bauer Resources, to commercialise Alcoa’s Natural Engineered Wastewater Treatment technology that mimics natural wetlands to sustainably treat wastewaters. Under the agreement, Bauer will use Alcoa’s wetlands technology to deploy wastewater treatment systems globally. The system imitates the natural process of wetlands to clean and disinfect process water. The system uses 40% less energy and has 60% lower operating costs than traditional systems, functions without the use of chemicals, and does not emit odours associated with conventional tank systems. Treated water is of high quality and can be reused in manufacturing processes or for irrigation.

“We are pleased to partner with the Bauer Group to bring our engineered wetlands technology to customers worldwide,” said Ray Kilmer, Alcoa’s Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. ”Alcoa’s technology, combined with Bauer’s engineering, design and construction expertise, will enable the sustainable treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater, saving money and conserving water.”

Bauer Group brings significant wetlands technology expertise and engineering, design and construction experience to the Alcoa-Bauer team. In 2009, Bauer installed the largest wetlands treatment system in the world for Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) in Nimr, Oman. The plant has been successfully operating since January 2011.

“This partnership brings together two experts in innovative technology,” adds Roman Breuer, Executive Board Member at Bauer Resources GmbH. “Our goal is to deploy this proven technology worldwide. Regardless of market – municipal waste water or even a wide range of industrial applications – this technology and partnership can offer a solution.”

Alcoa has been engaged in engineered wetlands technology development and deployment at various Alcoa locations for the last 10 years, with the most recent and largest being a system implemented in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the Ma’aden-Alcoa joint venture project site. There, the technology will reduce the facility’s water demand by 2 million gallons a day, saving $7 million a year in water purchase costs for the integrated aluminium complex.

The system comprises three steps: (1) an anaerobic treatment tank that removes metals and breaks down and separates organic material in the water; (2) a passive engineered wetland that uses vegetation for further treatment of organics and removal of nitrogen; and (3) a cell housing bauxite-based technology that disinfects and polishes the water. The result is water treated to the same or better quality as that of a conventional system.

Northern Star Resources seals 'screaming' $US25m deal for Plutonic Gold Mine

Shareholders in goldminer Northern Star will be hoping that lightning strikes twice, after managing director Bill Beament revealed what he believes is a ''screaming'' deal with the world's biggest goldminer.

In a transaction that bears striking similarities to Northern Star's wildly successful purchase of the Paulsens mine in 2010, the company has paid $US25 million to Barrick Gold for the Plutonic mine in Western Australia.

Plutonic remained profitable throughout 2013 despite the slump in the gold price, and is known to several members of the Northern Star team, including Mr Beament, who spent more than eight years working there. The acquisition is expected to almost double Northern Star's annual gold production to 200,000 ounces, and the $US25 million price tag includes all the fleet and equipment to run the mine.

''We've doubled our production for less than 10 per cent of our market cap, it's a screaming buy,'' Mr Beament said on Monday.

After trading around 67¢ over recent days, Northern Star shares rose about 8 per cent on Monday, following the deal, to 72.7¢.

Plutonic has two years of gold reserves still in the ground and Northern Star is confident that can be taken out to seven years.

Mr Beament said he was confident of reducing Plutonic's all-in cost of mining below the current $US1110 an ounce. The benchmark was $US1202 an ounce on Monday.

The purchase comes five months after Northern Star delayed development of its Ashburton mine until gold prices recover. Ashburton was supposed to turn Northern Star into a 200,000-ounce-a-year miner, but with gold prices showing no signs of recovery, the company has sought to achieve the same goal via Plutonic.

Northern Star shares have halved in the past year in a slide exacerbated by weakening gold prices. But at Monday's price of 72.7¢, the stock is still well above the 3¢ it was fetching before the Paulsens purchase.

5 Worst-Performing Commodities Of 2013

The threshold for making the worst commodities list in 2013 was relatively high, considering it was the worst year for the asset class since the financial crisis of 2008. In terms of sectors, metals and agriculture fared particularly poorly, while energy managed to stay off the list. [Click here to see the year's five best-performing commodities.]

5. Nickel -16.2%

Surging stockpiles pushed nickel prices sharply lower. Stockpiles of nickel at warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange rose by 83 percent over the year to last stand at a record 256,000 metric tons.

4. Wheat -22%



Pressured by a record global harvest of 711.4 million metric tons, wheat was unable to escape the selling that affected the rest of the grain complex.

3. Gold -28.3%

Certainly the most-talked-about commodity this year was gold. The yellow metal, which rose over the past 12 years, finally fell, and did so in spectacular fashion. It was gold’s worst year since 1981, and came amid a backdrop of record-high stock markets, rising interest rates and a reduction in monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

2. Silver -36%



Unsurprisingly, silver, the more volatile cousin of gold, also fared poorly this year. The gray metal’s price movements were inextricably tied to Fed policy.

1. Corn -38%

Corn performance in 2013 contrasted sharply with that of 2012, as prices plunged by more than a third after hitting all-time highs last year. Following the worst drought in more than 50 years in 2012, weather conditions improved this year, allowing the corn crop in the U.S. to flourish. The corn harvest may total 14 billion bushels, the most ever, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Seeney: Reef Not at Threat from Responsible Dredging (Australia)

The Great Barrier Reef is not under threat from responsible dredging activities such as those proposed for the port of Abbot Point near Bowen, announced qld.gov.au.

Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development Jeff Seeney said the latest scientific evidence on reef health proved that dredging has minor impacts on reef ecosystems when compared to other causes of water quality decline.

“In a week of grandstanding, the facts about the state of our Reef have been deliberately hidden by extreme groups such as Greenpeace which has a sole aim of shutting down the nation’s coal industry, jeopardising jobs and income for tens of thousands of Queenslanders,” Mr Seeney said.

“What these groups won’t tell you is that there is now a growing body of scientific work that identifies the major causes of coral loss on the Great Barrier Reef as cyclones and storm damage (48%), Crown of Thorns starfish (42%) and coral bleaching (10%).

“Dredging of Queensland ports has been carried out responsibly for decades and now has to comply with rigorous standards outlined in the National Assessment Guidelines on Dredging 2009. These Guidelines are highly effective in ensuring the protection of the marine environment, including coral.”

Mr Seeney said the Abbott Point proposal had been subject to the most comprehensive state and federal assessment process ever undertaken, and 95 environmental conditions had been applied including the disposal of dredge material well away from coral reefs and other sensitive coastal areas, rigorous water quality and marine life monitoring and a strict marine and shipping management plan.

“It is gross hypocrisy for these groups to steam up the Queensland coast in their diesel-powered, steel-hulled yacht in their campaign against the coal industry,” he said.

“The dredging that will take place is also one-tenth of what would have occurred under the previous Labor government’s proposal, which never faced the same level of criticism from green groups.

“These people need to be seen for what they really are – extremists who manipulate and distort the facts to support their sensationalist claims.

“The Queensland Government understands the health of the Reef is important to all Queenslanders, and we will not allow it to be harmed.

“We will continue to pursue balanced policies that protect the unique beauty and ecological significance of the Great Barrier Reef and allow much needed economic growth in our resources sector.”

USA: Contractor Discovers Custom Solutions with DSC Dredge

J.F. Brennan Company, Inc. has been a marine professional since 1919 with a specialty in marine construction and environmental remediation for inland waterways throughout the United States.

Headquartered in La Crosse, Wisconsin, J.F. Brennan works with both government agencies and private owners providing services such as dredging, diving, dam repairs, pile driving, railroad bridge repairs, in-situ capping and more. “About 60 percent of our business today is remediation dredging to clean up contaminated sediments,” explains Glenn Green, Director of Marketing and Sales for J.F. Brennan.

In addition to its lock and dam work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, J.F. Brennan is one of only three contractors in the nation on contract to complete remediation dredging for the Great Lakes National Project Office (GLNPO). Responsible for restoring and protecting the entire Great Lakes Basin, GLNPO was the first-ever geographically-based jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Other types of projects completed by J.F. Brennan include underwater inspection, millwrighting and structural construction on hydro dams and bridges, the building of harbors and even dredging for cranberry marshes.

In 1993 J.F. Brennan realized that they needed to work with a dredging manufacturer that could accommodate their needs with a customized dredge and were introduced to DSC Dredge, LLC. “DSC’s willingness to modify their dredges to our needs is why we have stuck with them for so many years,” says Green. “Prior to the DSC dredges, we had more conventional closed-loop underwater dredges, but all those have since been sold and the only units we have now are swinging ladder cutterhead dredges from DSC Dredge.”

J.F. Brennan’s fleet is now comprised of eight DSC dredges—six Moray Class dredges with 8-inch (200-mm) discharges and two larger Barracuda Class dredges. Both models are convertible from swinging ladder to conventional design. “All of our dredges are customized to meet the specific challenges we regularly encounter,”says Green.

DSC specializes in outfitting dredges to meet the exact specifications of their customers. In order to meet the needs of J.F. Brennan’s typical job site, the dredges feature high-viscosity cutterheads, boosters and a larger cab. In order to ensure extreme accuracy, which is required for remediation dredging, DSC developed a special articulated ladder that would allow the cutterhead to be parallel with the bottom surface. To increase buoyancy, especially helpful for shallow water projects, DSC increased the size of the wing tanks. In addition to those upgrades, J.F. Brennan also wanted the hydraulic systems relocated from their standard position in the wing tanks in the hull to the deck of the dredge.

“DSC hasn’t just built new dredges for us; they have actually helped us modify current dredges that we have as well. The first dredge we bought from DSC Dredge was a 12-inch swing ladder cutterhead dredge, we call it our ‘Michael’. It’s been around for about 20 years and is still operating with a few modifications and improvements over the years,” says Green.

The two model types in the J.F. Brennan fleet reflect recent upgrades to the standard DSC Dredge product offering:

· With its hydraulically-driven underwater pump assembly, the portable Moray Class dredge is matched to the current dredging industry trend of pumping low flow-rates with higher-percentage solids. Further meeting the demands of today’s dredgers, the Moray Class is suited for applications where flow rates need to be minimized, such as for pumping into geotubes or retention areas that do not accommodate large volumes of water.

· The Barracuda Class dredge offers the option of two front-swing winches with discharge sizes ranging up to 18 inches (450 mm). Standard features include a user-friendly control panel with a PLC-based operating system and a power up/down spud system with API-rated winch drums for proper cable storage.

Relationships Matter

“After twenty years, the relationship with DSC is a special one,” comments Green. He notes in particular the efforts by the DSC Dredge engineering team lead by Billy Wetta and Damon Gonzales. “We have worked closely with all of them to come up with what we need over the years. Our Head of Remediation, Victor Buhr, was instrumental in starting the initial relationship with Tommy Wetta at DSC Dredge. Over the years, we have worked very closely with his sons Billy and Bobby—Billy on the engineering end and Bobby on the sales end to really customize and modify these dredges to meet the particular requirements that we have on our jobs.”

Vale seeks fertiliser partner, potash to top 4Mt/y

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian miner Vale expects to more than replace the four-million tonnes a year of potash it stands to lose from the cancellation of its Rio Colorado project, in Argentina, as it opens mines in Brazil and Canada, its top executive said on Wednesday.

At least two-million tonnes a year of potash output is expected from its Carnalita project, in Brazil's north-eastern state of Sergipe and three-million to five-million tonnes a year could be mined from its Kronau project, in Canada's province of Saskatchewan, CEOMurilo Ferreira told reporters on Wednesday.

Vale cancelled plans to build the $6-billion Rio Colorado project, in Argentina, in March on concerns the country's currency-exchange policies made the mine, rail and port project unprofitable and after being denied legal tax breaks. It is now trying to sell shares of its fertiliser unit or stakes in specific fertiliser projects, Ferreria said.

"We are looking for partners in our fertiliser business," he said at an annual holiday lunch with reporters. "But if the partner takes a stake in our fertiliser unit, we don't want someone who is just a financial partner, we want someone who has their own production already."

A decision to move forward with Carnalita could be made as early as the first quarter of 2014, he said. Vale mines potash and nitrates and makes nitrogen-based fertilisers.

On October 9, Reuters reported that the $4-billion Carnalita project could be producing by 2017, citing officials in Sergipe. The mine would be built in two phases: a $2-billion startup to produce 1.2-million tonnes a year and a second $2-billion phase to raise output to 2.4-million tonnes a year, Sergipe officials told Reuters.

Carnalita is one of several potash projects Brazil's government wants to build quickly to ease dependence on fertiliser imports and replace Vale's cancelled Argentine potash plans.

Brazil, the world's largest exporter of beef, chicken, soybeans, sugar, ethanol, orange juice and coffee, relies heavily on imported fertiliser to enrich its extensive but often nutrient-weak farmlands. About 90% of Brazil's potash needs are imported. Carnalita alone would supply about 15% of Brazil's needs.

Vale preferred shares, the company's most-traded class of stock, were up 0.5% at 31.89 reais in Sao Paulo, their first gain in seven days.

MOZAMBIQUE RAILWAY

A decision on a Vale fertiliser partnership would likely have to wait until the it finished a planned sale of half of its 70% stake in the Nacala Railway project. The railway links Vale's giant coal project in the Moatize region of Mozambique with an Indian Ocean port.

The railway stake is being sold to help belay the cost of the $4.4-billion, 912 km railway, which will also be used for non-coal general cargo in an attempt to open up the Mozambique interior to large-scale farming, Ferreira said.

In September Vale agreed to sell a majority stake in its VLI Brazilian rail and port general cargo unit to Japan's Mitsui Co, Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management and the FGTS worker compensation fund managed by Brazil's government.

A deal on the railway is expected by mid-2014, he said.

Vale's nickel business is working hard to increase productivity, Ferreira said, with Vale's planned consortium with international metals producer and trader Glencore Xstrata nickel projects in Canada's Sudbury region likely to be signed in the first quarter of 2014.

The so-called non-corporate joint venture will operate Glencore and Vale's operations around Sudbury, a city in the northern part of Ontario, "as a single unit."

This and other efforts to cut nickel mining costs will leave Vale well-placed to deal with the impact of any potential nickel shortages in China because of Indonesia's decision to ban nickel ore exports and force miners to smelt the metal domestically.

"If costs stay low, we won't make as much money, but we are efficient so if costs go up it will help us," he said.

Ferreira also told reporters that Vale's 50/50 "Samarco" Brazilian iron-ore joint venture with Australia's BHP Billiton signed a contract with Nucor Corp, the largest US steelmaker by market value.

Vale has had little success in the past selling iron-ore to the US, whose mills obtain most of their ore from mines on or near the Great Lakes and other waterways that keep transportation costs cheap. Such costs are a major factor in iron-ore prices.

Vale has said it hopes the US natural gas and oil boom based on unconventional reserves will help boost the country's energy-intensive industries such as steel, helping Vale gain new customers for its ore, which needs less refining to be brought up to steelmakers' standards.

Bitcoin sinks as China tightens restrictions on trade

The Chinese government has ordered local Bitcoin exchanges to refuse new inflows of cash, in a fresh effort to block the virtual currency boom in the nation.

Bitcoin prices went down sharply on the news, dropping 46% from Monday, and 60% since the historic peak of late November, to hit US$425 at BTCChina, the world’s largest bitcoin exchange by volume.

Exchanges in other countries also reported drops, with Japan-based MtGox seeing the exchange rate for one bitcoin fall from $717 to as low as $480 in Wednesday's trade.

Shanghai-based BTCChina and other bitcoin exchanges in the country rely on third-party providers to handle the transactions for bitcoin trading as they are not licensed to handle clearing services that enable investors to deposit and withdraw their money.

Earlier this month, China banned financial institutions from trading in bitcoin due to the risks involved, but kept individual trading legal.

The electronic money is not backed by a central bank of its own, and is best thought of as being virtual tokens, rather than real world coins, say experts. Their value is based on bitcoin’s ability to be exchanged for cash or used to buy goods.

Protesters cut free at NSW mine site

POLICE have cut free and hauled off protesters who chained themselves to gates to blockade roads into a controversial coal mine project in northwest NSW.

Whitehaven Coal's Maules Creek project, near Boggabri, has been the target of sustained protests from environmentalists.

On Monday, scores of activists linked to Greenpeace and anti-coal and gas group Lock the Gate blockaded four entrances to the site to stop trucks and other vehicles from gaining access.

They argue the Maules Creek mine will destroy irreplaceable critically endangered woodland in the Leard State Forest, draw down the aquifer used by local farmers and release thousands of tonnes of coal dust onto surrounding farms.

Protest spokeswoman Georgina Woods said three protesters who chained themselves to a gate to stop trucks going in had been cut free by police, arrested and taken away on Monday morning.

She told AAP that police were on their way to deal with 75-year-old first-time protester Raymond McLaren, who was chained to an old car blocking another road into the site.

"From our perspective we see what's happening today as the beginning of more and more people coming out here to defend this forest and stop this mine," Ms Woods said.

"We're all determined to stop it from going ahead."

Earlier, Mr McLaren told AAP by phone that he opposed the mine despite the fact his Tamworth engineering firm builds equipment for the mining sector.

"Our civilisation needs the mining industry but in this case, they are just going to destroy a forest for the coal that they want under it," he said.

"The state forest out here is too precious to sacrifice - there's not much of it left."

A Whitehaven Coal spokesman said the Maules Creek project had passed a comprehensive, independent assessment process and protesters should respect the final judgment of consent authorities that it proceed.

"Protests at our project sites are a nuisance but they will not deter Whitehaven from getting on with the job of building Maules Creek and delivering the substantial economic benefits which we know the local community strongly supports."

The NSW Minerals Council said the protesters were engaged in a "political stunt" and their "reckless actions" put themselves, mine employees and emergency service personnel at serious risk of injury.

Ranger's toxic spill highlights the perils of self-regulation

The latest accident at the Ranger uranium mine is a timely reminder of the environmental risks of operating a heavy industry facility: especially a uranium mine on Indigenous land, surrounded by the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.

But beyond the events of this week, Ranger is a symptom of a much bigger problem of extraordinarily weak environmental regulation.

Before you can take a prescription drug, get on a plane or drive a car, there have been rigorous, independent tests done to minimise the risks of harm to you. We don’t leave it largely up to pharmaceutical or car companies to tell us we’re safe.

So we don’t we apply those same precautionary standards to a mine in the heart of Kakadu?

Ranger’s troubled history

Last Saturday, one of the 10 large acid leach tanks at Ranger completely collapsed – spilling some one million litres of acidic radioactive ore slurry into the adjacent mill area.

The slurry burst over bunds that are meant to contain such an accident and entered the mill stormwater drainage system which goes to a mine water retention pond.

This is the latest in more than 200 environmental incidents at Ranger since 1979, including:

• 
  
  
  January to June 2011 – Mill shutdown due to a very big wet season leading to limited remaining storage volume for process water in the tailings dam. Luckily there was no big cyclone at the end of the wet season increasing the risk of the tailings dam over-filling (a very low chance but obviously catastrophic accident if the tailings dam failed and burst into the wetlands of Kakadu).

March 2004 – Process water accidentally connected to drinking water, which saw 28 workers shower in and drink water that was contaminated with levels of uranium 400 times the safe maximum under Australian standards. A further 131 workers were also potentially exposed to contaminated water. Ranger’s operator, ERA, was later prosecuted for the first time.

February 2002 – Incorrect stockpiling of low grade ore led to the escape of uranium contaminated water in the headwaters of Corridor Creek on the southern side of the mine.

December 1995 – Spillage of 12,000 litres of diesel into a mine water retention pond, which led to 40 bird deaths.

While the extensive list of publicly known incidents contains many of somewhat minor significance, the repeated serious incidents point to a more systemic and underlying problem.

VIDEO: From production to disposal—What's the life of a smart phone actually like?

Some of the most sought after gifts this holyday season are also partly financing one of the world’s most deadly wars. Armed militias have taken over several mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) providing key minerals used in the manufacturing of a wide range of products, particularly laptops, tablets and mobile phones.

For much of the past decade, cheap supplies of tantalum, derived from the Congo mines have flowed into a long and complex supply chain, involving infamous groups, such as the Hutu militia associated with the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

This five-minute video from German non-profit Edeos exposes the problems that occur during the global production process of smart gadgets, ranging from bad working conditions to environmental pollution.

So what's the life of a smart phone actually like?

CONSOL sells five W.Va. mines to Murray

CHARLESTON -- CONSOL Energy Inc. says it has completed the sale of subsidiary Consolidation Coal Company to Murray Energy.

The sale includes five longwall mines in West Virginia. They include the McElroy, Shoemaker, Robinson Run, Loveridge and Blacksville No. 2 mines.

The deal also gives Ohio-basedMurray Energy about 1.1 billion tons of coal reserves.

Murray Energy paid $850 million in cash and will take $2.4 billion in liabilities off CONSOL's balance sheets.

Pennsylvania-based CONSOL said Thursday in a news release that Murray Energy also is taking on its pension obligations with the United Mine Workers of America.

The West Virginia mines produced a combined 28.5 million tons of thermal coal in 2012.

Hilton Garden Inn opens in Pikeville

PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- A new 113-room Hilton Garden Inn has opened in Pikeville, owned by Bailey Hotel 2. Inc. and managed by H&W Management Co. Inc.

"Within walking distance of historic downtown Pikeville, our new Hilton Garden Inn is ideally located to ensure our guests experience the best in the city," said Michael Alexander, general manager, in a news release. "Combined with our unique lobby and restaurant, spacious rooms, and rooftop meeting space, we can ensure guests have everything they need to work, rest and play."

The hotel provides complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, 24-hour business center, fitness center, indoor pool and a Garden Grille and Bar, offering breakfast, dinner, cocktails, and evening room service.

Ky. farm cash receipts soaring to record levels

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Kentucky's farm economy shifted into over-drive as a money maker this year, backed by robust equine, poultry and cattle markets and predictions of record grain yields that are putting total cash receipts on a rapid trajectory toward $6 billion, agricultural economists said Thursday.

The record-breaking projection comes just a year after Kentucky agriculture surpassed $5 billion in cash receipts, or gross sales, for the first time ever in 2012, the University of Kentucky ag economists said. Now, the state's farm economy could add nearly $1 billion in receipts in just one year.

Farm receipts reached a record $5.3 billion last year as high commodity prices, strong livestock markets and a big influx of crop insurance payments more than offset a severe drought that wilted many crops. The economist said farm receipts could approach or possibly exceed $6 billion this year.

Ohio gas prices dip below $3 in some cities

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Call it a holiday miracle -- gas prices below $3 a gallon in Ohio.

Prices at the pump have edged below $3 at many stations in Ohio in the past couple days, while lots of others are hovering around that mark.

The state average has dropped 6 cents since Monday. The average Thursday morning was $3.08 for a gallon of regular gas in the survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX Inc.

The Toledo average Thursday was $2.95, while Dayton stations were averaging $3.00 and Columbus stations $3.03. The highest average price was $3.18 in the Youngstown area.

The national average Thursday was $3.25.