Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More
The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More
Shares in explorer SolGold (LON, TSX:SOLG) closed 2.3% higher in London and were trading up 8.3% in Toronto early morning after it announced it had discovered a new copper and gold mineralization at its Porvenir project, located in southern Ecuador.A broad zone of northeast-trending porphyry mineralization about 1km-wide and hosting numerous porphyry centres currently defined over 6km-long and...Read More
Blackwater founder Erik Prince aims to raise as much as $500 million to invest in metals needed for making the batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), the Financial Times reports.Prince, who besides starting the controversial private security company is known for have been an informal campaign adviser to US President Donald Trump, said the fund will bring unexplored deposits into productio...Read More
China's No.1 gold producer Zijin Mining plans to issue 8 billion yuan (about $1.2 billion) worth of shares in Shanghai to finance the acquisition of Canada's Nevsun Resources (TSX, NYSEMKT:NSU), the biggest overseas purchase since the Beijing-backed miner went public in Hong Kong in 2003.Zijin aims to sell up to 3.4 billion A shares to investors in China, in a plan which is subject to shareholder...Read More
China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong's jewelry exports are expected to slow in 2019 after strong growth last year, due to sluggisheconomic conditions, the municipality'strade body has warned. "Less robust economic growth is likely to affect Hong Kong'sjewelry exports," predicted Alice Tsang, assistant principal economist at theHong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC). Shipments of precious jewelry rose 1...Read More
RAPAPORT... Luxury, and jewelry in particular, is a curious industry. On the one hand, itprovides aspirational products and exclusive experiences to consumers; on theother hand, many brands treat consumers very literally: merely as a source ofconsumption. While there are many examples of luxury brands turningrazor-sharp consumer insights into products that not only resonate with, butactually...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamond-related shares mainly fell in 2018, in line with aglobal stock-market downturn. Investors fretted about trade tensions, uncertainconsumer demand and the impact of the US Federal Reserve raising interest ratesin December. The S&P 500 index ended the year more than 6% down, while HongKong's Hang Seng slid 14%. It wasn't all bad: Some diamond miners did well, whileretail offer...Read More
As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best informationWe probably have more rare earth deposits in Canada, or controlled by Canadian-listed juniors, than anywhere in the world. But Spectrum Mining Corporation, a private company, controlled one of the best - the Wicheeda Lake REE claims 80km north of Prince George, BC.Wicheeda LakeIn 2008 Spectrum contracted Falc...Read More
RAPAPORT... In the retail industry, "The customer is always right" haslong been the motto. This drive to please consumers means businesses areconstantly in search of new and inventive ways to make them happy. But where dothey start? What does the general public look for when making a purchase? Andwhat is everyone talking about when they say the new-age consumer is lookingfor an "experience"?T...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a 125-carat diamond at its Let??engmine in Lesotho, bringing the company's annual haul of 100-carat-plus stones to15. It found the high-quality, white, type IIa diamond onDecember 20, shortly after unearthing two other stones weighing 101 carats and71 carats, the miner said last month. The total number of diamond discoveries above 100 carats beatsthe co...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX polished diamond price index was flat on the month in December. &nbs...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe was unchanged on Wednesday January 2 due to a lack of new business, while the European Commission's import quota continued to run down over the year-end break. Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Northern Europe remained at $540-560 ($619-642) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, with many people still out&n...Read More
The aluminium import arbitrage between the United States and Asia narrowed slightly in December due to the lower ocean-freight rates only partly offsetting the lower Midwest aluminium premiums.The differential between cancelling aluminium without the 10% Section 232 tariff from London Metal Exchange-listed warehouses in Asia and shipping the material into the US Midwest also narrowed nearly $10 in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 2 that are worth another look.The aluminium import arbitrage between the United States and Asia narrowed slightly in December due to the lower ocean-freight rates only partly offsetting the lower Midwest aluminium premiums.There will be a massive influx of copper scrap to China in the first half of this year, with mark...Read More
Comex copper futures softened in the first trading day of the new year in the United States amid disappointing Chinese manufacturing results and persistent weakness in US stocks.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 2.90 cents to $2.6020 per lb.Weaker than expected manufacturing data from China prompted the Asian markets to open tr...Read More
Fastmarkets would like to clarify that its Rotterdam duty-paid P1020 aluminium premium assessment for Tuesday January 1 was published on Monday December 31, 2018 instead.This is in accordance with the premium's published pricing schedule and the holiday calendar of the London Metal Exchange.The premium published on December 31, 2018 has been included in Fastmarkets' monthly average for December 20...Read More
Erus Metals USA LLC has withdrawn from London Metal Exchange warehouse services, the exchange said on Tuesday January 1.Erus Metals USA is a subsidiary of Erus Metals Limited, the USA branch only had one warehouse left, in Panama City, Florida, which will now be delisted from the LME. According to exchange data in November, it held no LME stock.In...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe stayed flat on Wednesday January 2, with no new deals reported over the first two days of 2019. Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe remained at ?,?520-540 ($596-619) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, with very little activity over the New Year break and ahead of the February renewal of the...Read More