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
Quiet market conditions while the United States and Europe emerged from Christmas holidays and while China prepares for its Spring Festival have kept nickel premiums largely unchanged.But rates on briquettes are showing some signs of downward pressure, market participants said this week. US briquette rate dips but LME drawdowns continue European premiums unchanged, excess briquettes reported ...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has approved plans to allow sightholders to referto its goods as "DTC diamonds," a company spokesperson confirmed with RapaportNews on Tuesday. The miner consulted with clients during the December sightin Botswana, proposing to relax its ban on buyers identifying diamonds as DeBeers goods further down the supply chain. Until now, sightholders could onlydisclose their supp...Read More
The US copper price increased during midweek trading this morning in the US, amid a softer dollar and positive trade talks between the United States and China.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.30 cents to $2.6690 per lb. Trade talks between the world's economic powers continued for a third consecutive day earlier this morn...Read More
TSX-, Nasdaq- and Botswana Stock Exchange-listed Lucara Diamond Corporation finalised its inaugural diamond sale through its digital sales platform, Clara Diamond Solutions, in December.Seven manufacturers participated in the sale, five of whom matched and received their orders through the platform.AdvertisementCEO Eira Thomas said in a statement on Tuesday that the trial sale marked a momentous m...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) will hold its first tender of Israeli goods during the International Diamond Week in Israel (IDWI). The tender will take place from January 27-31, and will be held at IDE's International Tender Center. It will consist of a wide and varied array of polished goods offered by IDE members, with a total value of over $10 million. KOIN Internatio...Read More
Greece's state-owned ferro-nickel company Larco is to cut production by 20% as part of an agreement with the country's government to pay down debts and stay in operation. George Stathakis, Greece's Minister of the Environment and Energy, told Fastmarkets that the deal, reached this week, will also see Larco pay four million euros per month to the Public Power Company (PPC) for electricity consumpt...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Israel Precious Stones and Diamonds Exchange (ISPDE) reported a strong turnout at a specially organized event on Tuesday where members exhibited goods. ISPDE President Shlomo Eshed said he was delighted with the event which the exchange now plans to hold twice a year. "It was an exceptional event," said Eshed. "The members were delighted with the turnout. ...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucara Diamond Corp. reported that it carried out its first diamond sale through Clara Diamond Solutions, its 100% owned digital sales platform. Seven manufacturers participated in the sale, five of whom matched and received their orders. All told, diamonds successfully matched to orders generated revenue of $660,865, achieving +8% over Lucara's market price and +15% o...Read More
Steel producers in Egypt will benefit from higher steel demand and low rates of imports in 2019, George Matta, chief marketing officer of Ezz Steel, said at Fastmarkets' North Africa Steel Summit in Dubai in December.Egypt is the largest steel-consuming country in the North Africa region and, in the long term, the share of its steel consumption that is supplied by imported steel products may start...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Europe remained flat on Wednesday January 9 while market participants digested the news about a revised import quota regime for the region.Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe remained at ?,?635-650 ($727-744) per tonne delivered on Wednesday.Less than 5,000 tonnes remains to be allo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - After more than 12 years of operations in Antwerp, India's ICICI Bank is withdrawing from diamond trade financing. Clients were requested at the end of December to close their accounts before the end of February as ICICI Bank UK PLC will be shutting down on March 29. The Antwerp branch of the bank, which opened in Antwerp in May 2006, is a unit of India's ICICI Bank...Read More
Domestic prices for steel beams in Europe remained unchanged again on Wednesday January 9, with the market slow to return to trading after the New Year break, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for domestic S235-grade, 200x200mm, category-2 H-beam in Northern Europe was unchanged at ?,?620-645 ($710-739) per tonne on January 9.In December, mills had been pu...Read More
PolarX builds bigger, richer Zackly pictureSPONSOREDpolar x limitedThe Toronto-based company said the step was part one of a staged expansion plan outlined in a July 2018 preliminary economic assessment aimed at increasing the production rate to 5,000t/d by 2020.Installation of a refurbished mill, a 1,250kv electrical substation, secondary crusher and a hydrocyclone cluster that allows f...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe remained stable on Wednesday January 9, with buyers still deterred from purchasing any material for now.The European Commission's recent import quota proposal has not yet convinced buyers that now is time to commit to volumes.Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe remained at ?,?520-540 ($595-618)...Read More
European prices for mesh-quality wire rod stayed flat across the continent on Wednesday January 9, with continuing doubts over imports even after the European Commission issued a proposal for its 2019 quotas late last week.Fastmarkets MB's weekly domestic price assessments for mesh-quality wire rod in both Southern and Northern Europe stayed at ?,?540-560 ($618-641) per tonne delivered on Wednesda...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe stayed flat on Wednesday January 9, although the European Commission's recent proposal for 2019 steel import tariffs has removed some of the uncertainty in the market. Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Northern Europe remained at $540-560 ($618-641) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, with no new deals reporte...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were stronger across the board by an average of 0.6% this morning, Wednesday January 9.Tin led the way with a 1% gain and is back over $20,000 per tonne and has an impressive double bottom in place on the chart, with lows in August and November. Lead, zinc and aluminium were all up by around 0.8%, copper was up by 0.4% at $5,959 per tonne...Read More
Turkish steel mills were absent from the deep-sea market on Wednesday January 9, with no bookings recorded and no change in prices, sources told Fastmarkets. On January 8, three steel producers booked four deep-sea cargoes from the United States and Europe at steady prices and then started to watch the finished steel markets.A long steel producer in Izmir was said to be selling 50,000 tonnes...Read More
Physical iron ore markets weakened on Wednesday January 9 following downward corrections in futures and steel prices.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $73.90 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.56 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $74.04 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.56 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $75.68 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.52 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreVale, Global Ore, 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Brazilian Blend fines, traded at the February average of the MB...Read More