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
JAKARTA, Feb 18 (Reuters) -* PT Freeport Indonesia's copper concentrate export permit expired on Feb. 15, and the company has not received export recommendations from the mining ministry that will help it to obtain a new permit, company spokesman Riza Pratama said on Monday in a text message.* The unit of Freeport McMoRan for the time being is shipping part of its production to its smelter in East...Read More
The Chinese antimony market was lackluster amid thin trading activity in the week ended Friday February 15, the first working week after the national Lunar New Year break on February 4-10, while China's absence was echoed in stagnant European prices. In China, Fastmarkets assessed the price for MMTA standard-grade II antimony, delivered duty-paid, at 48,500-49,500 yuan ($7,158-7,306) per tonne on...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment charges fell further in mid-February on expectations of tighter supply later this year, which could be reversed now that an Indian court's ruling to restart Sterlite Copper's 400,000 tonnes per year smelter has been overturned.Fastmarkets's copper concentrates treatment charges and refining charges (TCs/RCs) index declined to $74.20 per tonne/ 7.42 cents per lb for the...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Monday February 18, with the three-month copper and tin prices rising while continued uncertainty over US-Chinese trade relations dampens investor sentiment. Climbing just short of 1% over the morning, the three-month copper price is trading back above the nearby $6,200 per tonne threshold, while total volu...Read More
The three-month base metals prices traded on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on the morning of Monday February 18. Zinc prices led the decline with a 0.9% drop to $2,639 per tonne from $2,664 per tonne on Friday's close, followed by lead prices that were down by 0.6% at $2,065 per tonne from $2,077 per tonne, and nickel prices that dropped by 0.3% to $12,380 per tonne from $12,415 per tonne....Read More
Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit has been dealt a setback in its bid to restart its Tuticorin copper smelter, which produces 400,000 tonnes per year of copper cathode. The smelter in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which has been closed since last May, was due to restart in the second or third quarter of 2019 after a National Green Tribunal ruled the...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Monday February 18*Copper -$148.77 (-1,008.3yuan) Aluminium -$331.55 (-2,247.18 yuan) Zinc -$112.66 (-763.56 yuan) Nickel -$247.19 (-1,675.42 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month prices...Read More
Most global aluminium billet premiums fell or were flat on Friday February 15, with demand muted in most markets and participants waiting to see the effect of the removal of sanctions against UC Rusal by the United States. Premiums across Europe fall due to oversupply and poor demand.The US upcharge falls, with participants bearish.The quiet market in Asia keeps the Thailand premium steady.The pre...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board during Asian morning trading on Monday February 18, with market sentiment boosted by positive trade developments and data releases at the end of last week. "Positive signs in the US-China trade talks helped boost sentiment across markets, with base metals benefiting in particular," Kishti Sen, international economist at A...Read More
Crude steel production in Argentina rose by 7.88% year-on-year in January 2019, according to figures released by national steel association Acero Argentino on Monday February 18.Production came to 370,900 tonnes, compared with 343,800 tonnes in the corresponding period a year earlier.January's crude steel output also went up by 4.16% from the previous month's level of 356,100...Read More
CIS export slab prices have increased by $15-25 per tonne fob over the past week amid limited availability of the material and the continuing price increases in the finished flat steel sectors both in the CIS and in customers' own markets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment of the CIS export slab price surged to $475-485 per tonne fob Black Sea on Monday February 18, against $460 per tonne fob Bl...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices soared by $40 per tonne last week on higher prices for CIS-origin material and the low availability of material in the main producing regions.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of Brazilian export slab prices reached $460-510 per tonne fob on Friday February 15, up from $420-470 per tonne fob a week before.Offer prices for Brazilian material in the United States were heard...Read More
The Dubai customs authority in the United Arab Emirates has changed the list of long steel products subject to 10% import duty, it announced on Sunday February 17.Dubai customs increased the import duty on some rebar and wire rod products to 10% from the previous standard rate of 5%. The original list of products subject to 10% duty had only been in effect since January 17 this year.The Gulf Co-op...Read More
RAPAPORT... World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB)president Ernie Blom has called for the industry and government to collaborateand rebuild South Africa's diamond trade following massivedownsizing of the industry. "The diamond sector worldwide has flourished when close cooperation betweengovernment and industry prevails," Blom said last week, following an address by Gwede Mantashe, the c...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia maintained their upward momentum over the past week amid scarce offers, while trading activity remained thin.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia was $460-470 per tonne cfr on Monday February 18, up $10-15 per tonne from a week earlier.The regional market remained consistently quiet, wi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has failed to recover rough stones with sufficient commercial value from the Little Spring Creek exploration site at its Brooking lamproite mine inWestern Australia, it said Monday. The miner launched its Brooking project in October, and hassince recovered 1,219 viable stones from the site. However, follow-up explorationonly turned up 11 diamonds, with a tot...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has appointed mining veteran Richard Duffy as its new CEO, tasked with returning the company to positive cash flow and lower debt. "[Duffy] brings with him an impressive depth of globalmining experience, which we believe will be critical to drive Petra'stransition from a phase of intensive capital expenditure and expansion to afocus on steady-state, cash-generative opera...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's shipments of rough and polished slid in Januaryamid a slowdown in the global industry. A 10% drop in the volume of polishedexports outweighed growth in the average price, with the total value down 4%for the month, according to data the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) released last week. Rough imports and exports also slumped, reflecting weakerdemand from manufacturers. Wh...Read More
Feb 18 (Reuters) - African miner Petra Diamonds named a new chief executive on Monday as it works to cut debt and generate free cash flow after first-half core earnings were hit by lower diamond prices.The news helped lift its shares more than 8 percent by 1010 GMT. The broader mining market was little changed.Analysts said appointing Richard Duffy, who has held finance posts in his 27 years in th...Read More
LSE-listed Petra Diamonds, which on Monday announced the appointment of Richard Duffy as CEO, narrowed its adjusted net loss after tax to $4.5-million for the six months ended December 31, 2018, from the net loss of $7.2-million recorded for the six months to December 31, 2017.Nevertheless, outgoing CEO Johan Dippenaar conceded that the company’s interim results had been impacted on by the...Read More