The Hong Kong Futures Exchange (HKEX) plans to launch dollar-denominated mini contracts for six base metals in the coming months, the head of market development at the London Metal Exchange (LME) said on Monday. The standardised monthly futures contracts will reference LME prices and are being launched to "broaden access in the region for LME priced contracts", Robin Martin told an industry event...Read More
A coalition of businesses, environmental advocates and outdoor recreation groups in the state of Minnesota, U.S., have gone to court challenging a Trump administration's decision that opened the door to a copper, nickel and platinum project in a wilderness area.Chilean miner Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), through its subsidiary Twin Metals, is in the midst of carrying out a feasibility study for the p...Read More
Chile's Codelco, the world's No. 1 copper producer, made headlines recently not for its production of the red metal but for putting an end to a centenary tradition.For decades, the National Copper Corporation gave away expensive gold watches to workers that have been with the company for over 30 years. But the practice came to an end in 2019.According to the local press and the agency AFP, when th...Read More
Physical iron ore prices were rangebound on Monday May 6 amid limited trading activity in the wake of further trade uncertainties between China and the United States, as well as the start of steelmaking restrictions in Tangshan.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $94.34 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.17 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $93.37 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.17 per tonne. MB 62% Fe...Read More
Market participants are expecting stability for seaborne coking coal prices, at least in the near term, despite macroeconomic pessimism generated by the threat of higher import tariffs on Chinese products in the United States."[The tariff threat] is old news. Besides, supply and demand in the seaborne coking coal market are in a tight balance now, so the threat will not have any direct impact on p...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday May 6 that are worth another look.With LME Asia Week now in full swing, Fastmarkets MB takes an in-depth look at one of the topics likely to dominate discussions at this year's event: How will aluminium premiums in Japan and South Korea likely fare for the rest of the year?Nearly 1,500 delegates will descend upon Singapore this w...Read More
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Copper stocks in Shanghai-bonded warehouses rose slightly in April compared with March, while muted trading activity last month pushed the bonded warrant premium for the red metal to a 13-month low.Despite the slight increase, market participants expect copper inventories to decline in the coming weeks and months because the second quarter of the year is traditionally associated with high metal co...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were all down heavily during morning trading on Monday May 6, after US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods because US-China trade negotiations are moving "too slowly".In a post on social media platform Twitter overnight, Trump said that tariffs of 10% on certain Chinese goods would increase to 25% o...Read More
ArcelorMittal plans to temporarily idle production at its steelmaking facilities in Poland, reduce production in Spain and adjust shipments at ArcelorMittal Italia, temporarily reducing annualized production by 3 million tonnes, the company announced on Monday May 6.The company credited high energy costs, low demand and rising imports for the decision."These actions reflect the weak demand environ...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's polished exports dropped 8% year on year to $1.86 billion inMarch, reflecting continued weakness in the diamond market. Lower volumes outweighed a rise in the average price, according to data the Gem &Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) released recently. Rough importsalso fell, as demand from manufacturers slowed due to a tightening of credit in thesector.India...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil market appeared to have held up against threats of higher import tariffs in the United States on Monday May 6, though sentiment took a beating, which could result in some downside for prices.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,060-4,070 yuan ($603-604) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,930-3,940 yuan per tonne, unchangedSpot prices were largely stab...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province has added three industry veterans to itsboard, including William Lamb, the former head of Lucara Diamond Corp., it saidMonday. Lamb has more than 25 years of experience in miningoperations and project development. He served as CEO of Lucara for seven years,prior to his retirement in 2018. Tom Peregoodoff, the CEO of gold and copperexploration company Kaizen Disco...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia were unchanged over the past week amid quiet market conditions ahead of the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.Re-rollers in Indonesia remain well-stocked and are in no rush to replenish supplies due to an expected reduction in business activity during Ramadan, a trader in Southeast Asia said.Ramadan starts on May 5 and ends on J...Read More
RAPAPORT... The French Gemmological Laboratory (LFG) is the oldest ofits kind in the world. Founded in 1929, it came into being after the arrival ofcultured pearls on the market prompted more than 300 pearl dealers from Paris's9th arrondissement to call for a way to differentiate them from natural pearls.The French government managed the lab from 1936 until 2010, when it was sold tothe French Unio...Read More
The threat of higher import tariffs in the United States failed to have much of an effect on China's rebar market, with domestic prices holding steady on Monday May 6 despite tumbling futures.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,090-4,140 yuan ($607-615) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,990-4,030 yuan per tonne, unchangedWhile rebar futures experienced a big decline during the day a...Read More
RAPAPORT... The "5Cs and 2Ts" isn't as catchy as the usual formula, but it might be a better pricing method, according to the author of a diamond-trade guide that claims the 4Cs are no longer adequate."One of the biggest misconceptions is that there are onlyfour diamond price factors - color, clarity, cut and carat weight," Ren?(C)eNewman, a graduate gemologist who last year published the third ed...Read More
Stornoway Diamond Corp. mounted a mine rescue team from the Renard mine - and they won all the awards at the 57th Quebec Provincial Mine Rescue Competition. The contest took place on May 2-4, 2019, in La Sarre, Que.The Renard team of Danny Berube, Mathieu Dresdell, Raphael Duchesne, Simon Gelinas, Fran??ois Gilbert, Guillaume Lemay, Rachel Major, Adam Paquet and Patrick Tremblay led by Yannick Sav...Read More
Cheaper hot-rolled coil cargoes from Russia and Turkey dampened import prices for the flat steel product in Vietnam over the past week, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.The Fastmarkets MB weekly import price assessment for HRC in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold into Vietnam - was $530-540 per tonne cfr for the week en...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gemfields has discovered illegal miners working formodern-slavery syndicates at its Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique, after noticing a rise in the number of deaths caused by illegal-pit collapses at the site. The miners, some of whom are juveniles, are poverty-strickenand unemployed individuals recruited by well-financed syndicate leaders ormiddlemen, Gemfields said last week. Th...Read More