Gold futures settled sharply Friday after the U.S. report on November employment came in better-than-expected, with gains last month of 266,000 new jobs, marking the biggest monthly gains since January and reaffirming the health of the domestic economy. Prices for the metal "crumbled" as "hiring in the United States roared back to life in November," said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at...Read More

"...we should expect a very sharp rally..."by Captain Ewave of CaptainEwaveCaptain EwaveS&P500, Gold, & Silver: Trends & TradesEmail: [email protected] Website: www.captainewave.com GOLD: The next US jobs report is Friday, November 6! Gold often has wild volatility (although less recently) around the release of these reports, and then it shoots higher in the days that follow. Tomorrow could mar...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday December 9, holding firmly above the $6,000 per tonne support level while turnover topped the base metals complex. The red metal's outright price closed at $6,075 per tonne this afternoon, its highest close since May while volumes traded topped 20,000 lots exchanged by the close. Copper...Read More

The mid-grade seaborne price rose above the $90-per-tonne mark on Monday December 9, for the first time since November 25, while Chinese futures saw strong gains on the Dalian Commodity Exchange.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.93 per tonne, up $4.87 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.02 per tonne, up $4.87 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingd...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were largely steady on Monday December 9, with buying activity from China setting the direction and pushing cfr China prices marginally higher.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $136.21 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $149 per tonne, up $1.78 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $121.33 per tonne, unchangedH...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases at the beginning of the week at strengthening prices, sources said on Monday December 9.A steel producer in the Izmir region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $289.25 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $299.25 per tonne cfr.This compares with the previous Baltic Sea...Read More

Turkish domestic scrap prices have gone up once again this week on the back of rising imported scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday December 9.Steel producers and a major scrapyard all increased their buying prices for auto bundle scrap by 45-120 Turkish lira ($8-21) per tonne over the past week because of costlier imports.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday December 9 that are worth another look.Brazilian steel demand is set to grow in 2020 and support higher domestic prices, Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) said in a presentation filed with securities commission CVM.Rising secondary aluminium prices in Asia helped drive European secondary aluminium ingot prices up last week fr...Read More

Rising secondary aluminium prices in Asia helped drive European secondary aluminium ingot prices up last week from its recent decade-long low. Tight aluminium scrap supply in China due to shrinking scrap import quotas in the country have led to more expensive production costs for secondary aluminium ingots in the region. That has prompted market participants in Asia to seek potentially cheaper met...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Monday December 9, with prices holding above nearby support levels against high turnover, while nickel futures fell by 2%.Copper's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $6,009 per tonne, while volumes traded were high over the morning at more than 7,500 lots as of 9:05am London time. The red met...Read More

A strong United States employment report at the end of last week gave most markets something to be cheerful about and that has flowed through into Asian trading on Monday December 9.Trading is likely to remain nervous this week while the manufacturing sector prepares for the holiday season and businesses focus on whether US President Donald Trump follows through with his threat to put 15% tariffs...Read More

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board during the morning trading session on Monday December 9, supported by better-than-expected US jobs data and positive trade developments.The upward momentum seen across the SHFE base metals complex was mainly the result of strong US employment figures released at the end of last week (see other highlights below), which spu...Read More

Brazilian vehicle production decreased by 7.1% year on year in November, according to figures released by national automotive association Anfavea.Vehicle output totaled 227,455 units, compared with 244,771 units in November 2018 and 288,519 units in October. Exports totaled 31,734 units last month, a 7.9% decrease from 34,441 units in November 2018. ...Read More

RAPAPORT... It's not easy for a diamantaire to compete in the emerging diamond-traceability market, admits Bruno Scarselli, a New York-based supplier of fancy-color diamonds. As the likes of De Beers, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and others roll out their tracking programs, he urges the trade as a whole to look beyond blockchain and consider its biggest obstacles."We need to res...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sotheby's has appointed Wenhao Yu as deputy chairman ofjewelry for Asia, to help strengthen its expertise and sourcing capabilitiesand expand its business in the region. Yu was previously at Poly Auction Hong Kong, where he founded and headed its jewels and prestige collection department.Prior to that role, he cofounded the jewels and watches department at PolyAuction Beijing. "O...Read More

Fastmarkets published its CIS export billet index later than scheduled on Monday December 9 but it is now appearing as normal. Fastmarkets calculated the steel billet index export, fob Black Sea, CIS at $400 per tonne on Monday December 9. The index was published in Fastmarkets' pricing database, MInD, later than scheduled due to an administrative error. MInD has now been updated with the lat...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa has identified three new exploration sites that couldpotentially yield 17.9 million carats of rough across their lifespan, according to preliminaryestimates.The sites are located close to Alrosa's Mir mine in the Yakutia region of Russia. "Detecting new diamond deposits in [the] Nizhne-Botuobinskaya area will make a significant contribution to the development of Alrosa...Read More

RAPAPORT... J.C. Penney has appointed Karl Walsh as chief digitalofficer, charging him with overseeing improvements to its e-commerce platforms and customer experience. Walsh waspreviously chief digital officer at Danish jeweler Pandora, a role he took onin March. He also worked at Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey & Company. He began at J.C. Penney on December 2, reporting to executiv...Read More

Brazilian steel demand is set to grow in 2020 and support higher domestic prices, Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) said in a presentation filed with securities commission CVM.The company expected flat-rolled steel apparent consumption to total 12.92 million tonnes next year, rising by 4.7% in comparison with an estimated 12.34 million tonnes for 2019.Most of that growth would come from a 10%...Read More

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Multi-commodity explorer EHR Resources has reached an agreement to acquire Canadian diamond company Nanuk Diamonds, as part of its strategy to diversify into diamonds in North America.Nanuk holds 625 mineral claims in Northern Quebec covering 274 km2 and containing several occurrences of diamond-bearing kimberlitic dykes that were originally found in the early 2000...Read More