RAPAPORT... Christie's has pushed back its New York and Geneva jewelry sales as the coronavirus spreads around the world.All three of the auction house's spring Magnificent Jewels sales, which generally occur between April and June, will now take place within a one-month period, according to the company's updated schedule.The New York Magnificent Jewels auction, which was due to take place in Apri...Read More

Prices for bulk cargoes of ferrous scrap imported to Bangladesh sank on Thursday as scrap-heavy steel mills showed less appetite for material, market sources told Fastmarkets.Mills in Bangladesh have been on a bulk-scrap buying bonanza for much of March - securing at least nine bulk cargoes from the United States, Japan and Australia during the month.But purchasing has declined drastically in rece...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices dropped on Thursday March 26 due to ex-China market participants - particularly those in India - continuing to hold a bearish view on demand, although there was some optimism that prices were approaching a bottom. Fastmarkets Indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $153.03 per tonne, down $1.88 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $158.25 per tonne, up...Read More

The seaborne iron ore market cooled down on Thursday March 26 after gaining ground for two consecutive days, with the lower prices in line with a softer futures curve for rebar. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.77 per tonne, down $0.57 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.64 per tonne, down $1.18 per tone58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao:&...Read More

Cardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Exore excels in Cote d'IvoireSPONSOREDexore resourcesThe convenience of one provider with pay-as-you-need flexibilitySPONSOREDmicromineThrough Resolution 28, the agency has suspended the submission of defenses, evidences, oppositions and...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe 15-day suspension will see the remaining work at the Chuquicamata underground mine, early works at Rajo Inca and construction at the Andina transfer project stop. The stoppages will limit the movement of people across different regions of the country and reduce those using air and land transportation.The stoppages will not impa...Read More

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AMNS India) is the latest steelmaker in the country to confirm it is reducing production rates due to the Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown in the country."AMNS operations are running at very low capacity, with minimum staff inside its facilities," a company spokesperson told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 26 without revealing details on which units had been&...Read More

India's JSW Steel expects a significant reduction in its capacity utilization rates during the country's 21-day lockdown following its move to suspend or scale down operations across various locations, it said on Thursday March 26."The company has taken the decision to scale down/suspend production to support the cause of containment of the Covid-19 pandemic, notwithstanding the exception to manuf...Read More

Two-time Vale president Eliezer Batista diesLeadershipLook beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipCardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources The company said yesterday the updated resource comprised an indicated 97.6 million tonnes grading 0.33% total copper an...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe Chilean government agency, ENAMI, wants the ore for processing at its nearby Vallenar processing plant, with the agreement reportedly "safeguarding" 400 jobs.Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price declined during morning trading on Thursday March 26, with price action consolidating near the $4,800-per-tonne support level amid mild turnover, while tin futures failed to hold gains in a 2.4% downturn. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently at $4,803 per tonne, down by 1.5% from Wednesday's closing price of $4,855 per tonne, while turn...Read More

China's domestic rebar market was steady on Thursday March 26, with sellers keeping prices flat despite rising output in view of lower stock. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,470-3,500 yuan ($488-492) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Beijing): 3,380-3,400 yuan per tonne, unchanged End-user demand increased gradually over the past couple of weeks, which drew down steel mills' inventories, sourc...Read More

Governments' massive efforts to support economies have provided some relief to markets and sentiment, but with the novel coronavirus (nCoV 2019) pandemic still spreading rapidly throughout Europe, the United States and elsewhere, there is still just too much uncertainty for markets to settle down.In line with this, the countertrend move of recent days is showing signs of running out of steam this...Read More

Governments’ massive efforts to support economies have provided some relief to markets and sentiment, but with the novel coronavirus (nCoV 2019) pandemic still spreading rapidly throughout Europe, the United States and elsewhere, there is still just too much uncertainty for markets to settle down.In line with this, the countertrend move of recent days is showing signs of running out of steam...Read More

The spread of the Covid-19 virus is forcing shutdowns and a reassessment of consumers' cobalt requirements. Prices of cobalt - metal, intermediates and salts - have so far taken a hit amid concerns of a general, global economic slowdown caused by the virus; a slower uptake in electric vehicle usage; and disrupted demand from the aerospace sector. But lockdowns aimed at limiting the spread of the v...Read More

Canada-based ferro-titanium producer Metalliage is urging local authorities to allow the company to return to production, arguing the alloy maker provides an essential service, after the provincial government of Quebec ordered non-essential services to shutdown for three weeks effective midnight March 24.The move follows international efforts to limit the spread and impact of the coronavirus (2019...Read More

The Ambatovy Nickel Project (Ambatovy) will temporarily stop operations due to national restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Madagascar. "In Bolivia and Madagascar, all-day or night curfews have been imposed and public transportation has been suspended. Considering the impact of these measures, including difficulties of securing access to the operation...Read More

The price of antimony in China's domestic market fell for a fourth consecutive week on Wednesday March 25, with suppliers lowering their offer prices amid weakening market sentiment in response to a significant reduction in overseas demand.Fastmarkets' price assessment for antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China was 37,000-38,000 yuan ($5,214-5,355) per tonne on Wednesday, down by 1,000 yuan p...Read More

The 21-day lockdown in South Africa and resulting disruption to shipping cobalt raw materials from Durban to Chinese ports have managed to slow the cobalt sulfate price downturn in China, with producers who were eager to destock pausing midweek, sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co base is, exw China was 45,000-47,000 yuan ($6,341- 6,623) per tonne on Wednesday Ma...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 43 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures recovered slightly following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was a jump to 1,500,000 from 281,000 last week. Actual was 3,283,000. Consensus for third estimate of fourth quarter GDP was unchanged from the third quarter at an annu...Read More