(Adds background on mine outage, manganese forecast)Jan 17 (Reuters) - Mining group South32 Ltd said on Wednesday its second-quarter metallurgical coal output dropped 43 percent due to an outage at its Appin mine in Australia, while raising its full-year output forecast for South African manganese operations.Production of coal used in steelmaking fell to 788,000 tonnes in the December quarter fro...Read More
(Kitco News) - Silver remains an overlooked asset, but in 2018 things could change, as prices are projected to rise based on recovering industrial and investor demand, according to HSBC’s latest silver outlook.“We expect silver to move moderately higher in 2018 and 2019 based on strong industrial demand and limited supply,” said James Steel, chief precious metals analyst at HSBC....Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices ended the U.S. day session with modest gains Tuesday and scored a four-month high in overnight action. Meantime, silver prices were slightly up and hit a two-month high overnight. The precious metals markets are being supported by a plunging U.S. dollar index and a soaring Euro currency. February Comex gold was last up $2.40 an ounce at $1,337.40. March Comex silver was...Read More
(Kitco News) - After an impressive run in 2017, the World Gold Council sees four factors that will continue to push gold prices higher in the new year.In a report released Tuesday, the WGC said that increased market volatility, a rotation into defensive assets, a growing global middle class and growing market transparency are all bullish factors that will help drive gold prices higher, after endin...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold will be going higher in 2018, even with the Federal Reserve continuing to tighten its monetary policy, TD Securities said in a report.“Softening USD, inflation and geopolitical risks drive gold into $1,340s territory, lift precious complex— correction in gold not in the cards even as Fed tightens,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities.M...Read More
(Kitco News) - Mining companies struggling to attract investor capital need to start thinking outside the box and pay more attention to their environmental footprint, according to one tech mining executive. Kurtis Vanwallegham, CEO of Bio-Mine at #DisruptMining 2017 In an interview with Kitco News, Kurtis Vanwallegham, CEO of Bio-Mine, said that mining companies are starting to really focus on...Read More
Rio Tinto's shipment volumes of third-party bauxite rose by 10% year-on-year in 2017 to 32.3 million tonnes.The company's fourth-quarter results revealed that total bauxite production rose by 6% to 50.8 million tonnes in 2017, in line with the full-year guidance assessment.Brazilian bauxite prices rose by 5.6% between March and December 2017, when Metal Bulletin began...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close on Tuesday January 16, however tin prices shocked the complex by rallying $170 per tonne. The complex's rallies took a pause while the dollar pulled up from Monday's three-year low. "The strong performance seen yesterday on the LME was wiped out today as [Asian] traders hit the sell button from the Asia open. Even with...Read More
Operations at Codelco's Potrerillos copper smelter in Chile's Atacama region have been suspended due to a problem at an absorption tower, the state-owned miner confirmed to Metal Bulletin.The tower is currently being repaired and the smelter, which is part of Salvador division, is expected to restart operations on January 28, a company's spokesman said. The issue affects only the Potrerillos smelt...Read More
The global vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) and ferro-vanadium markets continued upward on strong momentum to start 2018, with prices surging amid concerns over thinning supply availabilities. Chinese V2O5, ferro-vanadium prices surge on low availability, robust demandEuropean ferro-vanadium prices follow Chinese market, run wild amid trader frenzyUS FeV market follows overseas markets upward amid low in...Read More
Chinese low-grade manganese ore prices have continued to rally on stronger silico-manganese futures markets; while the European and US manganese alloy markets have followed strong ore markets upward.Low-grade ore price rises on higher silico-manganese futures, while high-grade price dips amid demand lullChinese alloys prices continue backslide on lackluster demandEU alloys prices bolstered by stea...Read More
The global vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) and ferro-vanadium markets continued upward on strong momentum to start 2018, with prices surging amid concerns over thinning supply availabilities. Chinese V2O5, ferro-vanadium prices surge on low availability, robust demandEuropean ferro-vanadium prices follow Chinese market, run wild amid trader frenzyUS FeV market follows overseas markets upward amid low in...Read More
Rio Tinto's shipment volumes of third-party bauxite rose by 10% year-on-year in 2017 to 32.3 million tonnes.The company's fourth-quarter results revealed that total bauxite production rose by 6% to 50.8 million tonnes in 2017, in line with the full-year guidance assessment.Brazilian bauxite prices rose by 5.6% between March and December 2017, when Metal Bulletin began...Read More
Chinese low-grade manganese ore prices have continued to rally on stronger silico-manganese futures markets; while the European and US manganese alloy markets have followed strong ore markets upward.Low-grade ore price rises on higher silico-manganese futures, while high-grade price dips amid demand lullChinese alloys prices continue backslide on lackluster demandEU alloys prices bolstered by stea...Read More
The Turkish scrap import market remained quiet on Tuesday January 16, with limited supplies available, especially from the USA, according to market sources.However, Turkish steel mills were expected to book 18-19 more cargoes for February, with four or five of these expected to be booked for the first half of the month."Turkish steel mills should book 18-19 more cargoes for February, but there are...Read More
Prices for short-sea scrap imports arriving in Spain have fallen by ?,?10 ($12) per tonne over the past week, which could lead to a dip in Turkish deep-sea import scrap prices, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday January 16. Weaker demand from Spanish mills has led to a fall in short-sea import prices for United Kingdom-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), which was ?,?280-283 per tonne cfr northern...Read More
Comex copper prices fell to a multi-week low on Tuesday January 16 with the market in consolidation mode following an extended holiday weekend in the United States. Participants returned to the market following the national Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday in the US on Monday. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.70 cents or 0.8% to...Read More
Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange are edging lower this morning, Tuesday January 16, posting an average loss of 0.7% on subdued trading volumes. Nickel prices, down by 1.6%, are the weakest, while copper and tin prices, both down by 0.2%, are showing the most resilience.This bout of profit-taking seems to be driven by a rebound in the dollar, pushing most commodity prices lower, in s...Read More
Flat steel buyers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia preferred to delay their purchasing this week because end-user demand was not strong and buyers were still not used to the newly imposed 5% VAT regime, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday January 16.The UAE and Saudi Arabia both imposed a 5% rate of VAT with effect from January 1, 2018.UAEHot-rolled coil (HRC) was offered at $590-61...Read More
China's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil increased slightly on Tuesday January 16 after several days of decline.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,140-4,180 yuan ($643-649) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Tianjin): 3,940-4,960 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneSpot prices recovered some losses on Tuesday after falling for the last three working days.The spot market rece...Read More