The tender for the sale of Italian flat steel producer Ilva might be invalid, the country's minister for economic development, Luigi Di Maio, said on Wednesday August 22.Italian anti-corruption authority ANAC started an investigation in mid-July that might result in the cancellation of the tender to sell Ilva, which was won by a consortium led by ArcelorMittal.Earlier this month, Di Maio requested...Read More
Chilean lithium and iodine producer Sociedad Quimica y Minera's (SQM) earnings in the first half of 2018 rose by 21.2% year on year to $247.7 million from $204.4 million the year before. Total revenue from SQM's five businesses increased by 13% to $1.15 billion in the first six months of 2018, from $1.02 billion in the corresponding period last year. SQM's first-half results were led primarily by...Read More
Higher manganese ore prices helped South32 achieve earnings increases of up to 69% for the full year to June 2018 at its two manganese divisions,the miner announced on Thursday August 23....Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday August 23.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with lead and sister-metal zinc the only two to record significant gains, while the rest were little changed to weaker.Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here.Zin...Read More
After continuing engagement with the market, Metal Bulletin has decided to extend the consultation period for its proposal to change its weekly price assessment to Rotterdam export HMS 1&2 (75:25) scrap material instead of Rotterdam export HMS 1&2 (70:30).The proposal was made following observations that HMS 1&2 (70:30) was no longer exported out of Rotterdam.The proposed amended specification is...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the weekly Jobless Claims report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase to 215,000 from 212,000 last week. Actual was 210,000.Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM $121.73 Cdn) is expected to open higher after the Bank reported...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. ...Read More
The impact of trade tensions between China and the United States became the main topic for participants of the seaborne coking coal market on Thursday August 23, with the former's tariff on imports from the latter coming into effect....Read More
China's steel futures fell during morning trading on Thursday August 23, while contracts for steelmaking raw materials ended the session slightly higher than their opening prices....Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices dipped on Thursday August 23 amid weak demand, while export offers remained relatively high despite an absence of bids....Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly down on the morning of Thursday August 23, with lead prices bucking the trend with a 0.2% rise, while the rest were off by between 0.5% for aluminium and 1.5% for nickel. The three-month copper contract was down by 1.2% at $5,941 per tonne.Volume has been high with 11,053 lots traded as at 07.37am London time.This morning's ge...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices were unchanged over the past week with demand remaining soft while the nickel market rebounded....Read More
Brass scrap prices in the United States have plummeted and most copper and brass scrap discounts have widened over the past week, driven by ample domestic supply - exacerbated by China's 25% tariff on copper scrap imports - exceeding US demand....Read More
Key data from the Wednesday August 22 pricing session in Shanghai....Read More
A combination of factors collectively have had a net positive effect on the pricing for gold futures today. The most prevalent factor moving gold prices higher today was dollar weakness. Now, for the fifth consecutive day, the dollar has lost value as it trades against a basket of foreign currencies.As of 4:00 PM Eastern standard time, the dollar index is currently trading off by 2/10 of a percent...Read More
(Kitco News) - Kitco aficionados, it is now time to have your say in where you think gold prices are heading in the short-term. Create your own user feedback survey Will gold prices go higher, lower or remain unchanged next week? Kitco readers will have until 9 a.m. EDT, Friday to cast their vote. The results will be tabulated and released after noon (12 PM EDT) along with the results from our mar...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are moderately higher in early-afternoon U.S. trading Wednesday and are back above $1,200.00, on some safe-haven demand as U.S. President Trump may be in some legal and political trouble. December gold futures were last up $4.40 an ounce at $1,204.50. September Comex silver was last down $0.011 at $14.76 an ounce. The just-released minutes of the last Federal Open Market...Read More
(Kitco News) - The gold market is holding support above $1,200 an ounce as the Federal Reserve remains optimistic on the U.S. economy and continues to see a gradual rise in interest rates, according to the minutes of the monetary policy meeting at the start of the month.Gold is seeing little reaction to the minutes as there were few surprises in the comments from central bankers. Markets are alrea...Read More
Image by:Pavel Ignatov / Shutterstock.com (Kitco News) - The S&P 500 Index has reached a historical milestone: Wednesday marked the longest bull market run in history and one market analyst said that this is the time that investors need to move into precious metals and mining stocks. Fred Hickey, creator of the investment newsletter The High-Tech Strategist In an exclusive inte...Read More
(Kitco News) - Switzerland’s trade data suggest that as of July, demand for gold in the physical market was still sluggish, analysts said.The country’s exports during the month were 115 tonnes, a year-on-year decline of 3% and the lowest July total in four years, said the consultancy Metals Focus. However, gold demand from two key nations - India and China - was mixed, said Commerzbank...Read More