Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More
The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More
On an inflation-adjusted basis, silver also looks dirt cheap...by Peter Krauth via Streetwise ReportsIt's getting harder with every passing day to find cheap assets.Stocks, bonds, real estate, they're all pretty pricey. And yet, no one seems to care.Instead, the masses, and asset managers, appear determined to keep pushing them higher.In recent days, the S&P 500, the Dow 30 and the Nasdaq all...Read More
The base metals complex on the London Metal Exchange showed mixed fortunes at the 5pm close on Tuesday December 8, with zinc, lead and nickel holding on to gains while aluminium fell below the $2,000 per tonne psychological mark.Lead showed the biggest increase of the day, rising by 0.98% to $2,099.50 per tonne by the close from Monday's price of $2,076 per tonne.Sister metal zinc also showed a sm...Read More
Monthly Chinese custom data compiled by Fastmarkets showed lithium carbonate imports in China for October were at their highest level in at least seven years.The spike in Chinese imports of lithium carbonate reflected the uptrend in the country's spot market as well as stock building by key suppliers in the country in preparation for a price recovery and increased demand, Fastmarkets understands....Read More
Peruvian mine output went up on an annual basis of comparison in October, with copper, zinc and tin recovering to pre-pandemic levels and production units aiming for higher capacity usage, data from the country's ministry of energy and mines, Minem, showed on Monday December 7.The country produced 207,034 tonnes of copper during October, a 1.4% year-on-year increase from 204,139 tonnes. But in the...Read More
RAPAPORT... The December edition of the Rapaport Research Report, published on Monday, presents an in-depth analysis of how Covid-19 has impacted Botswana's diamond industry and, by extension, its economy. As the poster child for the diamonds-do-good story, Botswana has been particularly vulnerable during the pandemic. Its heavy reliance on the diamond sector means its economy gains when the marke...Read More
Hindalco plans to build a 34,000-tonne-per-year aluminium extrusion plant in Silvassa, India, it said on Monday December 7. The company, which expects commercial production at the plant to start in 24 months, said the new plant will be part of the company's long-term downstream value-added product (VAP) strategy. Hindalco plans to build a larger VAP portfolio over the next few years. "We are seein...Read More
Glencore chairman Tony Hayward was not understating matters when he described the company's succession transition as coming "at a time of huge change." Glencore's share price has risen 3% since its announcement on Friday December 4 that 18-year chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg would be retiring from his role next year and coal assets head Gary Nagle would stepping up to the plate. The...Read More
RAPAPORT... Bonhams sold a Kashmir sapphire and diamond brooch for $1.1 million at its New York Jewels auction, bringing in more than double its low valuation and surpassing its high estimate.The cushion-shaped mixed-cut, 17.21-carat sapphire, flanked by marquise- and pear-shaped table-cut diamonds, was created in 1910. It led the December 7 sale, which achieved a total of $3.8 million, Bonhams sa...Read More
Three-month prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly unchanged from Monday's prices and remained around their peaks on Tuesday December 8 morning.Nickel was back to high ground after dipping slightly on Monday, with its three-month price at $16,415 per tonne at 9:05am - rising to $16,440 per tonne shortly after - up 0.25% from Monday's 5pm close. Nickel declined slightly also, do...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's international trade in gems and jewelry improved in November as the government and the industry pulled together to weather this year's unprecedented crisis, according to the country's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).The decline in the country's exports narrowed to 4%, for a total of $2.48 billion, compared with $2.58 billion in November 2019, the organ...Read More
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China-based alumina producer Hangzhou Jinjiang Group (HJJ) in hope of securing an alumina supply. The MoU serves as a framework to form a strategic potential collaboration between both entities to secure Alba's alumina requirements. The agreement will remain in effect for three years and can be extended upon mutual agreem...Read More
Chinese exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products rose slightly in November from the month prior but still declined on a year-on-year basis, customs data released on Monday December 7 shows.China exported 424,000 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Dominion Diamond Mines has reached a deal to sell its Ekati mine in Canada to two of its bondholders amid mounting debt that caused it to seek creditor protection.DDJ Capital Management and Brigade Capital Management will acquire nearly all of Dominion's assets, with the exception of its 40% stake in the Diavik mine, which it shares with joint-venture partner Rio Tinto, Dominion said M...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An Indian farmer unearthed a "pebble" that turned out to be 14.98 carat diamond - that has now been sold at auction for over $80,000. Lakhan Yadav, 45, was prospecting last month on a rented patch of land in an area of the central Madhya Pradesh state known for its diamond deposits. He bought a motorbike with the pre-auction deposit he received from the local diamond...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's gem and jewelry exports rebounded last month, approaching pre-Covid levels for the first time since the pandemic hit.Manufacturing is almost back to normal and after a series of voluntary embargoes, rough imports rose in October by almost 70 per cent.Foreign sales for November were within four per cent of the same month in 2019, signaling a sharp upturn in demand. ...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products have reported a 3.3% year-on-year rise in shipment volumes during October 2020, regional steel industry association Eurometal said on Tuesday December 8.Over the first 10 months of 2020, however, flat steel distributors' shipments dropped by 14.0% year-on-year.Eurometal did not disclose individual product volumes.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel h...Read More
The export price for steel slab from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) surged during the week to Monday December 7 on new sales and a strong hot-rolled coil market, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $570-580 per tonne on December 7, up by $45 per tonnefrom $525-535 per tonne a week earlier.CIS suppliers increased s...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Canada's Dominion Diamond Mines has agreed to sell its Ekati mine to investment managers following the collapse of a rescue deal in October.The troubled miner filed for insolvency in April and had been seeking a buyer since then for the deposit in Northwest Territories.It's being acquired by DDJ Capital Management and Brigade Capital Management, representing holders of Do...Read More
The price of steel billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) exported via the Black Sea increased sharply this week on a deal heard to Peru, with offers rising amid a shortage of supply, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday December 8.The booking to Peru was heard at $520 per tonne fob Black Sea and was understood to have been concluded on December 7 for a volume of 10,000 tonnes, although...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates increased this week while demand was strong, sources said on Tuesday December 8.Domestic rebarThe country's steel producers were offering rebar at 1,985 dirhams ($540) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in December before closing their order books and should announce new prices soon, sources said.Market participants in the UA...Read More