By Rhiannon Hoyle SYDNEY--Former Rio Tinto PLC executive Stern Hu, who was jailed in China for bribery, was freed from prison on Wednesday. Mr. Hu, the Australian who previously spearheaded sales for Rio Tinto in China, was in 2010 found guilty of charges he accepted around $935,000 in bribes from steelmakers and stole commercial secrets that undermined China's steel industry. China's Foreign M...Read More
By Anita Rachman JAKARTA, Indonesia-Indonesia said Wednesday it had granted U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan Inc. a one-month extension to continue work at one of the world's largest copper mines while the two parties move closer to a deal that will give Jakarta control of the venture. Bambang Gatot Ariyono, director general for coal and minerals, said the government expected to conclude negot...Read More
The consultancy PWC called 2017 a "remarkable year" in its annual look back at the health of the mining sector.After the forced financial reckoning, mining companies are now profitable with metal prices on the rise. "Thanks in large measure to the continuing recovery in commodity prices, fuelled by general economic growth, revenues rose dramatically by 23 per cent," writes the reports authors of M...Read More
Shares in Canada's Nautilus Minerals (TSX:NUS), one of the world's first seafloor miners, were hit hard on Wednesday after the owner of the shipyard where the company's support vessel is being made said it had cancelled the contract with the supplier chosen by Nautilus to build its ships.Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding's decision came as the supplier chosen by Nautilus to build its ships failed to pay t...Read More
The U.S. corruption and money-laundering probe into Glencore Plc represents the sum of all fears for the world's largest commodity trader and its billionaire chief executive officer, Ivan Glasenberg.The possibility that the Justice Department would add to the dizzying array of regulatory and legal headaches the Swiss company is facing around the globe - from Russia to Africa and South America - ha...Read More
Indonesia has extended a short-term operating permit for Freeport McMoRan's (NYSE:FCX) vast Grasberg copper-gold mine until the end of July, while discussions over granting the government a majority ownership in the operation are finalized.Coal and Minerals Director General Bambang Gatot Ariyono told The Jakarta Post that the extension had been given based on four key issues that still needed fine...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jul 5 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar inched down and hovered around 94.5 as markets remained wary over the China-US trade war ahead of tariffs implementation.Most LME and SHFE base metals dropped. LME zinc and lead fell over 2%, copper and nickel lost over 1%, tin inched down, while aluminium went...Read More
(Updates prices, writes through)* Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh* Trade worries weigh on MSCI AC World Index* Yuan steadies after Chinese central bank moves* Copper hits 9-month low* Dollar index unchanged, euro edges lower* European chipmaker stocks hitBy Ritvik CarvalhoLONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - World stocks were flat on Wednesday amid growing anxiety ahead of Washingto...Read More
Investing.com - Gold prices were at a one-week high on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar weakened.Comex gold futures for August delivery increased 0.36% to $1,258.00 a troy ounce as of 9:55 AM ET (13:55 GMT).Trading volumes are expected to remain thin throughout the day, as U.S. investors celebrate Independence Day.Gold was bolstered by a weaker U.S. dollar. Gold normally rises as the dollar falls, as...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jul 4 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals fell across the board on Wednesday June 4 and sharply extended their losses in the afternoon. SHFE zinc led the decreases with a loss of over 3%. SHFE nickel and copper slumped over 2%, lead dropped over 1% and tin and aluminium dipped.The ferrous complex recovered some previous losses. Rebar, hot-rolled coil and coke increased close to 1% while...Read More
(Refiles to make headline read "Stocks" instead of "Stock")* Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh* Trade worries weigh on MSCI AC World Index* Yuan steadies after Chinese central bank moves* Copper hits 9-month low* Dollar index unchanged, euro edges lower* European chipmaker stocks hitBy Ritvik CarvalhoLONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - World stocks treaded water on Wednesday amid gro...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jul 4 (SMM) – Overall economic activity across downstream copper sectors in China shrank in June as these industries, except for electronics and home appliances, entered the low season, SMM research found. This weighed on production rates across downstream copper sectors. The composite SMM purchasing managers' index (PMI) across five downstream sectors of copper in June ca...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jul 4 (SMM) – Spot copper was mostly offered at a discount of 60 yuan/mt to flat over the SHFE 1807 contract in Shanghai on Wednesday July 4. This narrowed from a discount of 120-50 yuan/mt on Tuesday amid active transactions, which were mostly contributed by traders. Offers for cargoes are likely to turn from discounts to premiums on Jul 5 as falling futures prices of co...Read More
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh* MSCI AC World Index falls on trade worries* Yuan steadies after Chinese central bank moves* Copper hits 9-month low* Dollar index unchanged, euro edges lower* European chipmaker stocks hitBy Ritvik CarvalhoLONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - World stocks were dragged lower on Wednesday by growing anxiety ahead of Washington's end of week deadline...Read More
(Adds company news items and futures)July 4 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 15 points lower at 7,578 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 down 0.10 percent ahead of the cash market open.* SAINSBURY'S: Sainsbury 's SBRY.L , Britain's second biggest supermarket group which agreed a 7.3 billion pound ($9.7 billion) takeover of rival Asda WMT....Read More
SHANGHAI, Jul 4 (SMM) – Some 153,500 mt of copper scrap received the green light in the 15th batch of approvals for restricted solid scrap imports, marking the largest volumes so far this year.The approval was released on Monday July 2 by the solid waste management centre of China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The approved volume this time exceeded the 125,700 mt in the&nbs...Read More
July 4 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 15 points lower at 7,578 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers.* BP: BP BP.L and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) COP.N announced on Tuesday a swap deal that will see the British oil giant increase its stake in a major North Sea development while its U.S. peer will grow in Alaska. GLENCORE: U.S. authorities have demanded Glenc...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jul 4 (SMM) – Copper: Worries over trade war intensified last night as China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed its stance towards the tariffs on US goods to be imposed on July 6. LME copper slumped to a low of $6,493/mt during the European trading session and closed at $6,509/mt last night. It is likely to test support at $6,500/mt again in the short term, with trad...Read More
* Asian shares near 9-month low, Nikkei down 0.7 pct* Falls in U.S. tech shares heighten worries* Yuan bounces back after PBOC's movesBy Hideyuki SanoTOKYO, July 4 (Reuters) - Asian stocks slipped on Wednesday on the spectre of a Sino-U.S. trade war ahead of an end-of-week deadline for U.S. tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports while the yuan stabilised after China's central bank moved t...Read More