Import prices for steel billet in Southeast Asia edged up over the past week while those for slab in the wider region including East Asia experienced sharp gains amid limited offers.Metal Bulletin's assessment of import prices for billet in Southeast Asia was $540-555 per tonne cfr for the week ended Monday February 26, up $5 per tonne from a week earlier.Prices increased after trading activity pi...Read More
(Adds background, details on retail unit)MEXICO CITY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Mexican bottler and retailer Fomento Economico Mexicano (Femsa) on Tuesday said its net profit fell more than 70 percent in the fourth quarter, hit by the revaluation of assets in its Venezuelan Coca-Cola bottling operation.Net profit in the October-December period was more than 1.83 billion pesos ($93 million), down from ne...Read More
Nakama Group plc's (LON:NAK) shares tumbled after the recruitment firm issued a profit warning.When it released its interims at the end of November, the board had expected an improvement in trading in the second half of the year; that improvement has not materialised and the business has continued to make a loss in Australia, Singapore and London.With a new chief executive and non-executive chairm...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 27 (SMM) - Copper: We see SHFE copper gaining support at 53,000 yuan/mt in the short term as recovery of downstream consumption is set to boost copper prices. We expect LME copper to trade at $7,080-7,150/mt and the SHFE 1804 contract to trade at 53,190-53,700 yuan/mt today.Aluminium: With pressure from short bets, we expect LME aluminium to continue to test the 60-day...Read More
Handan, a major steel-producing city in north China's Hebei province, will step up its steelmaking curbs by cutting production by 50-55% until the end of March, according to an official notice from its local government late on Monday February 26. The city, which is among 28 in the country's northern region that are limiting production at 50% of capacity during the winter heating season, which ends...Read More
* Dec qtr growth seen at 6.9 pct y/y vs 6.3 pct in Sept qtr* Govt spending, manufacturing pick-up help economic recovery* IMF expects economic growth to rise to 7.4 pct in 2018 * GDP data due on Wednesday, Feb 28 at 1200 GMT By Manoj KumarNEW DELHI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - India might have regained the status of the world's fastest-growing major economy in the October-December quarter, driven by highe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Polished-diamond shipments out of India increased in January,according to data from the nation's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council(GJEPC). Polished exports climbed 29% year on year to $2.08 billionand, by volume, rose 20% to 2.7 million carats. The average price grew 7% to$766 per carat. Polished imports dropped 21% to $136 million, while netpolished exports - the excess of...Read More
Almost exactly two years ago, the Venezuelan government signed a decree creating the Mining Arc of the Orinoco River National Development Strategic Zone, a project that outlined a 111,843 Sq.Km concession area (12.2 per cent of the country's landmass) for mining gold, diamond, iron ore, copper, bauxite, coltan, among other resources.Twenty-four months later, environmentalists say that the idea of...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine Technologies Ltd recorded revenues of $12.9 million in Q4 2017 ended 31 December, an improvement of 15% over Q3 2017. The increase was mainly attributed to higher sales of diamond manufacturing related capital equipment as business sentiment in the diamond manufacturing sector improved somewhat towards the very end of 2017. With higher revenues and lower opera...Read More
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Chinese video streaming service provider iQiyi Inc, a unit of Baidu Inc , on Tuesday filed for an initial public offering of up to $1.50 billion with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.The company plans to list its American Depository Shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol "IQ." The company, known for its Netflix-like services, has over 50 million subscribed me...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - New South African Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has received a resounding welcome from the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) and mining luminaries.In its welcoming release, the chamber described Mantashe, 62, as a man of integrity and dignity.Advertisement"He is a person with whom our industry has long held...Read More
China's imports of iron ore rebounded to the second highest ever in January while those for coking coal fell to a seven-month low. Exports of scrap surged on the year, while those for coke, which include semi coke, contracted.[Editor's note: This table has been amended...Read More
RAPAPORT... Thailand's gem and jewelry exports climbed2% to almost $13 billion in 2017, excluding gold, Commerce Minister SontiratSontijirawong said in his opening address at the Bangkok Gems & JewelryFair last week.An improving economic outlook in keymarkets for Thai-manufactured jewelry, such as the US, provides optimism forcontinuing growth in the country's gem exports, according to governm...Read More
(IDEX Online) - IGI India is to issue reports for uncut, unpolished diamonds, which are typically seen in traditional Indian bridal jewelry styles such as Jadau. The lab said its IGI India's latest offering fills an important gap in jewelry certification services. "By evaluating this particular type of diamond, IGI India can attest to the stone's authenticity and provide confidence...Read More
By Karen BrettellFeb 27 (Reuters) - Short term bank borrowing costs have surged in recent weeks to levels last seen during the 2008 global financial crisis when there were concerns about credit quality, but analysts are linking rise in rates to the consequences of the tax cuts passed by the U.S. Congress in December.The three-month London interbank offered rate (Libor) , a measure of the cost for...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished-diamond exports increased in January,according to data from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). Polished exports jumped 29% year on year to $813.4 millionand, by volume, rose 21% to 352.1 million carats. The average price grew 6% to$2,310 per carat.Polished exports to the US surged 48% to $275.4 million, while shipments to Hong Kong soared 95% to $144 million. T...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - The first consignment of 43 drums of concentrate from the BK16 kimberlite project, in Botswana, have been securely moved to TSX-listed Tsodilo Resources' final recovery area in its security complex in Maun.This followed the January 18 commissioning of a dense media separation (DMS) plant at BK16, using the mine's historic tailing material to test the plant...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close on Tuesday February 27, with the dollar index surging to its highest since the start of the month. The three-month copper price closed 1.2% lower and only just held above $7,000 per tonne. Copper's healthy contango and a lack of market tightness are putting pressure on prices. "We think that copper prices are vulnerable...Read More
RAPAPORT... US polished-diamond trading slowed last year, according to government data. Polished imports dropped 6% to $21.62 billion and, by volume, slid 9% to9.8 million carats. The average price increased 4% to$2,205 per carat. Polished exports fell 4% to $18.02 billion, while netpolished imports - the excess of imports over exports -slipped 14% to $3.61 billion. Rough imports for the year were...Read More