China's ferrous futures picked up on Wednesday March 14 amid the release of data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing an increase in the country's crude steel output in January to February.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,736 yuan ($590.60) per tonne, up 46 yuan per tonne May hot-rolled coil: 3,855 yuan per tonne, up 52 yuan per tonne...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 14 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightFollowing the departure of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson from the White House, the US dollar index touched a five-day low of 89.58 and then hovered around 89.6, while most base metals climbed up. SHFE aluminium and tin edged down slightly. LME zinc led with a rise of...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities have filed criminal and other charges against a former Equifax executive over alleged insider trading linked to the credit reporting company's massive data breach made public last year, officials said on Wednesday.Jun Ying, the former chief information office for one of the company's units, faces criminal charges filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the N...Read More
China's crude steel output as well as its finished steel production increased during the first two months of 2018.The country produced a total of 136.82 million tonnes of crude steel over the January-February period, up 5.9% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday March 14. The bureau did not release separate statistics for either month.China's finished...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 14 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper inched up and hit a high of $6,959/mt last night. SHFE copper also rose and touched a high of 52,140 yuan/mt overnight. The strong US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and a weak US dollar are likely to support prices. We see SHFE copper trading at 51,000-54,000 yuan/mt. In the physical market, spot prices are likely to trade at a premium of 20-80 yua...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has unveiled a three-year plan for returningthe company to growth, after sales slid last year.The retailer, whose brands include KayJewelers, Zales and Jared, aims to close more than 200 stores by February2019 and upgrade its e-commerce business in a bid to reverseits recent disappointing financial performance. It also plans to reduce costs and improve value for cu...Read More
Shares in Africa-focused Gem Diamonds (LON:GEMD) jumped as much as 6.5% on Wednesday after the miner revealed it had dug up yet another big rock at its flagship Let??eng mine in Lesotho.The 169-carat, top white colour, Type IIa rock is seventh diamond of over 100 carats the company has recovered so far this year at the mine, the world's highest dollar per carat.The finding comes barely a day af...Read More
Shorter lead times, smaller volumes and less onerous financing arrangements have seen portside iron ore trading grow in popularity over the past three-to-four years. Portside iron ore prices in China have largely remained at a discount to seaborne levels so far this year amid a slowdown in construction activity and high stock levels.According to estimates from a local information provider in China...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds returned to profit last year, after thedevaluation of an underperforming mine drove it to a loss in 2016. The miner recorded a net profit of $17.2 million for 2017,versus a loss of $144.1 million in 2016, it said Wednesday. The 2016 loss was mainlythe result of a $170.8 million impairment charge, after the company decided tocease production at the Ghaghoo mine in Botswana...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The World Federation of Diamond Bourses' (WFDB) Executive Committee Meeting in Idar-Oberstein on Monday discussed a wide variety of subjects. The WFDB said they included the World Diamond Council's proposed changes to its System of Warranties (SoW), nomenclature issues, Know Your Client, the proposed inclusion of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - Diversified mining company Anglo American has outlined an innovative approach to three major areas of sustainability – the environment, community development, and driving greater trust and transparency across the mining industry.Its ambitious goals include:AdvertisementCreating five jobs off-site for every job on-site in its host communities;Working with gov...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC raised its forecast for oil supply from non-member countries in 2018 as higher prices encourage U.S. shale drillers to pump more, offsetting an OPEC-led deal to clear a supply glut and a collapse in Venezuelan production.In a monthly report on Wednesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said non-OPEC producers would boost supply by 1.66 million bar...Read More
Zoltav Resources (LON:ZOL) shares rose 9.3% to 23.5p in the early afternoon trading as the oil and gas exploration company said a prospective field in the reservoir on the Bortovoy licence in Russia might be larger than initially expected.The AIM-listed company announced it intends to defer final interpretation to allow for an additional 76 square kilometres of data, which covers the full extent o...Read More
Prices for steel beams in Europe could come under downward pressure in the coming weeks because of waning demand, despite mills plotting further price rises, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday March 14."Demand for beams is not strong, which means that we are selling below our budget in terms of tonnes," one Northern European distributor said.Stockholders continue to hold bloated volumes of b...Read More
RAPAPORT... A new fine-jewelry show will launch in Las Vegas duringthe upcoming trade-fair season, the event's organizers said last week. Premier, which will feature jewelry manufacturers andbrands, emerging designers, and timepieces, will be located at the Las VegasConvention Center, alongside the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show, andthe AGTA GemFair Las Vegas. The show is scheduled to ru...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales fell for a third straight month in February as households cut back on purchases of motor vehicles and other big-ticket items, pointing to a slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter.Other data on Wednesday showed underlying producer prices increasing solidly in February amid strong gains in the cost of services such as hotel accommodation, airline fa...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – TSX-V-listed Tsodilo Resources has processed 724.7 t through the dense media separation (DMS) plant at its BK16 kimberlite project in Botswana, since commissioning the plant on January 18.This represented 141 samples out of a total of 243, or 6%, of the tonnage. These 141 samples have generated 2 778.6 kg of concentrate, translating to a DMS yield of 0.38%.A...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Northern Europe have fallen by ?,?5 ($6) per tonne this week, with some mills accepting lower bids to secure orders, market participants told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday March 14.Meanwhile, Southern European prices widened upward by ?,?5 per tonne, with the large Italian mills being more successful in driving up their offer prices, sources said.Metal Bulletin's...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's April Hong Kong auction will feature more than $93.6million-worth of jewels, among them a step-cut, 14.18-carat, fancy blue,VVS2-clarity diamond ring.That lot, with a surround of pink diamonds, carries an estimated price of $6 million to $7.7 million, the auction house said Tuesday. Also included at the event is a Van Cleef & Arpels gem-setand diamond bracelet valued at $...Read More
(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures signaled a rebound for Wall Street on Wednesday, a day after the main indexes fell more than half a percent on fears of political and trade uncertainties.By 6:53 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were up 84 points. S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 rose 7.5 points and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 gained 30 points.Singapore-based Broadcom Ltd (AVGO.O) withdrew its $117 billion bid t...Read More