RAPAPORT... Retail sales of gold, silver and jewelry in China increasedin the first two months of 2018, the nation'sdata department said. Total revenue for the category rose 3% year on yearto $80.4 billion (CNY 509 billion) in January and February, the National Bureau of Statistics of Chinasaid in a statement Monday. Retail sales of all consumer goods increased 10%,while online sales climbed 37%....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.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 market professional survey.Readers can al...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper rebounded from the $6,700/mt level overnight as long positions entered the market. Copper prices are expected to rebound if China's economic data remain strong and the global bearish sentiment eases. We see LME copper trading at $6,800-6,860/mt today, with the SHFE 1805 contract trading at 51,000-51,600 yuan/mt. Spot discounts are seen smaller a...Read More

What we have seen so far are just the opening shots of the coming trade war. Think of it as the Battles of Lexington and Concord that opened the Revolutionary War. Much larger tariffs and penalties are waiting in the wings.Trump will soon receive a report under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. That report has been almost a year in preparation and will reveal that China has stolen over $1 tril...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper rebounded from the $6,700/mt level overnight as long positions entered the market. Copper prices are expected to rebound if China's economic data remain strong and the global bearish sentiment eases. We see LME copper trading at $6,800-6,860/mt today, with the SHFE 1805 contract trading at 51,000-51,600 yuan/mt. Spot discounts are seen smaller a...Read More

Commodities are “still the best hedge against rising inflation risks,” says Goldman Sachs. In a research note, analyst point out that whereas inflation risks had been subdued during the recovery from the financial crisis, market participants are increasingly starting to worry about “overheating” due to economic growth and increasing labor-market tightness. “In summary...Read More

As you know by now, the Fed raised its target rate yesterday.I'll have more to say about that in the days ahead. But today I want to address some news that could have even larger ramifications for markets and the economy. The mainstream media haven't given it nearly the consideration it deserves.What am I talking about?President Trump announced plans today designed to punish China for stealing Ame...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Concerns about trade sent European shares tumbling on Thursday as the United States prepared to announce hefty tariffs on Chinese imports, with banks, basic resources stocks and tech the worst-performing.U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese imports.Separately, the European Union secured an exemptio...Read More

The Colorado School of Mines chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers was named Region 3 Chapter of the Year during the SHPE's Regional Leadership and Development Conference, held March 1-3 at Boise State University.Fourteen Mines students took part in the conference, which seeks to improve chapters' organizational, managerial and technical skills. Andres Guerra, teaching associat...Read More

RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports increased in February, driven by thestrongest monthly growth in shipments to Hong Kong and the US in six years. Worldwide shipments of Swiss timepieces climbed 13% year onyear to $1.78 billion (CHF 1.69 billion) last month, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported Tuesday. Exports to Hong Kongjumped 36% to $268.1 million (CHF 255.2 million), while th...Read More

We're starting to pack for a spring break trip to El Salvador next week, where both the air and water are in the 80s.Meanwhile, a few of the families we're friends with are packing for a snowboard trip to Aspen.My daughter would certainly like to be there drinking hot chocolate and toasting marshmallows with the rest of her crew, but she'll happily forgo a couple sweets for something she likes eve...Read More

Colorado School of Mines will launch a first-of-its-kind graduate program in space resources this fall, and 9News Denver recently featured the story on its "Next with Kyle Clark" show.Angel Abbud-Madrid, director of the Center for Space Resources, was interviewed along with two graduate students who work in the Space Resources lab, Jared Atkinson and Hunter Williams. Atkinson is pursuing a PhD in...Read More

WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s apology for how his company handled 50 million users’ data did little on Thursday to ease investor worries about the cost to fix mistakes and lawmakers’ dismay that his response did not go far enough.Germany’s second-largest bank Commerzbank AG has suspended advertising on Facebook until further no...Read More

For decades, OPEC has been able to hold over our heads the threat of cripplingly-high oil prices. With +30 million barrels per day of the world’s oil production, OPEC’s ability to manipulate the price of the commodity is undeniable.This has led to a maddening amount of our foreign policy being dictated by the only product supplied by this Middle East cartel, thus giving OPEC nations a...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major U.S. stock indexes fell as much as 2 percent on Thursday, where they were on track for the steepest drop since a Wall Street rout six weeks ago, gripped by the growing threat of a global trade war.U.S. President Donald Trump will sign a presidential memorandum on Thursday to potentially slap tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports over forced transfer of intellectual p...Read More

RAPAPORT...Attempts to upgrade the size and color ofgemstones using a layer of synthetic material have been around for decades, butsigns indicate the techniques are changing.The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) recently received two loose, oval-shaped,mixed-cut, red stones at its New York laboratory. On further inspection, theyturned out to be natural sapphires with a synthetic ruby "overgro...Read More

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Signs of cracking in the European Union’s common front on Brexit may encourage hopes in London that Prime Minister Theresa May can exploit continental divisions to secure British advantage.But EU leaders and diplomats, as well as some British Brexit experts, argue that May risks disappointment in that quest, as Germany leads a push to prevent London unraveling the EU sin...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange plummeted at the close on Thursday March 22, while the dollar index staged a recovery.Nickel prices were the worst affected closing 2.7% lower and trading at a low of $13,060 per tonne - its lowest since February 12. The metal is under pressure from poor underlying demand from Chinese stainless steel mills. "Stainless steel prices in China have strug...Read More

March 22 (Reuters) - ?blockchain Capital* ?BLOCKCHAIN CAPITAL SAYS CLOSING OF BLOCKCHAIN CAPITAL IV, LP A $150 MILLION FUND? Source text for Eikon: Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can g...Read More

Exporters of CIS-origin pig iron have been focusing on the market in the United States, where demand is higher and prices are expected to rise, unlike in the Italian market where prices have reached a peak, sources told Metal Bulletin this week.Metal Bulletin's export price assessment on Thursday March 22 for high-manganese pig iron from the CIS region widened to $370-395 per tonne fob Black Sea,...Read More