Iron ore prices edged up on Thursday March 15 amid improved sentiment following the release of data showing a drop in steel inventories in the Chinese market. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $72.11 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: up by $0.47 per tonne Month-to-date average: $73.95 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $57.71...Read More

The Russia-Britain spat needs to be closely watched. Any deterioration of relations between the two nations will be bullish for gold and bearish for the US dollar. Theresa May is using Russia as a way to divert attention from her political woes and Brexit fears. All international treaties and conventions have been broken by the UK over the killing of an ex spy. I am not even sure whether the UK...Read More

Full Article: Is Silver Set to Take Off?By: Darren BlasuttiSilver is set to rally, but only in the medium to long-term, said Darren Blasutti, CEO of Americas Silver Corp."I think we're particularly positive on silver, but I think we're out two or three years before we see that real change in silver, but we're very bullish right now on zinc and lead, and copper," Blasutti told Kitco News on the si...Read More

The seaborne iron ore market maintained its stability on Thursday March 15 amid a slight drop in steel inventories in China, with premiums for index-linked cargoes of 62% Fe Australian fines failing to rise as much as expected.Key drivers The slight drop in steel inventories gave the market some optimism about demand from downstream industries beginning its recovery. According to a local informati...Read More

Turkish import and export billet prices have increased, amid strong local demand and tightening supplies in the CIS region, sources said on Thursday March 15.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was $560-570 per tonne cfr, up from $545-550 per tonne.There were several billet sales from the...Read More

Steel billet import prices and domestic rebar prices in Egypt increased again in the week ended Thursday March 15, with demand being better compared with previous weeks.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for Egyptian billet imports rose to $550-565 per tonne cfr on Thursday from $530-545 per tonne cfr previously.An unconfirmed quantity of...Read More

Active trading and gains in the futures market failed to push up China's domestic rebar prices on Thursday March 15, with sellers more anxious about de-stocking. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,790-3,850 yuan ($600-609) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Beijing): 3,900-3,930 yuan per tonne, unchanged Buyers stepped up their procurement rates slightly following gains in the futures market d...Read More

Norwegian ferro-silicon producer Finnfjord Smelteverk will cut about 5,000 tonnes of production between April and June of this year because of planned maintenance to its furnaces, according to an industry source.The company, which has its plant in the north of the country, operates three furnaces, one with capacity for 20,000 tonnes per year and two with capacities for 40,000 tpy."Maintenance shou...Read More

Spot prices for European molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum have eased in Metal Bulletin's midweek assessment, with dealers booking profits after a market rally for much of the year to date.Market participants expect the move to persist in the near term, with lower spot prices already being offered and expected to be booked soon, they said.Oxide prices have dropped on around 140 tonnes of reporte...Read More

Japan's Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation will expand its global presence in special steels markets by acquiring Swedish special steels maker Ovako and making Japanese steel maker Sanyo Special Steel its subsidiary.The major Japanese steel producer intends to acquire Ovako from private equity fund Triton in the first half of the 2018 fiscal year subject to approval from the competition a...Read More

The number of new passenger car sales in the EU increased by 4.33% year-on-year in February 2018, making it the second month of consecutive growth.New car sales in Europe totaled 1,125,397 units in February, compared with 1,078,721 vehicles sold in the corresponding month of 2017, the...Read More

Polished trading slower than expected afterHong Kong show. Shortages supporting prices as manufacturers ramp up polishedproduction. Good demand for dossiers. Lower colors hot in carat sizes. Chinaoutlook positive, but Jan.-Feb. retail sales +9.7%, slightly belowexpectations. Signet Jewelers investing in online and off-mall to restoregrowth, as shares tumble -20% after FY2018 sales -2% to $6.3B, pr...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) brought a delegation of its members to do business with the Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) members on the DDC's brand new trading floor at 50 West 47th Street this week.   "We are honored to welcome our colleagues from Shanghai to the DDC trading floor," said DDC president Reuven Kaufman. "This marks the beginning of a new era and we are proud t...Read More

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The so-called 'South Africa discount' that has dogged and diminished the share prices of mining companies operating in South Africa for decades, has been declared "unwarranted" by Goldman Sachs Europe Metals & Mining Equity Research analysts, against the backdrop of the winds of political change bringing with them lower operational risk...Read More

At the end of February Morgan Stanley sent shares of lithium producers and explorers tumbling after the investment bank forecast a huge surplus in the market for the battery raw material in 2022, resulting in forecast prices nearly halving from today's levels.The negative assessment raised eyebrows in the industry with executives criticizing Morgan Stanley for vastly underestimating the rise in de...Read More

Global crude stainless steel production totaled 48.08 million tonnes in 2017, according to figures released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) on Thursday March 15.This was up 5.79% from the revised figure of 45.45 million tonnes produced in 2016.Production in China was 25.77 million tonnes in 2017, up 4.74% from 24.61 million tonnes in 2016.Output in Asia -...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Following the alleged $2 billion fraud by jeweler Nirav Modi and Gitanjali owner Mehul Choksi at the Punjab National Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has moved to ban the use of letters of undertaking (LoUs) and letters of comfort (LoCs).   They are two of the instruments issued by Indian banks to domestic importers to get foreign exchange from banks abroad at a cheaper...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) will hold an in-depth discussion on "The Evolution and Impact of Taxation on Gold" and "Challenges in the Jewellery Sector" on the first day of the 7th edition of the Dubai Precious Metals Conference.   In India, the government imposed a 5% customs duty on gold jewelry last year. And in the UAE, a 5% VAT rate has been imposed on gold...Read More

RAPAPORT... Polished-diamond imports to the US grew 3% to $1.81billion in January, according to government data. By volume, polished imports slid 4% to 805,320 carats, whilethe average price of imports jumped 7% to $2,252 per carat. US polished exports, meanwhile, jumped 22% to $1.52 billion,causing net polished imports - the excess of imports over exports -to slide 44% to $289 million. Rough ex...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelers of America (JA) has announced the winners of its 28thannual CASE Awards for jewelry design, recognizing retail members whose piecesfeature creativity, artistry, style and excellence.This year, the jewelry group debuted a special People'sChoice category, which was determined by the public voting for its favoritejewelry piece of those pictured on the JA's website. The winner was...Read More