The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transaction: billetBillet China,...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Iron oreBeijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex), joint cargo, 50,000 tonnes of 61% Fe Jimblebar fines and 120,000...Read More
China's ferrous futures stayed rangebound in morning trading on Wednesday December 26 amid a lingering holiday atmosphere.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,407 yuan ($494) per tonne, up 5 yuan per tonne May hot rolled coil: 3,366 yuan per tonne, unchanged Dalian Commodity Exchange May iron ore: 490 yuan per tonne, up 1 yuan per tonne May coking coal: 1...Read More
Comex copper prices recovered during mid-week trading, with shallow trading temporarily benefiting the base metals complex.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 3.75 cents to $2.6985 per lb.Markets are expected...Read More
Ferro-chrome and chrome ore prices in China were unchanged in the week ended Friday December 21 amid low liquidity while market participants awaited January ferro-chrome tender prices from major Chinese stainless steel mills. Ferro-chrome, chrome ore prices in China unchangedJapanese, South Korean ferro-chrome prices stallHigh-carbon ferro-chrome prices decline in EuropeUS high-carbon ferro-chrome...Read More
Another wild day, this time in a bullish way! The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1,086.25, an all-time record daily point gain. U.S. equity index shook off early weakness with a gain of 5%.Strongest sector/subsector was energy thanks to an 8.68% jump in the price of WTI Crude Oil StockTwits Released Yesterday @EquityClockTechnical action by S&P 500 stocks to 10:00: Quietly bearish....Read More
US consumer confidence positive,despite volatile stock markets, government shutdown, and rising interest rates.Holiday jewelry sales +3.7% and overall retail +5.1%, driven by effectiveomni-channel strategies, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. Online shoppingsurges 19% as Amazon sees record season. Diamond market quiet, with Belgium andUS dealers closed for the holidays. Industry consolidation...Read More
Polished market slow, with very few foreign buyers in Mumbai. Shortage ofselect in-demand items supporting prices. Good demand for 1 ct., G-J,SI1-I1, RapSpec A3+ diamonds. Trading confidence improving as exchangerate stabilizes around INR 70/$1. Rough market seasonally quiet, with factoriesmaintaining steady below-capacity production until the New Year. POLISHED:Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa will sell about $88 million worth of non-coreoperations during 2019 so it can focus on its diamond business. The miner will auction off more than 80 assets, includingland, construction sites, heating and electricity services, vacation resorts, andhousing projects, the company said Thursday. Alrosa's supervisory boardapproved the plan at a meeting on December 14. It will hol...Read More
RAPAPORT... As the year comes to a close, Rapaport News takes alook back at the largest rough stones miners unearthed in 2018, and thediamonds that fetched the highest prices at auction.Colossal findsThe 910-carat Lesotho Legend, which Gem Diamonds recoveredin January, claimsthe top spot this year. The D-color, type IIa stone - whichthe miner says is the fifth-largest gem-quality diamond ever foun...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers shocked the industry in May by announcing it would launcha line of fashion jewelry featuring laboratory-grown diamonds. Lightbox Jewelrystarted selling the products online in September, and it's now looking atexpansion options. The main opportunity to develop the business will come oncethe miner has finished building a $94 million synthetic-diamond facility inOregon in 2020. T...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Holiday sales increased 5.1% to more than $850 billion this year - the strongest growth in the last six years with a robust shopping season from before Thanksgiving through Christmas, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. Online shopping also saw large gains of 19.1% compared to 2017. "From shopping aisles to online carts, consumer confidence translated into holiday...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retailers enjoyed their strongest growth in six years this holiday season, although jewelry was slightly off pace, a report by Mastercard SpendingPulse revealed. Jewelry sales increased 3.7% year on year for the period from November 1 to December 24, a company spokesperson confirmed with Rapaport News, marking a slowdown from the 6% growth reported for the category during the 2...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Antwerp Belgian sightholder Pluczenik said he is appealing to the UK Supreme Court regarding a dispute between the firm and veteran diamantaire Willie Nagel who is based in the UK. The England and Wales Court of Appeal recently ruled in favor of Nagel, saying the firm must pay $3.3 million to its former broker W Nagel Ltd. after the court agreed with a ruling of a lower cour...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Two organizers of important watch industry tradeshows - the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) and Baselworld - have agreed to coordinate their dates from 2020 to 2024. The SIHH will be staged from April 26 to 29 in Geneva in 2020, with Baselworld taking place from April 30 to May 5. Next year, SIHH will be held from January 14 to 17, while Baselworld w...Read More
Larry LaBordePosted Dec 26, 2018I have invested in palladium from time to time in the past.I just dabbled a bit here and there but the market now just seems crazy.In case you haven’t been watching lately palladium has exceeded the price of gold!Palladium (Pd)is a by-product of nickel, copper and zinc refining usually.It is mainly used for catalytic converters.It is sometimes alloyed with gol...Read More
CloseGain/LossGold $1274.90+$8.70Silver$15.23+$0.20XAU70.78+1.15%HUI161.27+0.91%GDM587.25+1.17%JSE Gold1367.40+7.81USD96.53-0.51Euro114.38+0.86Yen90.15+0.11Oil$44.61-$1.6110-Year2.777%+0.007T-Bond144.75UNCHDow23138.82+1.14%Nasdaq6579.49+0.38%S&P2488.83+0.86% The Metals: Gold gained $12.70 to $1278.90 in early afternoon New York trade before it edged back lower into the cl...Read More
By Dave Kranzler"Commentators keep asking why the Fed can't raise rates if the economy is so strong? They still don't realize that the economy was never strong. They confuse a bubble for strength. Without 0% rates and QE the bubble can't survive. But a return to those policies kills the dollar" - Peter Schiff on TwitterI made that same argument about the Fed funds rate, the dollar and why the Fe...Read More
By: Chris Marcus, Arcadia Economics After raising interest rates over the past 2 years, the Federal Reserve last week signaled that it may be about to change course. Which came as no surprise to Peter Spina of GoldSeek.com, who explains why it happened. As well as what the Fed is likely to do next:Peter talked about why higher interest rates are creating issues in the stock, bond, and real es...Read More
By David HaggithSo, the bull market bounced back, right? Not so fast. When one appreciated reader suggested there would be a huge plunge the day after Christmas, given how badly the market plummeted the day before Christmas, I cautioned against that tempting thought. Herein are some warnings about bull traps in a bear market and how they work and how much they look exactly like what we just saw....Read More