Demand for physical gold in Asia could pick up in the coming weeks as India's festival season drives interest in the metal, after high prices kept buyers at bay again this week.
Gokhran, part of Russia's finance ministry, was influential on the global platinum group metals markets in the 1990s and 2000s, when palladium stocks it accumulated during the 1970s and 1980s came to the market and depressed prices.
Gold miners in Western Australia state are being hit with an increase in royalty payments under measures released on Thursday that are designed to return the one-time "economic engine of a nation" to fiscal health via revenue from the mining sector.
The London Metal Exchange sought on Thursday to win back trading volumes by proposing a cut in fees for trades crucial to its physical user base as rivals gear up to offer alternatives.
Official figures released on Thursday signall a bad start for the second half of the year with business confidence at its lowest in more than three decades.
Steelmakers have accused the four countries of dumping the steel used in construction and machinery so the European Commission, the trade policy watchdog, had set out plans to levy tariffs of up to 33 percent.
