St Barbara approves pre-investment work on Papua New Guinea project

"Demand has actually increased on the physical side, mainly because there has been some pull-back in prices this week," said a GoldSilver Central dealer.

The mines, in the eastern states of Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar, are expected to operate at full capacity by 2022.

Measure was taken as Chinese coal haulers continue to disrupt deliveries near the border with Mongolia, the mine's majority owner Turquoise Hill said.

Indonesia has now amended contracts of all 68 coal mining companies, marking victory for the government after earlier miner resistance to adopt to new terms.

Rio Tinto-controlled Turquoise Hill said the bill relates to an audit on taxes imposed and paid by the mine operator between 2013 and 2015.

Synchronised global economic growth, shrinking central bank balance sheets, rising interest rates, insubstantial asset prices and market transparency are the trends to watch this year, the World Gold Council said.

Hunger for high-quality iron ore from Australia and Brazil pushed Chinese imports of the steelmaking ingredient to a record high in 2017.

Gold enjoyed a nice lift late last week as the yellow metal cruised to $1,337.40 at the close of trading Friday in New York. 

Indonesia state-owned holding Asahan Aluminum, or Inalum, would grab a 41.64% stake in the local unit of Freeport, which increases its current ownership in it to 51%.