Precious metals boost Fresnillo

Gold and silver miner Fresnillo hailed a 34pc rise in pre-tax profits to $387m (£292m) in the first half of the year, helped in part by stronger precious metals prices. The FTSE 100 firm said it would hit production targets for gold and silver. Boss Octavio Alvidrez said he expected prices to be “moderately better” for the rest of the year.