Zinc premiums in Europe dropped while the backwardation remained wide this week, while lower lead prices increased spot interest in India and Southeast Asian countries, driving lead premiums higher. The zinc premium for Rotterdam is at its lowest level since August 2009, while the Antwerp level is at its lowest since the price assessment launched in 2017. The backwardation in the London Metal Exch...Read More
The Comex copper price dipped in US morning trading on Wednesday May 8 with lingering fears over the global trade war pressuring metal prices downward.The copper price for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched down 0.80 cents to $2.7775 per lb. The red metal has seen heavy selling pressure over the past few weeks with a stronger dollar and uncertain trade...Read More
Dealers preparing for Las Vegas shows hoping steadyUS retail market will stimulate diamond trading. Rising expectations forGemGen??ve fair amid positive luxury demand. Good opportunities for high-endbuyers after 3 to 5 ct. prices dropped significantly (3 ct. RAPI -6.1% sinceJan. 1). Rough trading cautious with high auction prices and tightmanufacturing profits. Sightholders anticipate stable price...Read More
A London judge rejected fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi's third attempt to get bail, after his lawyer said that Indian authorities have seized or liquidated the equivalent of $860 million of his funds and he doesn't have access to enough resources to flee.Judge Emma Arbuthnot ruled that even though Modi was willing to double his proposed security to 2 million pounds ($2.6 million), the risk of int...Read More
The price of rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe was stable in Fastmarkets' assessment on Wednesday May 8, despite continued poor demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Northern Europe was ?,?530-545 ($593-610) per tonne delivered on May 8, unchanged week-on-week.One buyer said that rebar prices had decreased by ?,?5 per tonne this week, although the prices.....Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.China's influence on global commodity markets is unparalled. It's a matter of scale.China imports more than 60% of domestic demand for oil, gas and iron ore. Its imports of oil, LNG and coal account for around a fifth of glo...Read More
Sentiment weak due to reduced bank credit and fewerorders than usual. Market dynamic driven by supply rather than demand. Manufacturersreducing capacity. Steady interest in 0.70 to 1.50 ct., G-J, SIs. Stable gold jewelrymarket for May 7 Akshaya Tritiya festival. RoundRead More
A report published by Rapaport this week reveals that polished-diamond prices declined in April with 1- carat diamonds sliding 1% year-to-date and 3-carat diamonds falling by 6.1% year-to-date.Right behind 3-carat diamonds, the price of 0.30-carat diamonds fell by 5.9% year-to-date, while 0.50-carat diamond prices dropped by 1.2% year-to-date.According to Rapaport, the fall is caused by continued...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Gain powerful insights and make data-driven decisions with our new delivery solutions. Instantly access the most reliable and trusted data whenever and wherever you need it with the delivery option that best meets your needs.The scale...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong-based jeweler Chow Tai Fook has launched abusiness hub in Boston that will supply products and services to US retailers. Chow Tai Fook North America (CTFNA) will operate as awholesaler, offering customized diamond and jewelry collections, the companysaid Wednesday. It will also house Chow Tai Fook's existing jewelry brands,Hearts on Fire and M?(C)moire. Caryl Capeci, presiden...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has sold a number of its non-diamond-relatedbusinesses in an effort to consolidate operations and focus on its diamondassets, it said Tuesday. During the first quarter, the Russia-based miner disposed of21 assets, including subsidiary equity stakes and real estate totaling RUB 1.24billion ($19 million). The most significant of those was JSC Golubaya Volna health resort,whic...Read More
RAPAPORT... The movie What Women Want was on to something when itcame out nearly 20 years ago. In it, a hotshot playboy and advertisingexecutive wakes up from an accident with the ability to read women's minds. Atfirst, he sees this as a curse, but his female psychiatrist convinces him thathis gift could help his career: "If men are from Mars and women are from Venus,and you can speak Venusian, th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Two top items failed to sell at Bonhams' NewYork auction last week, including a rare fancy orangey-pink diamond. The 12.62-carat stone, which was valued at $1.5 million to $2 million, was the lead lot in the New York Jewels sale. The second most expensive piece, a cushion-shaped, 15.23-carat Kashmir sapphire, estimated at $1.3 million to $1.8 million, also went unsold. ...Read More
White Gold Corp a force in Yukon as exploration drive reaps dividendsSPONSOREDwhite gold corpWill Indonesia abandon its plan to ban bauxite exports?SPONSOREDverisk maplecroftQuality emerges at Galan's blue-chip lithium addressSPONSOREDgalan lithiumAltech ticks boxes on path to production SPONSOREDaltech chemicalsThe Mongolian parliamentary working group had last month reportedly recommended on...Read More
Two-time Vale president Eliezer Batista diesLeadershipLook beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipWhite Gold Corp a force in Yukon as exploration drive reaps dividendsSPONSOREDwhite gold corpWill Indonesia abandon its plan to ban bauxite exports?SPONSOREDverisk maplecroftResults included 37.6m grading 2.03% copper, 0.19g/t gold, 9.88g/t silver, 0.36% zinc, and 0.01% cobalt...Read More
Albemarle Corp, the world's largest producer of lithium used to make electric vehicle batteries, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as surging sales of flame retardant chemicals offset a dip in lithium sales.The weakness in its lithium unit, which executives have repeatedly labeled as the company's future, was largely due to torrential January rains at the company's mines...Read More
The three-month price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange softened by a little less than 2% at the close of trading of Wednesday May 8, with continued inflows of material into LME-registered locations in European putting pressure on prices to move lower.Volumes traded for the galvanizing metal were particularly high over the afternoon, with more than 12,900 lots changing hands by the close.The th...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 8 that are worth another look.Jiangxi Copper has become the first Chinese company to receive the green light to set up a large-scale copper scrap processing facility in Malaysia after China's clamp down on copper scrap imports led to mass scrap diversion to Southeast Asia, two company officials directly involved in the mat...Read More
While spent lead-acid battery and cable lead prices in the United States slipped amid a decline in London Metal Exchange prices and softening demand, market participants shared mixed outlooks, with some anticipating steadiness and others wary of further price declines.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessments of whole lead-acid batteries and cable lead delivered to smelters both fell...Read More
Copper output by Chilean state-owned producer Codelco recovered in March 2019 but remained depressed when compared with last year's figures, national copper commission Cochilco said on Wednesday May 8.The company produced 128,600 tonnes of contained copper during March, down by 18.30% from 157,400 tonnes in the corresponding month in 2018.But this decline was less pronounced than the 19.30% year-o...Read More