Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading on Tuesday May 7, with investors broadly risk-averse amid renewed trade tensions between the United States and China. The three-month copper price fell notably over the morning, dipping more than 1% and now trading below $6,200 per tonne while volumes traded were strong, reaching close to 12,000 lots tr...Read More
Copper premiums in Shanghai have become less volatile due to there being less financing demand in the market after one of China's largest copper importers, Tewoo Group, began experiencing liquidity troubles in late March.Tewoo was a hot topic of discussion among delegates attending LME Asia Week in Hong Kong this week, with participants noting the possibility of a more favorable arbitrage developi...Read More
The global long steel market was mostly unstable despite a balance between supply and demand, the International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) said in its most recent short-range outlook document for the long steel sector.This was a change of sentiment from the positive outlook Irepas offered in March.Although the balance of supply and demand has been maintained in the global lon...Read More
Brazilian vehicle production increased by 0.50% year on year in April 2019 with a heated domestic market offsetting significantly lower export volumes, mainly to Argentina.Automotive output totaled 267,546 units last month, up from 266,140 units a year before, manufacturers' association Anfavea said on Tuesday May 7. Despite the slight increase, production totaled 965,393 units in the first four m...Read More
Domestic rebar producers in the UAE maintained their prices this week despite the cost of rebar and billet imports falling due to weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 7.Domestic rebar Local rebar producers in the UAE kept their prices unchanged for May production material, with demand remaining poor due to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that started this week.The observance of R...Read More
Prices for flat steel products imported into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have remained stable over the past week due to demand being limited by the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 7.End-user demand has been poor recently, with buyers unwilling to book material because the market was not expected to improve any time soon.And Ramadan...Read More
EU long steel market participants are preparing for a deluge of Turkey-origin material to hit European shores in July when buyers race to fill up new quotas, sources told Fastmarkets. That means the European Commission's year-long quotas for Turkish rebar and wire rod - which begin on July 1 - are likely to be filled up within the same month, the Fastmarkets MB research team believes. Turkey-...Read More
The market for flat steel products in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow was under pressure from low-priced imports in the week to Tuesday May 7, Fastmarkets understands.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Russia-origin 4mm hot-rolled (HR) sheet was was unchanged for the second week in a row on May 7 at 43,000-44,500 roubles ($660-683) per tonne cpt Moscow, in...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora will push ahead with a total overhaul of its business, after sales weakened in the first quarter. Global sales fell 6% year on year to DKK 4.8 billion ($720.5million) for the January-to-March period, the Danish charm maker reportedTuesday. Revenue in the US slipped 12% in local currency to DKK 977 million($146.5 million), while sales in China rose 15% to DKK 548 mill...Read More
RAPAPORT... A diamond named for its resemblance to bubble gum will go under thehammer at Christie's Hong Kong sale later this month. The rare cushion modified brilliant-cut, 3.44-carat,fancy-vivid-purplish-pink diamond, which is internally flawless, will lead theMagnificent Jewels sale on May 28, the auction house said last week. The centerstone of the ring by jeweler Moussaieff, called the B...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, May 7, 2019, Las Vegas ... Polished-diamond prices declined in April due to continued oversupply and selective Far East demand. US jewelry sales remain firm, helping to support the global trade. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamonds slid 0.5% in April. The index has fallen 1% so far this year, and 3% since May 1, 2018. RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?)...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
RAPAPORT... The "5Cs and 2Ts" isn't as catchy as the usual formula, but it might be a better pricing method, according to the author of a diamond-trade guide that claims the 4Cs are no longer adequate."One of the biggest misconceptions is that there are onlyfour diamond price factors - color, clarity, cut and carat weight," Ren?(C)eNewman, a graduate gemologist who last year published the third ed...Read More
ALROSA TECHNOLOGY, the diamond science and technology firm that is jointly owned by ALROSA and the Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials (FSBI TISNCM) of Russia, will present its new-generation ALROSA Diamond Inspector for the screening and identification of natural diamonds, treated diamonds, laboratory-grown diamonds (LGDs) and simulants at the Fifth Mediterranean Gemm...Read More
Russia's Alrosa, the world's leading diamond miner in volume, continues to sell off assets in 2019, with the purpose to improve its financial performance and to focus on the company's core diamond mining business. In 2018, ALROSA sold its gas assets, the Geotransgaz and Urengoy gas companies, and more than 250 properties that included real estate, in-progress construction projects, as we...Read More
Pandora, the renowned Danish fashion jewelry manufacturer and retailer, is pushing forward with its plans and program to "Reignite a Passion for Pandora." Under its new CEO and President, Alexander Lacik, and the new CFO Anders Boyer, the firm is progressing with NOW - the firm's business transformation program that "has comprehensive impact on the organisation, operations and culture." "As a foun...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap with prices going down further, sources said on Tuesday May 7.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 23,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $300 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $310 per tonne...Read More
Canadian diamond miner Mountain Province on Monday announced that former Peregrine Diamonds CEO Tom Peregoodoff and former Lucara Diamond Corp CEO William Lamb would join its board of directors following the annual general meeting (AGM) next month.Investment professional Brett Desmond, who is also the son of Mountain Province’s major shareholder Dermot Desmond, would also join the company&rs...Read More
Turkish domestic ship scrap prices went down in line with the weakening of the country's lira during the week ended May 6, while auto bundle scrap prices remained largely stable, sources said on Tuesday May 7.Three steel mills lowered their buy prices for ship scrap to $305 per tonne delivered, while a fourth mill kept its buy price flat at $310 per tonne delivered.As a result, Fastmarkets' weekly...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.Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, tender, 170,000 tonnes of 61% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, traded at $93.30 per...Read More