Alumina, which sits in the aluminium production process between bauxite and refined metal, has historically been a highly efficient link in the supply chain.It hasn't generated many headlines over the years because it has largely avoided any newsworthy disruption.It is, to quote Greg Wittbecker, analyst at the CRU research house, one of those markets "people have taken for granted".Not any moreA s...Read More
Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessments for the CIS export steel market will not be published on October 15 because of a public holiday in Ukraine. Instead, the prices will be published on October 16, 2018. The prices affected are:CIS export cold rolled coil $ per tonne fob Black SeaCIS export hot rolled coil $ per tonne fob Black SeaCIS export heavy plate (10-50mm) $ per tonne fob Black SeaCIS...Read More
The Chinese silicon export price moved up following a series of domestic ex-works deals since mid-September, while in the US the price fell for the seventh consecutive month.The Chinese grade 553 silicon export price was assessed at $1,660-1,730 per tonne on Friday October 12, up 0.6% from $1,650-1,720 per tonne previously. Domestic Chinese ex-works prices have been rising since mid-September, whi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has unearthed a 357-carat diamond at its Let??engmine in Lesotho, it said in a Twitter post Monday. The light-brown stone, which the miner said is of "highquality," is the 13th rough diamond over 100 carats the company has found thisyear. It's the second-largest it has recovered in 2018, after the 910-caratLesotho Legend it found in January. That stone - which the co...Read More
RAPAPORT... Countries should designate locations where colored gemstonesenter the market in a bid to ensure the integrity of the industry's supplychain, according to World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) president GaetanoCavalieri. Cavalieri called for the introduction of monitored"chokepoints" - places at which goods pass during shipping. The system wouldbenefit governments by creating legal...Read More
Oct 15 (Reuters) - Below are the ratings awarded by Credit Analysis and Research Ltd. (CARE) for local debt instruments as of October 12, 2018. COMPANYINSTRUMENTRATINGAMOUNT MOVEMENT(RS.MLN) ------------------------------ --------- SHORT TERM RATINGS: ------------------- Ambey Mining Pvt LtdST Bk FacCARE A12750Reaffirmed (enhanced from 200.0 Crore) B.G. Shirke Construction Technology PvCP-Proposed...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Uchihara Group will open a store in Ginza, Japan, and launch a new brand of jewelry at more affordable pricesthan its signature SA Birth collection. The new line - SA Birth Ginza -is a reinvented version of the original brand, which is sourced from southernAfrican countries, including Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho, the companysaid Monday. Uchihara will launch the label when i...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) rose to their highest in a year as the market gathered in London for LME Week.The Fastmarkets copper concentrate TC/RC index came in at $89 per tonne / 8.9 cents per lb on Monday October 15, a gain of $2.60 / 0.26 cents week on week to the index's highest level since October last year.Spot copper concentrates trading has been limited, with...Read More
RAPNET PRESS RELEASE, October 15, 2018, Las Vegas... RapNet, theworld's leading diamond trading network, is proud to announce the launch of theRapNet Trade Center. This marks a major strategic development for RapNet by providing memberswith an efficient, secure and intuitive system to trade diamonds in a smartertrading environment. TheRapNet Trade Center offers members a suite of tools to manage...Read More
The fate of the Tuticorin copper smelter in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu will be decided at the end of November because more time is required to investigate the allegedly polluting project, local media reported on Monday October 15.The Times of India reported that a panel formed by the National Green Tribunal, India's environmental safeguarding body, wanted to listen to more views from...Read More
RAPAPORT... Shares in Pandora spiked late last week followingspeculation the company had hired an adviser to negotiate a possible buyout. The jeweler has called on Rothschildfor guidance on how to handle potential buyers, according to a Danish-languagereport on news site Inside Business. Its stock price rose 7% on Thursday and afurther 9% Friday. "As a general principle, we do not comment on...Read More
RAPAPORT... Three financial institutions have agreed to guarantee a $125million loan to Botswana's diamond-manufacturing industry to strengthen thenation's economic growth.The US government's Overseas PrivateInvestment Corporation (OPIC) has partnered with Botswana Finance - a subsidiary of diamond-manufacturingcompany Lazare Kaplan International (LKI) - and Stanbic Bank to provide the loan....Read More
The London Metal Exchange's published charge caps for the 2019-20 period specify increased free-on-truck (fot) rates for Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, the exchange said in a note to members on Monday October 15. While the original fees - which came into effect on April 1, 2017 - were expected to be frozen until 2022, the LME has readdressed its rates after a period of participan...Read More
RAPAPORT... Stornoway Diamond Corporation's average price fell quarteron quarter in the three months ending September 30 due to weakness in theIndian market, it said last week. Prices of smaller and lower-quality stones have decreased sinceJuly due to challenging conditions in India, while larger and high-qualitycategories have remained strong, the company said. The miner's average price of$103 pe...Read More
Continued uncertainty about spreads, tariffs and the viability of trade with UC Rusal have pushed participants in the European aluminium market into taking a cautious stance when negotiating next year's long-term deals.They expect premiums next year to be unpredictable, with record-low aluminium stocks likely to cause intermittent backwardations throughout the year.As a result, market participants...Read More
Comex copper prices rose to a multi-week high in morning trading on Monday October 15 amid a weaker dollar and optimism from LME Week in London last week. The copper price for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 3.00 cents to $2.83 per lb - the highest since October 4. While the rest of the complex...Read More
Aqua Metals has overcome the technical hurdles of scaling up to commercial production volumes and has begun production of lead ingots at its recycling facility in the Tahoe Reno Industrial Complex, in the US state of Nevada.The company, which is based in Alameda, California, has made significant progress toward steady-state module utilization. It will now be able to send material to its customers...Read More
Steel plate prices have remained stable in the United States despite continued weakness in sheet pricing.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for cut-to-length plate was at $48 per hundred ($960 per short ton) on Friday October 12, unchanged compared with the previous week.Lead times average eight weeks at mills with spot tons available, market participants said."Plate is a pain now. It's tighter th...Read More
Increasing raw material costs have driven special bar quality (SBQ) prices up by $1 per hundredweight ($20 per short ton) across all grades, with market participants reporting lead times for hot-rolled bar that extend into early February 2019.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for 1-inch round 1000 series (Carbon) hot-rolled bar was at $46 per cwt on Friday October 12, up from $45 p...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil edged up late last week as producers waited for sales to the United States to resume.Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for slab exports from Brazil was $490-510 per tonne fob on Friday October 12 compared with $480-500 per tonne fob on October 5.Brazilian producers are willing to sell to markets outside North America, such as Europe and Asia, at...Read More