Global risk sentiment improved on Monday June 10 after the United States reached a last-minute trade deal with Mexico over the weekend, averting the imposition of a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods entering the US.The positive trade development has paved the way for the London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices to recover higher this morning as investors' appetite for risk assets returns....Read More
Plate prices in the United States dropped further in the week to Friday June 7, while market participants maintained bearish outlooks givenfalling hot-rolled coil and ferrous scrap prices.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for domestic cut-to-length plate stood at $40 per hundredweight ($800 per short ton) on Friday, down by 1.2% from $40.50 per cwt a week earlier and the lowest since mid-Feb...Read More
Brazil's domestic flat-rolled steel prices dropped in early June due to weak demand and currency volatility in the country.Flat-rolled steel producers have been open to negotiate prices, backpedaling on recently announced increases in order to keep volumes flowing during a time of weak economic performance.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment of the Brazilian domestic hot-rolled coil price fell to...Read More
Import prices for flat steel in South America declined last week amid a lack of deals and a weakening of the Chinese market.The Fastmarkets MB import price assessment for hot-rolled coil in the region was $535-550 per tonne cfr on Friday June 7, widening downward from $540-550 per tonne a week earlier.Import prices for cold-rolled coil in the region were assessed at $580-590 per tonne cfr, down $5...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamonds with proven ethical sourcing should sell for a higher price than others, participants in Rapaport's annual town hall meeting in Las Vegas concluded. "The biggest challenge for sourcing ethical diamonds is whether consumers are willing to pay extra for them," stressed one of the participants in the discussion that took place during last week's JCK show. "I believe there is...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Women's Jewellery Network (WJN) has unveiled its new list of industry ambassadors, including RapaportEditor-in-Chief Sonia Esther Soltani. The new network will help shape conversations around thetrade and progress the organization's agenda, WJN managing director VictoriaMcKay said Monday. The ambassadors were chosen from more than 100 applicants, WJN noted. "These initial amba...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales at Alrosa fell 8% year on year to $266 million in Mayamid a continued slowdown in the Indian manufacturing sector, the Russian miner said Monday. Rough-diamond sales declined 6% to $261.1 million for themonth, while polished revenue plunged 52% to $5 million. May's total figure isalso down 17% from April, and is the lowest overall monthly sales result so farthis year. "We s...Read More
Brazilian import volumes of both flat and long steel products increased in May 2019 amid increased shipments from China and Turkey.Imports of flat steel products rose by 11.64% in May, compared with the corresponding month last year, to 129,759 tonnes from 116,235 tonnes, according to figures from the Brazilian economy ministry.Flat steel imports in South America...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's brought in a total of $8.5 million at a New Yorkauction last week, as a 15.13-carat diamond ring more than doubled its high estimate. The pear-shaped, D-color, SI2-clarity, Marianne Ostier piecegarnered $475,000, or $31,395 per carat, against a high estimate of $225,000.It was the top-selling lot at the Important Jewels sale. A diamond ring - set with a cushion-cut, 22.4...Read More
The CNBC network reported earlier this month that Costco had sold a $400,000 diamond ring to a consumer. The choice of the customer to purchase a platinum ring at this price at Costco, a warehouse retailer, is in itself unusual and therefore it made the news. The ring is set with a round brilliant of 10.03 carat, VS1 clarity, I color. "Sales highlights for the quarter included some significant di...Read More
As expected, a vivid purplish-pink, modified emerald-cut diamond with a bubble-gum-color was sold at auction by Christie's in Hong Kong for an extraordinary price, fetching $7.5 million. The 3.4-carat stone, set in a ring by the house of Moussaieff, was auctioned by Christie's Asia in Hong Kong on May 28. The name of the buyer remained undisclosed. The ring was estimated to sell fo...Read More
A further weakening of China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices on Monday June 10 led overseas buyers to bid lower for the product, resulting in sparse trading.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,810-3,830 yuan ($551-554) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,740-3,750 yuan per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonnePrices continued to drop during the day amid losses in the futures...Read More
Foreign Policy (FP) , an organization that offers "a different view of foreign policy" and examines "how the moves of government and its officials can influence countries all over the world," published an article about diamonds. "The most wanted diamonds in the world are also the most expensive ones. So, let's check the top most expensive diamonds in the world." FP included the followi...Read More
The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) made its mark at JCK Las Vegas with a panel discussion on responsibility and trust in the jewelry supply chain. The panel's members were: [photo - from left] Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director at RJC; Raj Metha, Director at Rosy Blue NV; Erik Jens, CEO at LuxuryFintech.com; Gina Drosos, CEO at Signet Jewelers; Jeff Corey, Owner of Day's Jeweler...Read More
Steel slab import prices in Asia fell slightly over the past week because of a slowdown in parts of Southeast Asia related to the end of Ramadan, while activity in East Asia was limited by weakness in the downstream hot-rolled coil market.Market participants in the key Southeast Asian import market of Indonesia were away on June 3-7 due the Eid al-Fitr public holiday to mark the end of the Is...Read More
Organized by the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI), the Israel Diamond Pavilion will be in the diamond area in Hall 3BC. As in previous years, it will include a spacious lounge, this time in a new and modern design, with refreshments served throughout the day. Convenient "Get Diamonds" terminals will enable buyers to search a computerized database in both English and Chinese of all goods offered by I...Read More
Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds has recovered its largest diamond to date, a 24.98 ct gem-quality diamond.This diamond, which was recovered from its Kareevlei diamond mine, near Kimberley, in South Africa’s Northern Cape, would shortly be put to tender.AdvertisementThe largest diamond recovered prior to this weighed 16.28 ct and sold for $78 947.“Th[e] recovery of such a high-quality diam...Read More
Ritani, a vertically integrated, technology-minded jewelry company launched Virtual Shelf at JCK Las Vegas. Virtual Shelf is a white-label application and sales vehicle that "re-imagines how jewelers sell, and customers shop for engagement rings, diamonds, and jewelry." Like its various competitors, Ritani sought to overcome one of the brick-and-mortar retail jewelers' most urgent dilemmas, i...Read More
Russian steelmaker Metalloinvest will build a terminal for the transfer of hot-briquetted iron (HBI) and iron ore pellets at the port of Ust-Luga, the largest and deepest port on the Baltic Sea, in response to growing demand.Ust-Luga lies west of St Petersburg, on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, close to the Russian border with Estonia."Metalloinvest aims to satisfy the growing global d...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have gone down sharply, which was expected after the mills in the country failed to sell finished long steel products to the United States, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday June 10.Two steel mills in Turkey booked three US cargoes over the weekend.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo on June 8, comprising 12,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) at...Read More