Muted demand and a closed import window put downward pressure on the Shanghai cif premium for nickel cathode on Tuesday April 2, while the nickel briquette premium in the United States also slid on weak demand. China's trade mostly domestic, partly to avail of recent tax cuts Cathode cutting delays continue in US market European traders deterred by LME nickel contango Chinese cif premiu...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales at Signet Jewelers fell last year as demand tailed off during a disappointing holiday season. Same-store sales - at branches open for a year - slipped0.1% for the fiscal year ending February 2, while total revenue also declined 0.1%to $6.25 billion, the company said Wednesday.Sales at Kay fell 0.4% to $2.42 billion, with Jared declining 4.3% to $1.14billion. Revenue at...Read More

Domestic prices for hollow steel sections in both Northern and Southern Europe moved down this week, with feedstock prices continuing to fall and an expected seasonal pickup in demand failing to arrive, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 3.Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe went down by ?,?5-10 per tonne to...Read More

RAPAPORT... Dealers expressed optimism for the US diamond marketafter polished imports rose last year to their highest level since 2014.Shipments to the country jumped 8% to $23.3 billion in2018, according to the US Census Bureau, despite more modest growth in consumersales. That indicates the industry may be sending large quantities of goods tothe US in anticipation of future demand, traders...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jeremy Schwartz will leave his position as chief operatingofficer of Pandora after less than a year in the role, the jewelry retailersaid Tuesday. Schwartz joinedPandora in September, after its CEO, Anders Colding Friis, resigned. Since then, he hasbeen jointly managing the company with chief financial officer Anders Boyer. Alexander Lacik, whom Pandora hired as CEO in Februa...Read More

RAPAPORT... The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent letters toeight companies selling lab-grown or simulated diamonds, warning that theirmarketing violates the government's recently issued guidelines. In the letters, the FTC notes some of the companies'advertising may be deceptive to consumers, specifically in instances where themarketing implies a simulated diamond, such as cubic zirc...Read More

RAPAPORT... A rare oval diamond sold for nearly $14 million at Sotheby'sin Hong Kong Tuesday, beating its high estimate. The oval brilliant-cut, 88.22-carat, D-color, flawless, typeIIa stone is one of only three oval diamonds over 50 carats offered in auctionhistory, Sotheby's said. The hammer went down on it at $13.8 million, or $156,150 per carat, at theMagnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale....Read More

Vancouver-based Arctic Star Exploration has begun exploration at its 100% owned Timantti project in the northern part of Canada near the township of Kuusamo. The company has already located three diamondiferous bodies - White, Black and Grey Wolf - and three kimberlite dykes.Arctic Star says there is "considerable evidence" that there are additional kimberlites on its property. Indicator minerals...Read More

Demand for flat steel in Turkey failed to improve in March and most prices went downward, with demand unlikely to improve significantly in April, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 3.Local producers have filled their order books until late May, they added.The price decreases in March were because of the weak demand in both local and export markets.Mayoral elections were held a...Read More

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RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. has launched a marketing campaign for its new bridal line, Tiffany True.The jeweler unveiled the new ring design in September, and is now pushing the product with a video commercial. It features three couples wearing the engagement rings during private moments, set to Lady Gaga's song "Is That Alright?" from her Oscar-winning movie A Star is Born.Tiffany Tru...Read More

FTC staff sent eight letters to jewelry marketers warning them that some of their online advertisements of jewelry made with simulated or laboratory-created diamonds may deceive consumers, in violation of the FTC Act. The letters note that in July 2018, the FTC issued updated Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries that provide marketers with information on how to make non-d...Read More

GIA announced changes to its laboratory-grown diamond grading report to align the report with recent revisions to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Jewelry Guides. Effective July 1, 2019, GIA will discontinue its [twelve-year old] GIA Synthetic Diamond Grading ReportTM and introduce the GIA Laboratory-Grown Diamond ReportTM. The GIA Laboratory-Grown Diamond Report will: include the standa...Read More

WASHINGTON/LONDON – The US Federal Trade Commission, which investigates allegations of deceptive advertising, said on Tuesday that it has sent warning letters to eight companies to insist that they distinguish in advertisements between diamonds that come from mines and those made in laboratories.The FTC said that it had found instances where the eight companies advertised diamond jewelry &q...Read More

GIA (The Gemological Institute of America) announced it will introduce the GIA Diamond Origin Report service which will confirm the country of origin of polished diamonds. To be eligible for this new service, the original rough diamonds and resulting polished diamonds must be submitted to GIA for analysis so that they can be matched to each other and to confirm the origin information provided by t...Read More

The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has welcomed overall the changes by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to its reports for lab-grown diamonds. The GIA said its reports will be changed to come into line with revisions to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Jewelry Guides announced last year. As reported earlier, of July 1, the GIA will discontinue the GIA Synthetic Diamon...Read More

LONDON – The UK’s financial regulator added a small diamond pricing firm to its roster of companies managing market benchmarks, opening the way to making the precious stones a more investable asset.The Financial Conduct Authority has authorized U2 Diamond Prices as a benchmark administrator, joining firms such as FTSE International and ICE Benchmark Administration The move will allow...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap markets due to domestic political instability and weak demand for finished steel, sources said on Wednesday April 3.The lowest offer for HMS 1&2 (80:20) was heard at $315 per tonne cfr from a Baltic Sea supplier but the mills did not want to pay any higher than $305 per tonne, Fastmarkets was told.The mills were also waiting fo...Read More

Physical iron ore prices shot up further above the $90-per-tonne-cfr mark on Wednesday April 3 amid bullish sentiment reflected in derivatives markets. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $93.08 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.19 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $92.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.19 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $95.60 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.46 per tonn...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 oreVale, Beijing Iron...Read More