Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday July 9 that are worth another look.Sinking product prices across the copper value chain are eroding processing margins for custom copper smelters, causing uncertainty as well as driving investments and consolidation in the industry. The United States' Section 232 tariffs have benefited certain steel producers but mostly negative...Read More
Trading in the shares of European zinc and lead producer Recylex was suspended on Monday July 8 at the company's own request, following an "unexplained rally" during the previous two days.The price of the lead and zinc recycler's shares on Euronext Paris had ramped up by more than 40%, rising between July 5 and July 8 to ?,?5.2 ($5.8) per share from ?,?3.7 per share.In January, the company's Germa...Read More
Former Rusal and Aludium executive Ulrich Schridde has joined Skyadvisory as associate partner this month, the Switzerland-based consultancy announced on Tuesday July 9.Schridde, who retired in April after nearly 40 years in the aluminium industry, will "strengthen Skyadvisory as a strategist in the metal...Read More
Nystar has confirmed that a production outage at its Port Pirie lead smelter in Australia is now expected to continue until the last week of July 2019 instead of the second week of the same month, as it had previously estimated. The company had to declare force majeure under a number of its agreements due to an unplanned stoppage of production at the Port Pirie smelter, which has been offline...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly rangebound during morning trading on Tuesday July 9, with a steady appreciation of the US dollar index capping commodity investment. Continuing its price decline, the three-month zinc futures contract moved away from the $2,400-per-tonne resistance level, hitting an intra-morning low of $2,363 per tonne. The galvanizing metal's pric...Read More
European wire rod processors are demanding an increase in the EU's safeguard quota for imports of the material, the European Non-Integrated Wire Rod Processors Association (Eunirpa) said on Tuesday July 9."We urgently call on the policymakers to support the repeal of the safeguard measures imposed on wire rod, or at the very least to adjust significantly upward the level of the current quotas," Eu...Read More
Market fundamentals are unlikely to support the recent rise in ferrous scrap prices, the International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) said in its latest short-range outlook this week.Fastmarkets' daily scrap index for Northern Europe-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) imported into Turkey rose to $296.41 per tonne cfr on Monday July 8, up from $292.09 per tonne cfr&...Read More
Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil experienced an uptick in the week to Tuesday July 9, although market participants expressed doubts that the recent uptrend was sustainable. Flat steel prices in China rebounded after production curbs were announced in the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan."I believe prices will not rise further because there are no...Read More
In the process of standardizing the names of its prices, Fastmarkets has found that the range of thicknesses was displaying incorrectly in the name of its CIS steel heavy plate export price.In the Fastmarkets price name for CIS steel heavy plate exports fob Black Sea, the plate thickness had been listed as 10-50mm. The correct thickness, as properly specified in the Fastmarkets ferrous methodology...Read More
Troubled UK long steel producer British Steel has reported "encouraging levels of interest" in the sale of the business after a number of bids were made before the June 30 deadline, the company said on July 5.The bids were made to the UK Insolvency Service after the company went into compulsory liquidation in May.British Steel said it was continuing to operate as normal even though the c...Read More
RAPAPORT... Indian jewelry retailer Titan Company cautioned that sales were lower than expected in its first fiscal quarter as high gold prices weighed on consumer spending. Sales from the jewelry division, which includes the Tanishq brand, grew 13% year on year for the three months ending June 30, the company said in an operations update Monday. "The quarter witnessed a tough macroeconomic e...Read More
RAPAPORT... Global rough-diamond shipments dropped last year,reflecting slower trading in India and Belgium, according to new data from theKimberley Process (KP). Total rough imports slipped 3% to $48.49 billion for 2018,with volume down 7% to 424.2 million carats, the figures showed last week.Rough exports fell 1% to $49.52 billion, while volume declined 6% to 428.6million carats. India's rough i...Read More
RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds has recovered a 54-carat, intense-fancy-yellowrough diamond at its Liqhobong mine in Lesotho, it reported Monday. The sawable stone, the largest of its color Firestone has unearthed, will go on sale at the company's nexttender, which is due to take place in September. The miner's special-stone discoveries this year have included a white diamond weighing 70 carats, a...Read More
Consultancy Levin Sources has recently launched a new service that will help smaller enterprises navigate the - sometimes - tricky pathway to ensuring their products are sustainable and ethically sourced. The new service, Responsible Sourcing for Small Jewellers, provides a step-by-step bespoke method to small business owners in the jewelry space, assisting them with everything from assessi...Read More
The diamond cutting, polishing and marketing division of Alrosa traveled to New York in June to hold an auction of polished diamonds. Alrosa, which with more than 43 million carats mined in the Russian Federation in 2018 is the undisputed largest, single source diamond miner in the world, sold 20 polished diamonds with total weight of 140.4 carats. Among these were eight colorless and 12 fancy col...Read More
The May edition of Forbes Afrique, the French-language version of the influential economic periodical that focuses specifically on African affairs, has listed Marie-Chantal Kaninda, Executive Director of the World Diamond Council (WDC), as one the continent's 100 most influential women. "With this fifth edition of Africa's 100 Most Influential Women ranking, the presence of African women...Read More
De Beers said on Monday it had launched a three-year partnership with Women in Engineering (WomEng), consumer goods company Unilever and professional services firm EY to develop the next generation of highly skilled female engineers. De Beers is investing US$315,000 over three years in programs that encourage young women to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) subjects and...Read More
Mouawad unveiled its Mouawad Dragon Suite at an exclusive private viewing in the Mouawad Dubai Mall boutique on July 8. The Mouawad Dragon Suite comprises a necklace, bracelet, earrings, and ring showcasing five Fancy Vivid and Deep yellow diamonds totaling over 153 carats, and 432 colorless diamonds totaling over 272 carats. At the heart of the Dragon necklace is the 54.21 carat Mouawad Dragon d...Read More
The Times of India reported that India's Airport Authority (AAI) is set to open its state-of-the-art modular cargo terminal in the coming weeks. The terminal is a steel-based structure with a ground base of a 1,000 sq./m, with the same space on the building's first floor. The terminal has a cold storage facility for perishable goods as well as strong room, a facility that is of ut...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices maintained their upward trend on Tuesday July 9, but low port inventories prompted concern among market participants.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.57 per tonne, up by $3.19 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.49 per tonne, up by $3.19 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low a...Read More