China's top copper concentrate buyers are in a fix.On Thursday July 18, the historically powerful China Smelter Purchase Team (CSPT), which comprises purchasing managers from the country's 10 top-rated state-backed copper smelters, will gather in Hunchun city for their quarterly meeting.Traditionally, the forum is an arena for members to share information on trade flows and maintenance schedules,...Read More
Insurer AON and software developer Gen10 have joined Dutch bank Rabobank, international trading firm Concord Resources and warehousing firm PGS in the development of the blockchain trading platform for the metal repo financing business.Beyond Commodities will initially settle digital metal repo transactions in which aluminium stored at PGS will be sold and re-purchased by Concord to...Read More
Fastmarkets' zinc premiums in northern Europe rose in the week to Tuesday July 16 on increased spot interest, while premiums in Asia and the United States were unchanged due to muted buying appetite after the cash/three-month London Metal Exchange zinc spread swung to a backwardation. The LME cash/three-month zinc spread returned to backwardation after a short-lived contango. Northern Europe...Read More
US wire rod prices have trended downward for six straight months to hit a 16-month low, driven primarily by weak demand and high inventory levels, Fastmarkets has learned. Fastmarkets' assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US, fell to $32.50-33.50 per hundredweight ($650-670 per short ton) on Tuesday July 16, down by 4.3% from $34-35 per cwt in June and down 18% f...Read More
Russia's largest steelmaker, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), will increase the capacity for steel slabs at its Lipetsk facility in western Russia, the company said on Wednesday July 17.The company has started construction and installation work for a complete overhaul of continuous casting machine (CCM) No9.The overhaul will increase the machine's capacity by 80%, to 1.8 million tonnes per year of slabs,...Read More
Demand for passenger cars in Europe decreased by 7.85% year-on-year in June 2019, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Wednesday July 17.New car sales in Europe totalled 1,446,183 units in June, compared with 1,569,363 vehicles sold in the corresponding month of 2018."To a large extent, this drop [in June] can be attributed to a negative calendar effect. On average, Jun...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe has widened upward by ?,?5 ($6) per tonne week on week, with Italian mills intending to raise prices before the traditional August holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 17.Market activity remains low and buyers remain generally reluctant to commit to volumes, market participants said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assess...Read More
The domestic prices of hollow steel sections in Northern and Southern Europe fell this week, pressured lower by poor demand, market sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?620-630 ($696-708) per tonne on Wednesday July 17, down from ?,?625-640 one week earlier."Some mills are decreasing capacity but it seems not to have wo...Read More
The price of mesh-quality wire rod in Southern Europe narrowed slightly upwards week on week - mills in Italy looked to raise their offers ahead of the summer slowdown, sources said on Wednesday July 17.Fastmarkets' assessment of the price of steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was ?,?475-500 ($533-562) per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing upwards week on week from ?,?...Read More
The price of domestic rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe remained unchanged over the past week due to limitedbuying activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 17.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?500-520 ($562-584) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from one week earlier on July 10."Most market...Read More
RAPAPORT... A New York federal judge has refused to back down after ruling that Signet Jewelers' downplaying the impact of sexual-harassment claims could be used in an investor class action against the retailer.On July 10, Judge Colleen McMahon ruled Signet shareholders could form a class action in their securities-fraud claim against the jeweler. The following day, Signet claimed it would seek a...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Women's Jewelry Association (WJA) has revealed thewinners of its 2019 Excellence Awards scholarships and grants. The group will award a total of $65,500 - raised through itsAwards for Excellence Gala, individual member donations and sponsorships - to 49women. Recipients use the funds to pay for their education and advance theirprofessional careers. "Our grant and scholarship winne...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has agreed to a joint venture with nationalminer Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) for exploring new diamondprojects in the country. The deal, which provides Alrosa with a 70% stake in any newgreenfield deposits, encompasses geological exploration, diamond mining andindependent sales of rough stones to external markets, the Russian miner saidTuesday. "We are committe...Read More
AGD Diamonds, the firm that operates and owns the Grib diamond mine in northern Central Russia announced it has recovered a gem-quality, deep lemon yellow diamond, weighing 47.61 carats, on July 13, 2019. The stone was found during the ore processing at Grib's processing plant. In a news release in Russian, AGD said the diamond is of an extremely rare deep lemon hue and is classified as a "h...Read More
The Swatch Group, which, apart from the Swatch brand itself, owns brands such as Blancpain, Breguet, Glashuettel, Longines, Omega, Tissot, RADO and., last but not least, Harry Winston, published its performance report for the first half of 2019. The company reported net sales of CHF 4.078 million, 4.4 percent less than in 2018. Its profits dropped 13 percent, compared to 2018, to CHF 547 mil...Read More
The seventh edition of "Gold Italy" will open on October 26, 2019 in Arezzo, Italy. The three -day event is called International Business Workshop, instead of a show or fair, to emphasize the networking value of the three-day event, which will be held at the Arezzo Fiere Congressi Exhibition Centre. Gold Italy is part of and organized by the Italian Exhibition Group. According to the show manageme...Read More
The United States' ferrous scrap export market is enjoying momentum on the West Coast, with a pair of bulk cargoes and decent container sales concluded, while the East Coast remains quiet.From the West Coast, one cargo for an 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap was sold to Vietnam at $308 per tonne cfr on Thursday July 11 and another for the same material to Taiwan at $303...Read More
The largest investment project of Russian diamond miner Alrosa, the Verkhne-Munskoye diamond deposit, produced a 63.15 carat diamond earlier this month. The rough stone came from the deposit's Zapolyarnaya pipe. The crystal has an octahedral shape with small chips on the edges and tops. The mined diamond is transparent with a yellow hue. The Verkhne-Munskoye diamond deposit is located in the...Read More
The World Gold Council published its "mid-year outlook" for 2019. The WGC explained that there are four attributes that make gold a valuable strategic asset, by providing investors with a source of return; low correlation to major asset classes in both expansionary and recessionary periods; a mainstream asset that is as liquid as other financial securities; and a history of improved portfolio ris...Read More
The 2019 Global Multi-Stakeholder SIDS Partnership Dialogue, which took place at the United Nation in parallel with the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), focused on opportunities available to a group of 57 small-island developing states in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Caribbean, Mediterranean and South China Seas, examining how they may be advanced through m...Read More