Reduced availability of hot-rolled coil in Europe from both mills within the region and from overseas suppliers has been supporting domestic prices, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?487.81 ($569.82) per tonne on Thursday September 24, up by just ?,?0.20 per tonne from ?,?487.61 per tonne on Wednesday.Th...Read More

Polished prices firm amid shortages and improving holiday orders. Trading restrained due to continued rise in Covid-19 cases. Jewelers preparing 4Q marketing with emphasis on e-commerce strategies to drive growth. Retailers pushing dealers for memo. More manufacturers insisting on cash deals. Steady rough buying during sight week as Surat cutters try to increase production and fill polished supply...Read More

RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. plans to achieve 100% traceability of diamonds and precious metals in the coming years as part of a sustainability pledge it released this week.The retailer aims to track all diamonds weighing 0.18 carats or more to the mine of origin or its suppliers' approved mines by 2025, it said Tuesday. It also plans to trace all gold, silver and platinum to the mine or rec...Read More

RAPAPORT... Both male and female US consumers are more likely to purchase and receive diamond jewelry over the next six months than they did during prior coronavirus waves, according to a De Beers survey.Women are also wearing more diamond jewelry than over the last few months, particularly engagement rings and necklaces, the survey found.Two-thirds of Americans said they were more inclined to giv...Read More

RAPAPORT... The International Standards Organization (ISO) has approved its first grading guidelines for polished diamonds in an effort to achieve consistency among laboratories.The new ISO 24106 specifies the terminology, classification and methods that labs should use when grading and describing loose stones, the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) said Wednesday. Implementing the instruc...Read More

Las Vegas, September 24, 2020As the diamond industry begins its recovery from the initial impact of Covid-19, its once-lagging progress toward digital is being vastly accelerated. While this will not be a rapid transition for a trade that has traditionally thrived on face-to-face networking and handshakes, a growing number of companies are putting increased resources into focusing on their online...Read More

London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices continued to trend lower through Thursday September 24, with dip buying across the complex failing to stall the decreases.Tin, lead, copper and zinc led the price decline, with tin losing 1.3% on Thursday. The volumes traded on the LME have been above average due to the drop in prices.On Wednesday September 23, tin dropped by 3%, its deepest sel...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelers of America (JA) and National Jeweler have launched a diversity survey to help comprehend the position of Black Americans in the fine-jewelry industry.The study, which will address hiring practices, inclusion policies and how racial discrimination is handled, is an effort to understand what opportunities are available for Black Americans, and their experience in the diamond and...Read More

Germany-based aluminium products producer Aluminium Rheinfelden GmbH has applied for protective shield proceedings, which could protect the company from going bankrupt, sources told Fastmarkets. Market sources corroborated local press reports that said the company applied to the L??rrach district court to open the protective shield procedure. The proceedings are preliminary insolvency proceed...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Namibia's state-owned diamond dealer reported a 41 per cent slump in profits, down to $6.4m.Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) blamed the global pandemic, even though its financial year ended on 29 February.  It also cited lower profit margin, foreign exchange losses, increased operating expenses and competition from lab-grown diamonds.Namdia buys diamonds from a partner...Read More

Future increases in aluminium prices will be driven more by macroeconomic factors rsther than supply-and-demand fundamentals into 2021, analysts said in a panel on Tuesday September 22 during Fastmarkets' International Aluminium Conference."The V-shaped recovery that we've been seeing in many of the metals is also macro-driven," Fastmarkets research analyst Andy Farida said.Factors such as a weak...Read More

(IDEX Online) - De Beers is cutting the price of stones under a carat at its current Sight, say sources.The company started discounting larger rough last month at its August Sight, which brought in $320m, by far the highest figure since the pandemic struck.De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer by value, is reportedly now discounting smaller stones as well - under one carat - accordin...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Lucky Kevin Kinard unearthed a diamond weighing over nine carats on a day trip to a park in Arkansas, USA. He was sifting at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, near Murfreesboro, the world's only dig-your-own-diamond attraction, situated on a disused mine. The 9.07-ct stone found by Kevin, 33, is the second largest since the park opened for amateur diamond hunters in 1972. The...Read More

London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices were universally trading lower in the morning session on Thursday September 24, with sustained strength in the dollar index - trading at a six-week high - and macro uncertainty driving down futures prices. The dollar continues to trade above 94 today, most recent trading around 94.53 this morning, acting as an effective headwind for metals tradi...Read More

China's imports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products increased by more than eightfold on a year-on-year basis in August, according to Chinese customs data released on Wednesday September 23.This follows a more-than-sixfold increase in the country's light metal imports in July.Copper imports also...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board this morning, Thursday September 24, while risk-off gathered pace on concerns that the Covid-19 pandemic is spreading aggressively again. US central bankers also warned on Wednesday that the US economy remained in a "deep hole" of joblessness and weak demand. Base metals prices on the LME are all dropping from high ground,...Read More

German metals distributor Kl??ckner & Co has upgraded its originally negative earnings forecasts for both the third quarter and the full year of 2020 due to the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19, the company said on Thursday September 24.Gradual recovery in the demand for steel in the company's core markets in Europe and the United States, along with improving pricing, especiall...Read More

Imported billet prices in Egypt fell this week because of lower offers in the market, while local rebar prices remained unchanged, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday, September 24.However, no bookings have been heard over the past seven days due to weak end-user demand.Demand has been hit by a slowdown in construction activity stemming from the government's building ban...Read More

Turkish steel billet prices weakened over the past seven days in response to limited demand and falling imported scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 24.Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have reduced their offer prices to Turkish buyers to $430-435 per tonne cfr, with the highest bid heard this week coming in at $420 per tonne.Several...Read More

Turkish domestic rebar and wire rod prices increased in the week to Thursday September 24 due to a weakening lira, with demand still only limited, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Turkey, was 4,100-4,120 lira ($534-536) per tonne, including 18% VAT, on Thursday September 24, up from 4,000-4,010 lira per tonne last week.S...Read More