Zinc's futures price showed the biggest fall among the base-metals complex at the close of trading on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday March 18, with consolidation in the complex continuing, while tin's price edged close to the $26,000 per tonne mark.Zinc was trading at $2,792 per tonne at the 5pm close on Thursday after being above the $2,800 per tonne mark for the past week. Its closing pri...Read More

Diamond market optimistic despite expected seasonal slowdown. Manufacturer liquidity getting boost from reduced inventory, faster turnover and firm prices. Concerns arising about rough market overheating amid reports that Alrosa increased prices for 1 ct. and larger by 4%-5%. Smaller De Beers sight expected next week. India Feb. rough imports flat at $1.5B, Belgium +28% to $877M. Signet Jewelers F...Read More

Turkish steel mills continued to stay out of the deep-sea scrap market on continuing weak demand for steel, despite the increasing availability of supplies, especially from the Baltic Sea, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 18.The most recent deep-sea bookings were done at the end of last week, when two Baltic Sea cargoes were sold at $435-437 per tonne cfr on a heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80...Read More

RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers' sales and earnings rose in the fourth fiscal quarter as e-commerce helped the retailer capitalize on a recovery in consumer demand.Group sales increased 1.5% year on year to $2.19 billion for the three months ending January 30, which included the important holiday season, the company reported Thursday. Same-store sales - at branches open for at least a year - were...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa has increased prices for the third consecutive contract sale, fueling concerns about unsustainable growth and tight manufacturing profits.The adjustments were 4% to 5% on average, with a focus on 1-carat rough and larger, insiders told Rapaport News this week. Prices of that category are now higher than pre-pandemic levels, a customer noted.Alrosa declined to comment on its...Read More

RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports fell slightly in February as a drop in demand from Europe outweighed a rebound in other countries.               Global shipments slid 0.3% year on year to CHF 1.6 billion ($1.73 billion) during the month, with exports to Europe down 14%. Supply to the UK declined 7% to CHF 96.1 million ($103.8 million) as many businesses rema...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A Cartier bracelet featuring a flawless D-color 63.66-carat pear-shaped white diamond and rock crystal is to be auctioned at Sotheby's Hong Kong with an estimate of $5.1m to $8.4m.The Art Deco-inspired piece (pictured), part of the L'Odyss?? (C)e de Cartier - Parcours d'un Style high jewelry collection, took almost 2,000 hours to create.Also headlining at the Magnifi...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A new range of "diamond watches" feature a hand-drawn 3D image of a brilliant-cut gem on the dial.They're the creation of celebrated Canadian watch and jewelry designer Reena Ahluwalia (pictured with watch), who is also a keen diamond painter.She earned a Guinness World Record in 2019 for her Mudan Watch, with most diamonds set on a watch - 15,858 diamonds, totaling 50.01...Read More

London Metal Exchange nickel was the only metal to make small gains on Thursday March 18 morning, with the rest of the complex trading sideways following the US Federal Reserve's reiterated stance on interest rates on Wednesday evening."Fed Chair Jerome Powell said there's no need to react to climbing Treasury yields [with the 10-year notes yield hitting 1.73 on Thursday morning because] officials...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A collection of Hemmerle jewelry - with their trademark gems set in unorthodox materials - is to be sold by Sotheby's New York.The 19 lots, all owned by the late philanthropist, art patron and passionate collector Michelle Smith, represent the largest private collection of Hemmerle jewelry to appear at auction.They're among more than 400 lots of 20th and 21st century desi...Read More

China's refined copper output came in at 1.63 million tonnes in January and February 2021, up by 12.3% year on year, National Bureau of Statistics data out on Wednesday March 17 showed.The low production base a year ago is one of the main contributions to the output growth, Fastmarkets understands."In January and February last year, we had a low production figure due to Covid-led output disruption...Read More

RAPAPORT... Diamond Standard has launched an initial $25 million offering of new diamond coins, which can be traded on the market as a regulated commodity, similarly to gold.The company will purchase 50,000 natural, round brilliant diamonds through the Diamond Standard Exchange, which will be set into 5,000 tokens and issued at a price of $5,000 apiece. The IGI and the Gemological Institute of Ame...Read More

Brazilian apparent steel consumption increased 24.5% year on year in February, while crude steel output grew 3.8% in the same comparison, according to figures from national steel association, A??o Brasil.Apparent steel use reached 2.13 million tonnes last month, up from 1.71 million tonnes a year earlier.Meanwhile, crude steel production totaled 2.85 million tonnes in February, from 2.74 million t...Read More

The UK steel industry is a key focus of the British government's ?1 billion ($1.4 billion) Industrial Decarbonization Strategy, which is intended to create the world's first low-carbon industrial sector.The strategy includes a commitment to work with the recently reconstituted Steel Council to consider the implications of a recommendation from the Climate Change Committee and to set targets for o...Read More

The mood in the European hot-rolled coil market has become bullish due to a combination of a material shortage and strong demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 18.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?792.50 ($944.71) per tonne on Thursday, up by ?,?1.25 per tonne from ?,?791.25 per tonne on March 17.The index was also up by...Read More

Steel billet and rebar demand in Egypt remained weak in the seven day to Thursday, March 18, although market participants are hopeful that new construction regulations will lead to an upturn, sources told Fastmarkets.Egypt has granted only a very limited permits for new construction projects since September 2020 when it relaxed the total ban that had been in place since May that year.But there are...Read More

The Turkish steel billet markets have remained weak over the past seven days with limited sales and falling prices due to softer scrap costs, sources said on Thursday March 18.Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have been falling since late last week due to increased supplies.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, was $438.17 per tonne on March 17, d...Read More

Domestic rebar and wire rod prices in Turkey have gone down this week on falling imported scrap values, market sources said on Thursday March 18.Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have made a downward correction in the past week because of strong supplies, with limited steel sales being another reason for mills to stay away from the market.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationThe hit of 813m grading 0.4% copper and 0.1 grams per tonne gold from 54m depth to the end of the hole also included 318m at 0.6% copper and 0.Read More

Micon Awarded Front End Engineering Design and Definitive Feasibility StudySPONSOREDmicon internationalRex ready to rollSPONSOREDrex mineralsDavyhurst back producing gold; can it produce a lot more?SPONSOREDora banda miningSolaris Resources on winning streak in EcuadorSPONSOREDsolaris resourcesEro Copper reported net income of US$52.5 million on sales of $324.1 million in 2020, a 43% fall from the...Read More