Global freight markets have been plunged into further chaos this week with the continuing blockage of the Suez Canal now accompanied by rumors of fresh freight rate hikes around the world, sources told Fastmarkets.Transit through the pivotal Suez Canal shipping lane has been blocked by the large containership Ever Given since late on Tuesday March 23, creating a traffic jam of more than 100 vessel...Read More

The Brazilian chamber of construction industry, CBIC, has requested the federal government to reduce steel import duties amid tight supply and soaring prices.It made this request at a meeting between main industry groups that form part of the steel value chain in Brazil and representatives of the country's economy ministry, which discussed the current supply situation, on Tuesday March 23.The even...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 25 that are worth another look.Global freight markets have been plunged into further chaos this week with the continuing blockage of the Suez Canal now accompanied by rumors of fresh freight rate hikes around the world, sources told...Read More

The shorting of copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday March 25 took the metal's futures price down by 2.2% day on day at the close.Copper's 5pm price on Thursday was $8,779.50 per tonne, a decrease of 3.6% since the start of the week. Its closing price on Monday was $9,108.50 per tonne, and on Wednesday it was $8,977.50 per tonne.The metal was now back to a level last...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coils across Europe continued to rise on Thursday March 25, amid strong demand and persistently short supplies, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?821.67 ($971.97) per tonne on Thursday March 25, up by ?,?1.67 per tonne and surpassing March 24's 12-year high of ?,?820.00 per tonn...Read More

Turkish scrap import prices have gone down, as expected, with news of a UK cargo being sold at the end of last week coming to light on Thursday March 25.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked the cargo at $410-413 per tonne cfr on an HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis. The cargo breakdown was not clear at the time of publication.This compared with previous Baltic Sea cargoes sold at $435-437 per tonne cfr o...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 25 that are worth another look.Global freight markets have been plunged into further chaos this week with the continuing blockage of the Suez Canal now accompanied by rumors of fresh freight rate hikes around the world, sources told...Read More

The shorting of copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday March 25 took the metal's futures price down by 2.2% day on day at the close.Copper's 5pm price on Thursday was $8,779.50 per tonne, a decrease of 3.6% since the start of the week. Its closing price on Monday was $9,108.50 per tonne, and on Wednesday it was $8,977.50 per tonne.The metal was now back to a level last...Read More

Turkish steel billet prices have gone down over the past week amid limited demand and weakening scrap costs, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 25.The country's steel mills have been staying away from the deep-sea scrap markets over the past two weeks while the pressure on prices was strengthening.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origi...Read More

Global freight markets have been plunged into further chaos this week with the continuing blockage of the Suez Canal now accompanied by rumors of fresh freight rate hikes around the world, sources told Fastmarkets.Transit through the pivotal Suez Canal shipping lane has been blocked by the large containership Ever Given since late on Tuesday March 23, creating a traffic jam of more than 100 vessel...Read More

Capstone Mining may be sitting on a major cobalt asset in the form of its Santo Domingo project in Chile, it said on Thursday March 25.The Canadian miner announced that it was looking to make progress at Santo Domingo toward a feasibility study, after buying out 30%-owner Korea Resources and agreeing a gold streaming deal with Wheaton Precious Metals.Wheaton has agreed to pay $290 million to Capst...Read More

Polished trading seasonally slow ahead of Passover and Easter holidays. Some distress over another Covid-19 wave in Europe and India. Dealers still confident for 2021. Projections show strong 2Q growth compared to 2020 lockdown period. Vaccine rollout, stimulus checks fueling optimism among US dealers and jewelers. GIA backlog causing inventory concerns. Manufacturer profit margins tightening foll...Read More

RAPAPORT... A US grading laboratory has introduced a new cut grade designed to differentiate higher-quality diamonds from the "excellent" score that most polished stones receive. Gem Certification & Assurance Lab (GCAL) unveiled its 8X grading report this week, highlighting a need to set apart premium-cut diamonds from the rest."Superior and precision-cut diamonds have been getting lost i...Read More

RAPAPORT... Diamond resources at Lucapa Diamond Company's Lulo deposit in Angola have surged 35%, the miner said Wednesday.The resource level climbed to 135,900 carats as of December 31 from 100,700 carats a year earlier, the company noted, citing independent estimates from South Africa's Z Star Mineral Resource Consultants.The jump in mining potential reflects additional resources identified...Read More

A summary of the 2020 annual report of the EN+ Group, released by the company on March 25. In brief: The EN+ Group revenue for 2020 was $10.36 billion, down 11.9% from $11.75 billion the previous year The net profit also decreased by 22% to $1.016 billion from $1.304 billion in 2019. The company says the decrease in revenue reflects the decline in the average LME aluminium price over the last year...Read More

RAPAPORT... Time Century Jewelry Center, a new mall under construction in the diamond district in downtown Miami, Florida, is looking to add a jewelry-design school to the project.Yair Levy, the real-estate developer behind Time Century Jewelry Center, said Monday he was prepared to offer a "significant" rent discount to the "right candidate." Located in the second-largest jewelry and diamond...Read More

LME copper's price fell 2.6% in the morning session on Thursday March 25, while the tin futures price was down 2%, both the result of the rising US Dollar Index. The red metal was down to $8,741.50 per tonne at 9am and its intraday low of $8,721 per tonne is the lowest it has been since March 5. On Wednesday, copper's closing price at 5pm was $8,977.50 per tonne, a slight decline from Tuesday...Read More

RAPAPORT... Customers of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) are experiencing severe delays to grading submissions, creating worries about inventory management, Rapaport News has learned.A sharp increase in rough buying since December has led to heightened demand for grading reports, while lower capacity because of Covid-19 restrictions has placed extra pressure on the GIA. The turnaro...Read More

(IDEX Online) -  A grading lab says it's redefining diamond excellence by assessing eight aspects of a stone's cut quality.And it is providing 360-degree videos and photomicrographs to help buyers appreciate the gem's quality.New York-based GCAL (Gem Certification & Assurance Lab) says as many as 85 per cent diamonds are graded as excellent cut, based on cut, polish and sym...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa has announced a second extension to existing three-year rough diamond supply contracts.It says the move will help buyers respond to ongoing market uncertainties as a result of the global pandemic.The state-owned Russian miner usually analyzes trading activity at the year end, to determine who will be on its long-term client list and what product mix they'll be offered.I...Read More