Europe's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil have continued to surge, propelled by strong demand amid a persistent material shortage, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday May 13.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?1,090.71 ($1,320.36) per tonne on May 13, up by ?,?32.58 per tonne from ?,?1,058.13 per tonne on May 12.The index was also up by ?...Read More

Italian domestic steel scrap prices increased substantially in the month to Thursday May 12 on support from limited availability of some grades of material and rising international prices, market sources told Fastmarkets.Market sources said that the shortage of semiconductor chips has had a negative effect on car manufacturing and, as a result, new scrap availability.In addition, scrap suppliers w...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday May 13 that are worth another look.Export prices for Chinese stainless steel increased sharply on Wednesday May 12 due to the the removal of China's 13% export rebate and the rising nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange.Nornickel resumed ore...Read More

Selling continued on the London Metal Exchange throughout Thursday May 13, leading to lower prices at the close, after higher-than-expected inflation readings from the United States triggered concerns of interest-rate increases on Wednesday.Nickel's three-month price was most affected on Thursday, with a decrease of 2.6% to $17,323 per tonne from Wednesday's $17,797 per tonne.Meanwhile, the three-...Read More

Hang on tight as the Silver Knights rip apart the Silver Rigging Operations!by Bix Weir of Road to RootaThe Silver Riggers need to issue a "cease and desist" letter to all their members telling them to STOP ADMITTING THEY ARE RIGGING THE SILVER MARKET!! Hang on tight as the Silver Knights rip apart the Silver Rigging Operations! Read More

Base metals prices on both the LME and SHFE were mainly weaker this morning, Thursday May 13, this after some choppy trading in recent days and the greater-than-expected pick-up in the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday.US CPI rises 4.4% year on year in April, and was up 0.8% month on month Asia-Pacific equities weaken on Thursday US treasury yields rise and forward curve steepens Base met...Read More

Diamond market restrained due to supply bottleneck as Covid-19 spike in India curbs manufacturing. Trading shifting to Antwerp and other centers. Surat production focusing on larger goods as factories struggle with absenteeism and social distancing rules. Steady interest in 1 to 2 ct., D-J, VS-SI diamonds. Good US demand; April jewelry sales +255%, Mastercard reports. China seasonally quiet. Rough...Read More

RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has unearthed a 138-carat rough diamond from its Lulo alluvial mine in Angola, it said Thursday.The company found the stone at the site's Mining Block 46 portion of the mine, which is adjacent to the area where Lucapa is conducting its exploration for the primary source, or mother lode, of the deposit's diamonds. The stone is the seventh over 100 carats Lucapa ha...Read More

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has agreed to pay $6 million (GBP 4.3 million) to settle violence claims at its Williamson mine in Tanzania.Some 71 anonymous claimants brought accusations of human-rights breaches at the site over several years. UK-based nonprofit Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) documented at least seven deaths and 41 assaults by security workers at Williamson since...Read More

Steel wire rod producers in Southern Europe were largely staying away from the market and holding back new offers, while scarce deals were heard done at substantially higher prices during the week amid a surge in the scrap and global long steel markets, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday May 12.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe,...Read More

RAPAPORT... Mountain Province has taken out an additional $33 million loan from its largest investor to cover the loss of income caused by the cancellation of its May diamond tender.The miner will receive the short-term loan on top of its existing $25 million revolving-credit facility from Dunebridge Worldwide, whose owner is a 32% shareholder in the company, Mountain Province said Wednesday. Moun...Read More

RAPAPORT... Industry leaders in Antwerp visited Angola this week in search of closer trade relations with the up-and-coming diamond-producing nation.The African country sells only a fraction of its rough diamonds to Belgium, with 90% of goods reportedly going to Dubai. Some 20 CEOs from Antwerp-based diamond companies met with local officials to explore a stronger collaboration, the Antwerp W...Read More

Turkish steel mills booked one further cargo late on Wednesday at a higher price ahead of the post-Ramadan Eid al-Fitr holiday, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday May 13.The cargo came to light after the indices had closed for the day.A steel mill in the Iskenderun booked a Baltic sea cargo comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (95:5) at $510 per tonne.Read More

(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province Diamonds has arranged a short-term $33m loan with Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond, to ease its "near term liquidity needs".The Canadian miner has struggled with the three-week Covid-enforced closure of its Gahcho Kue mine (pictured), which in turn forced it to cancel its May diamond sale in Antwerp.That, combined with the high costs of maintaining its winter acce...Read More

RAPAPORT... A diamond weighing nearly 101 carats was the star of the Christie's Geneva auction, bringing in more than $14 million.The rectangular-cut, D-color, internally flawless stone, called the Spectacle, fetched $141,000 per carat at the May 12 Magnificent Jewels sale, which garnered $63.5 million in total, Christie's said Wednesday. Manufactured from a rough mined at Alrosa's Zarnitsa pipe i...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds has agreed a $6m settlement, with no admission of liability, over claims that it breached the human rights of illegal miners at its Williamson mine, in Tanzania.It follows a hard-hitting NGO report and a legal case brought on behalf of 71 people who alleged they suffered abuse at the hands of Petra's security personnel.The UK-listed miner, which bought the huge...Read More

RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, May 12, 2021, Mumbai ... The Rapaport Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Prashant Bhojani as the new Chief Marketing Officer for Rapaport India.Bhojani (pictured) will drive the marketing and communication activities of Rapaport India. He will lead the marketing of a powerful set of new initiatives that will add value for Rapaport's Indian clients while continu...Read More

Glencore has joined fellow global commodities trader Trafigura in holding talks to purchase a portion of Cliveden Trading's copper book, informed sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 13.Cliveden, which last year was said to have traded more than 1 million tonnes of copper...Read More

A summary of aluminium roller and recycler Novelis' fiscal fourth-quarter 2021 operating results, released on Wednesday May 12. In brief Novelis shipped 983,000 tonnes of rolled aluminium product in the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, up by 21.21% from the same period last year.Net sales increased by 33.20% year on year to $3.63 billion during the three-month period, primarily...Read More

Strong demand from the Chinese automotive industry, combined with rising aluminium scrap values, pushed aluminium ingot ADC 12 prices to a record high this week.ADC 12  is widely used in the production of alloy wheels.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for aluminium ingot ADC12, exw dp China was 19,000-19,300 yuan($2,947-2,993) per tonne on Wednesday May 12, up 5.8% or 1,000-1,300 yuan per...Read More