British Steel has revealed its intentions to increase capacity at its Skinningrove special steel profiles plant in the UK amid improving end-user demand, the company said on Thursday November 26.The company is looking to recruit 41 people into manufacturing roles at its business in Skinningrove to meet the increasing demand for its products, it said.New hires will also enable the company...Read More

Positive sentiment as US holiday season begins. NRF retail group forecasts Nov./Dec. sales +3.6% to $755B as consumers show willingness to spend on spirit-lifting gifts after challenging year. Covid-19 continues to spread, with concerns about crowded shopping areas. Jewelers investing in e-commerce, pushing Black Friday promotions on social media. India sees release of pent-up demand over Diwali....Read More

RAPAPORT... Hong Kong-based Luk Fook will accelerate its expansion in mainland China, considering the market a strong source of revenues amid struggles in its home territory.The jewelry retailer plans to open a net 250 new mainland stores in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, mainly in fourth- and fifth-tier cities, it said Thursday. The company also aims to develop its e-commerce...Read More

RAPAPORT... Marcus ter Haar stepped down last week as managing director of Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), the Botswana parastatal confirmed with Rapaport News. Ter Haar joined ODC as deputy managing director when the company was established in 2013, and assumed the top position in August 2017. The company has appointed Lipalesa Makepe, its chief financial officer, as acting managing director...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelry sales in India beat expectations during the Diwali season amid a release of pent-up demand and strong consumer confidence about future gold prices.Revenues were on a par with last year, or better, as Indians returned to shopping following lockdowns, industry executives told Rapaport News this week. Lower spending on travel and weddings freed up cash for jewelry purchases,...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Diamond Dealers Club of New York has elected Elliot Krischer as its new president, replacing Reuven Kaufman, who served in the position since 2011. Krischer (pictured), who is the CEO of Esskay Gems, was previously the club's secretary.On November 20, the DDC chose its new executive, which includes Robert Moskovitz as vice president, Benny Simkhai in the role of treasurer, and...Read More

RAPAPORT... The International Gemological Institute's (IGI) Hong Kong laboratory has graded a 12.75-carat synthetic diamond, the largest chemical vapor deposition (CVD) stone it has ever received.The lab-grown stone, cut from a 46.20-carat rough, has F color and VVS2 clarity, and is type IIa, the IGI said Monday. It was created by Shanghai Zhengshi Technology Co., which claims it is the large...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a 14.09-carat pink diamond from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho.The miner unearthed the "top-quality" type II stone from the deposit on November 24, it said Wednesday. The discovery comes after the company found a 77-carat yellow diamond at the mine in September.Gem Diamonds has also found 14 diamonds weighing over 100 carats this year, including 104- and 111-ca...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Chow Tai Fook saw pre-tax profits up by almost half from April to September, despite a 16 per cent fall in revenue.The Chinese jewelry giant, with more than 4,000 points of sale, attributed its performance to a surge in the price of gold and improvements to its gross profit margins on sales of gold products.Business had steadily recovered from COVID-19 at its Mainland China outlets...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price reached a near seven-year high during morning trading on Thursday November 26, hitting $7,410 per tonne at one point and taking the complex on an incline with it.The LME three-month price for the red metal was at $7,372 per tonne as of 9:05am, but its high of $7,410 per tonne in early trading meant it had surpassed prices last reached in January 2...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The bounce in US watch and jewelry sales shows no sign of slowing, with a fourth consecutive month of year-on-year increases and another record monthly rise.Sales in September 2020 were up 13.7 per cent on the same month last year, the highest rise in at least five years.  The industry has made a remarkable recovery since sales halved in April - a plunge that overshadowed that...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A Chinese manufacturer has produced the largest polished CVD lab-grown diamond ever certified by IGI Hong Kong - weighing 12.75 carats.The Type IIa diamond, graded as F color and VVS2 clarity, (pictured) was cut from a 46.20-carat rough CVD stone grown by the Shanghai Zhengshi Technology.IGI gemologists said it had exceptional chemical purity and transparency, triple-excellent mark...Read More

The legitimacy of China's tariffs on United States-origin non-ferrous scrap is questionable after the country reclassified high purity scrap under the new category of recyclable materials, industry executives said at Fastmarkets webinar on Monday November 23."There's no official announcement on top of the tariffs [on US recyclable copper materials]," US-based David Chiao, president of Bureau of In...Read More

Markets were generally buoyant this morning, Thursday November 26, with more certainty on the horizon than of late, helped by US president-elect Joe Biden's transition to the White House and with a rollout of the vaccines now insight, if things go according to plan.Optimism pushes current economic and health problems to the backgroundUK Chancellor warns of biggest contraction in 300 yearsBase meta...Read More

RAPAPORT... The US recorded its 18th consecutive monthly fall in polished-diamond imports as the coronavirus pandemic continued to affect trading. Shipments dropped 10% year on year to $1.34 billion in September - the gentlest decline since March, according to data from the US Commerce Department. The category hasn't seen an increase since April 2019.US Trade Data for September 2020  Read More

Turkey was the only market accepting higher export steel billet offers from the Commonwealth of Independent States, while trading activity at other destinations remained quiet in the week to Thursday November 26 due to a difference between mills' offers and customers' bids. The majority of mills continued to insist on offers within the range of $480-500 per tonne fob Black Sea this week, according...Read More

Turkish steel billet prices have increased sharply over the past week and pushed even higher on Thursday November 26, due to strong demand and rising imported scrap costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Steel mills in Turkey have been booking deep-sea scrap cargoes over the past week at increasing prices and growing demand for long steel products in the export market has also supported&nb...Read More

Turkish domestic long steel prices have continued to increase over the week to Thursday November 26 on the back of rising imported scrap costs. Turkish steel mills have been booking deep-sea scrap cargoes in the past week at increasing prices to fulfil growing demand for long steel products in the export markets. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Tu...Read More

Steel billet import prices have increased in Egypt over the week ending Thursday November 26, but demand was weak, sources have told Fastmarkets.Demand for steel rebar and billet has been slow in the country since a ban on construction activity was introduced on May 25.The rules of the ban were eased on September 29, but buying has remained...Read More

Markets were generally buoyant this morning, Thursday November 26, with more certainty on the horizon than of late, helped by US president-elect Joe Biden’s transition to the White House and with a rollout of the vaccines now insight, if things go according to plan.* Optimism pushes current economic and health problems to the background* UK Chancellor warns of biggest contraction in 300 years...Read More