Fastmarkets will host a free web seminar on Wednesday February 26 at 10am London time, to discuss the current trends for alumina and the evolution of its pricing.Benchmark alumina prices have been static below $280 per tonne for the past month, with Chinese demand underpinning the market. Register here to join the webinar. Date Wednesday February 26, 2020Time 10am London timeJoin our market expert...Read More

Broader markets were generally firmer but quiet on Monday January 20, with equities in Asia mainly stronger, as were the base metals, while gold was holding up in high ground.Equities in Asia are consolidating recent gains, but multi-year highs in many regional equity indices suggests sentiment is bullish overall. Markets quiet ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, which start on Friday in China....Read More

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down at the close of morning trading on Monday January 20, with market activity slowing as participants begin to depart ahead of theweeklong break for Chinese New Year (January 24-30)."Shanghai is beginning to empty as the weeklong Chinese New Year holiday starts on Friday... Queues at my local train ticket office have recently been...Read More

Offers for CIS-origin billet started to slide on Monday January 20, following last week's drop in scrap prices and weakening sentiment in the finished long steel market.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, tumbled by around $15 to $288.80 per tonne last Thursday, after a steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo of 35,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (9...Read More

A summary of the financial results for Russia's largest steelmaker, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), for both the fourth quarter of 2019 and the full year.In briefOutput and sales over the full year of 2019 were both affected by the major works being carried out on the company's blast furnace at Lipetsk, but these began to recover in the fourth quarter once the work was completed.Full year 2019 Steel out...Read More

RAPAPORT... US retail sales increased 4.1% during the recent holiday season amid steady consumer confidence, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said.Total sales for the November-to-December period were $730.2 billion, according to the NRF, which bases its numbers on figures from the US Census Bureau. That total came in at the higher end of the NRF's forecast of $727.9 billion to $730.7...Read More

China's steel refining and rerolling industry's capacity utilization rate was 80.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019, above the national industrial average of 77.5%, according to figures from the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Friday January 17.The country's industrial capacity utilization rate of 77.5% was 1.5 percentage points higher than the corresponding period a year e...Read More

RAPAPORT... The US jewelry industry contracted in 2019 as the number of businesses closing shop continued to exceed new entrants.The sector shrank 3.3% to 24,565 companies active in the fourth quarter, compared with 25,400 a year earlier, according to data the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) released Thursday. While 900 businesses left the industry during the year, only 228 joined.However, the...Read More

Falling ferrous scrap prices have dulled sentiment in Singapore's rebar import market over the past week. The weekly Fastmarkets price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) import, cfr Singapore - which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical-weight basis - was $455-465 per tonne for the week to Monday January 20, widening from $465 per tonne a week earlier.Turkish reba...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) has presented Gemological Institute of America (GIA) CEO Susan Jacques with the Stanley Schechter Award.The accolade, which was established in 2002, recognizes industry leaders who have raised the jewelry community's reputation through their dedication, ethics and integrity, JVC said last week."Susan is a true industry treasure who deeply emb...Read More

Prices in Asia's hot-rolled coil market are poised for more upticks immediately after the Lunar New Year holiday, according to industry sources."There is a sense of tightness in HRC supply in Asia, especially with fewer cargoes heading to the region from March and April," a source at a major re-roller in Vietnam said.This is largely due to an expected decrease in shipments from Indian steelmakers...Read More

RAPAPORT... Luk Fook plans to scale back its Hong Kong store network and expand in mainland China and Macau as it becomes the latest jeweler to rethink how its spreads resources across the region.The retailer expects a "single-digit" decrease in the number of rental leases it renews in Hong Kong in the current financial year ending March 31, and a "double-digit" drop the following year, it sa...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa has begun drilling at its Mir mine to test whether reopening the deposit is economically viable.This phase, which it will carry out through 2021, will help define the mine's dimensions and the quality and grade of its remaining diamonds, Alrosa noted last week. It will also test how safe the site is.Alrosa will spend RUB 2 billion ($32.5 million) to complete the first phase...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil market was quiet on Monday January 20, with most traders and mills having already suspended trading ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday at the end of this week.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,860-3,880 yuan ($563-566) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,590 yuan per tonne, unchangedTrading was thin throughout the day since there were not many participants...Read More

(IDEX Online) - HRD Antwerp has hired Ellen Joncheere as its new CEO. The appointment is effective immediately. Interim CEO Michel Janssens will be retiring next summer. Joncheere was formerly general manager at Fremach, a plastic automotive components supplier. She has also worked in the environmental services sector. HRD Antwerp said in a release that the new CEO plans to help the orga...Read More

RAPAPORT... Bonhams has hired Eleonora D'Ottavi in its latest effort to build up its global jewelry business.D'Ottavi will join the auction house as head of jewelry for Italy, responsible for providing valuation services and sourcing gems that Bonhams will sell at its New York, London and Hong Kong auctions."Eleonora brings the ideal combination of international experience and proven com...Read More

RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook has acquired Enzo Jewelry, a colored-gemstone brand with around 60 retail locations in mainland China.Enzo, founded in 2004, targets "modern, sophisticated and self-confident women who demand fashionable jewelry with a highly distinctive style," Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook noted Friday. The brand aims to grow in mainland China through self-operated and franchise stores,...Read More

(IDEX Online) - There are rumors that De Beers could be considering changes to its Sightholder system. According to Bloomberg, De Beers has hinted that it could reduce the number of Sightholders to help strengthen business for the companies that survive the shake up. Bloomberg said that De Beers' clients have been told to expect an update on possible contract changes at this week's...Read More

LONDON – De Beers is considering key changes to the way it sells diamonds as frustration mounts among its customers – a supposedly elite group that are now struggling to turn a profit.De Beers has signaled to its handpicked buyers that it may significantly reduce their number, possibly by the most since its monopoly ended at the beginning of the century, according to people familiar wi...Read More

RAPAPORT... Rio Tinto expects a decline in diamond production in 2020 as it reduces output at its Argyle mine in Australia, which is set to close in the fourth quarter.The company will produce between 12 million and 14 million carats for the year, compared with 17 million carats in 2019, it said last week. The miner also expects to retrieve lower grades at its Diavik mine in Canada, further i...Read More