With the exception of that for lead, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down at the close of the morning session on Tuesday February 25, with heightened risk aversion after a sell-off in global equity markets overnight pressuring the market.A sharp increase in the number of reported cases of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) cases in Japan, South Korea, Europe and numerous ot...Read More

Prices for hot-rolled coil in the United States are holding just above $29 per hundredweight ($580 per short ton) while sources continue to expect steady pricing and market activity for the near term. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $29.06 per cwt ($581.20 per ton) on Tuesday February 25, a decrease of 0.1% from $29.09 per cwt on February 24...Read More

European steel producers, represented by regional steel association Eurofer, hope to achieve a further toughening of the region's existing safeguard measures on steel product imports, market sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday February 25.The measures imposed by the European Commission (EC) are currently under review, and the producers hope that this will include a reduction by one-third of the li...Read More

Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia fell this week, with buyers waiting to see prices hit bottom before placing orders, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday February 25.Some market participants expected prices to fall because of weak demand, while others said demand could soon improve because stocks are low.UAEChinese hot-rolled coil was on...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gemological Science International (GSI) is urging extra diligence after receiving a lab-grown diamond bearing a treatment generally only found in natural stones."Diamond-growing technology continues to improve and growers are trying to mimic natural diamonds in every possible way," GSI chief information officer Nick DelRe said Monday.The organization's Mumbai lab identified a synt...Read More

RAPAPORT... Diamond trading in China remains slow, as retail is almost dead, bourses are quiet, and even getting rough goods into the country has hit obstacles. Dealers expect a release of pent-up demand when the coronavirus goes away, but for now, all they can do is manage a difficult situation."There is always demand for diamonds in China, but currently consumers can't go shopping, [as] hardly a...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies reported a loss in 2019, as soft demand in the first nine months outweighed a stronger fourth quarter.The diamond technology company reported a net loss of $1.4 million for the year, compared with a profit of $7.6 million in 2018. An oversupply of rough in the midstream, civil unrest in Hong Kong and tighter bank credit to India's manufacturing sector resulted...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers and its clients expect a slowdown in rough-diamond sales at the company's Botswana sight this week amid concerns about the coronavirus."It's fair to say there will be an impact on rough demand in the short term," De Beers chief financial officer Nimesh Patel said Thursday in an interview with Rapaport News. "I'd expect we'd see that at the [February] sight."The downturn i...Read More

RAPAPORT... Revenue from the retail division of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway rose 2.5% to $16 billion in 2019, the company reported Saturday.The increase for the segment, which includes jewelry chains Borsheims, Helzberg Diamonds and Ben Bridge Jeweler, was boosted primarily by the company's car business. Pretax earnings for the entire retail unit grew 1.6% to $874 million for the year...Read More

RAPAPORT... US couples spent 4% more on engagement rings in 2019, according to a survey by wedding resource The Knot.Consumers that took part in the study paid approximately $5,900 on average for their engagement ring in 2019, versus $5,680 the previous year, The Knot said last week. That came despite the average amount the 25,000 respondents paid for a wedding remaining steady at $33,900, co...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Authorities in Angola have seized 6,579 carats of rough diamonds in a crackdown on illegal mining and immigration. Nineteen cars and $275,000 in cash were also confiscated, according to the government-run Angop news agency. Operation Transparency was aimed at more than 700 small diamond prospectors in the country. Two thirds were found not to meet the interior ministry's requ...Read More

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa has generated A$2.84-mllion in revenue from the sale of 1 223 ct of diamonds from its Lulo mine, in Angola.The ASX-listed company noted that its latest Lulo parcel had achieved an average price of A$2 324/ct.AdvertisementThe latest sale brought the total diamond sales for 2020 to A$7.9-million, averaging A$2 842/ct of diamonds sold.To watch Cre...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Another Hong Kong event has been forced to re-schedule because of the coronavirus outbreak. The 9th AEC Gems & Jewelry Presidents' Summit, originally scheduled for 3 March, will now take place on 19 May. It will form a part of two other Hong Kong shows, which have both been postponed amid health fears.   The Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show 2020 (...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A parcel of 1,223 carats of alluvial diamonds from the Lulo mine, in Angola, has sold for $1.9 million. The Lucapa Diamond Company is exploring hard-rock kimberlite sources in the Canguige tributary catchment area, which hosts some of the world's most valuable alluvial diamonds. The sale, the second this year, achieved an average price of $1,535 per carat and brings the total...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Sales of fine jewelry and fine watches continued to rise in December 2019, increasing 4.7 percent compared to December 2018, as seen in the graph below. This marks the sixth successive month of positive sales and was also one of the strongest months of the year, with only September showing better performance.    Outlook While December's figures were a big improv...Read More

Dual-listed Botswana Diamonds on Monday announced that kimberlite, identified by visual inspection, had been intersected at shallow depth in two out of three holes drilled at the Marsfontein project in Limpopo, South Africa.The company has been undertaking a percussion drilling campaign on Thorny River and the contiguous Marsfontein project.AdvertisementThis kimberlite is believed to be associated...Read More

Turkish steel producers maintained their silence in the deep-sea scrap import market, leaving prices unchanged, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday February 25.Steel producers in the country booked eight deep-sea cargoes at rising prices last week, totaling some 250,000 tonnes.With last week's bookings, Turkish imports of scrap so far this month have included 21 deep-sea cargoes adding up to&...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were largely unchanged on Tuesday February 25 due to a lack of trading activity in the market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $159.20 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $167.13 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $142 per tonne, up by $0.37 per tonne ...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices were down on Tuesday February 25 amid heightened concerns about the novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) outbreak outside China and the resulting risk averse attitude of traders. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.83 per tonne, down $1.05 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.84 per tonne, down $0.98 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-premium, c...Read More

A Pakistani mill that recently made a rare purchase of a bulk cargo of ferrous scrap from the United States West Coast will now likely buy such shipments with greater frequency, according to sources Fastmarkets spoke to.The trade - involving 30,000 tonnes of shredded scrap priced at $306 per tonne cfr Port Qasim - only came to light on Monday February 24, against the background of global economic...Read More