The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Monday January 27, with macro risk-off sentiment prompting a 2.5% decline, while zinc futures followed lower. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $12,655 per tonne, below Friday's closing price of $12,950 per tonne with some 1,800 lots exchanged as of 9:20am London time. Prompting down...Read More

Brazil's apparent steel use fell in both December 2019 and over the full year, compared with the corresponding figures for 2018, because of weaker domestic sales and imports, local steel association Instituto A??o Brasil said on Thursday January 23.Apparent consumption was 1.52 million tonnes in December, a 4.1% year-on-year decrease from 1.58 million tonnes, according to the association.Flat-roll...Read More

RAPAPORT... Diamcor Mining's rough-diamond sales were flat year on year in the third fiscal quarter, as a shift to lower-quality goods led to a drop in the average price.The company sold 13,218 carats for $1.4 million during the period ending December 31 at an average price of $107 per carat, it said last week. That compared to the $1.4 million it earned during the same period the previous ye...Read More

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds' shares fell 11% in early trading Monday after the miner reported a slide in revenue resulting from weak rough prices.Revenue fell 6% to $193.9 million in the first fiscal half ending December 31, while sales volume was stable at 1.7 million carats, Petra said Monday.Rough prices fell 10% due to the weak market, while a poorer product mix from Petra's Finsch mine in...Read More

Steel plate prices in the United States are stable, with market participants reporting lackluster restocking rates at service centers and short lead times at mills. "It appears that the prices are stalling out," one plate consumer said. Some market participants said that mills' price increases at the end of 2019 were premature. The hikes might have pulled forward some buying that otherwise wo...Read More

RAPAPORT... Martin Rapaport will be one of a number of speakers at this year's Palm Beach Show, where he will give a lecture explaining the challenges and opportunities in the diamond trade.The 17th edition of the annual event, previously known as the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, will feature exhibitors from the jewelry, art, antique and design industries in one location.Other...Read More

RAPAPORT... Rough-diamond sales at Alrosa fell 26% in 2019 as an oversupply in the midstream led to weaker demand.Revenue for the year dropped to $3.27 billion, while the average selling price slid 16% to $98 per carat, the Russian miner said last week. Sales volume slipped 12% to 33.4 million carats, with manufacturers purchasing fewer diamonds in an effort to offload excess inventory.Produc...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Sales of fine jewelry and fine watches continued to rise in November 2019, increasing 3 percent compared to November 2018, as seen in the graph below. This marks the fifth successive month of positive sales. If the results are down slightly over October - just 0.2 of a percent - it's still evidence that there is some momentum in the market. OutlookWhile many jewelry retai...Read More

Sentiment in the rough diamond market was “slightly more optimistic” towards the end of 2019 and has remained “relatively positive” as the market prepares for the first selling cycle of 2020, Canadian miner Mountain Province reports.The company, which is a 49% participant with De Beers in Gahcho Kué diamond mine located in Canada's Northwest Territories, states t...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds Limited has announced that while its production for the six months ended December 2019 was up 3 percent to 2,070,240 carats (H1 FY 2019: 2,019,147 carats), revenue for the same period was down 6 percent. Revenue fell to $193.9 million from 1,743,807 carats (H1 FY 2019: $207.1 million from 1,736,357 carats).The decline in revenue comes from lower diamond prices and th...Read More

The price of steel billet fell in most regions during the week ended Friday January 24, due to the continuing slide in ferrous scrap prices in Turkey.The downturn in Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices hit scrap prices in other regions and resulted in a further fall in billet prices.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a UK cargo comprising 22,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $277 per ton...Read More

Brazilian mining regulatory agency ANM has demanded that mining companies in four states remain alert to the levels in their tailings dams until Friday January 31 because of the heavy rainfall in parts of the country this week.The agency has requested daily monitoring of the structures due to the rainfall over the weekend of January 25-26, which was expected to continue in the south-eastern states...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesCochilco analyst Camila Montes said desalination use would grow most in the drier northern parts of the country, forecasting 65% usage in Antofagasta, 60% in Tarapaca, 42% in Atacama and 25% in Coquimbo. Some 90% of the desalinated seawater will be used in the processing of copper sulphide ores for the production of copper concentr...Read More

Turkish steel mills held back from deep-sea scrap bookings on Monday January 27, amid talk that they would cut production or resume bookings soon, sources said.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a UK cargo comprising 22,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $277 per tonne cfr late on January 22, which sent the daily scrap indices down by $6.45 per tonne.This was only the second cargo booked i...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe Lundin family name has a long-established pedigree with copper in Argentina with Lukas finding both the Alumbrera and Veladero deposits in the past century through his companies InternationalRead More

Global scrap prices trended downward during the working week ended Friday January 24 on limited demand that was a consequence of lackluster finished steel sales globally and the lunar new year holidays in East Asia.Turkish import prices drop in latest cargo deal US export prices down on both coasts Taiwan import prices slip on demand dip Indian import prices decline on Turkish price downturn. Turk...Read More

Domestic ferrous scrap prices in Turkey have continued to slip over the past week on falling imported scrap values, sources said on Monday January 27.After a steel mill in Turkey booked a UK-origin cargo sold at $277 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), Northern Europe origin, cfr Turkey went down by $6.45 per tonne to $274.25 per tonne...Read More

* Nickel slides to 6-1/2 month low * Copper drops for nine consecutive sessions (Updates with closing prices) By Eric Onstad LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Copper fell for a ninthconsecutive session on Monday, the longest losing streak in sixyears, as investors worried that a spreading coronavirusoutbreak in China would hit demand in the world's biggest metalsconsumer. Copper tumbled to its weakest in...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were sharply lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 48 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to intensified worries that the coronavirus will spread.Gold responded to coronavirus fears by gaining $9.80 to $1,581.70 per ounceCrude oil responded to coronavirus fears by dropping $1.48 to $52.71 per barrel.DR Horton slipped $0.48 to $58.02 despite re...Read More

Key data from the January 22 and January 24 pricing sessions in London. Key drivers  Tight supply of certain brands of cut cathodes and rounds - either well-sold on long-term contracts, or held firmly in trader hands - saw alloy-grade cobalt prices extend their premium over standard-grade units.  Some market participants reported an...Read More