The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Monday February 17, climbing above nearby resistance against high turnover, while nickel held above $13,000 per tonne. Copper's underlying price on the LME was recently seen at $5,810 per tonne, up from Friday's closing price of $5,760 per tonne. Turnover was high at just over 6,500 lots exchanged by&nbs...Read More

China's race to contain the coronavirus (2019-nCov), combined with its financial stimulus, are providing the markets with more than enough hope, with risk-on being seen across most of the metals and many equity indices, especially in western markets, this morning, Monday February 17. But this apparent confidence is likely to be fragile as there is still much uncertainty surrounding the virus and i...Read More

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were rangebound during morning trading on Monday February 17 with pessimism caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China being tempered slightly by an announcement by the country's finance minister over the weekend.The minister, Liu Kun, wrote on Sunday in Qiushi, the Communist Party magazine, that his ministry would implement me...Read More

A summary of state-owned Steel Authority of India's (Sail) financial results for its third quarter covering the period of October to December, and the first nine months of its financial year 2019-20.In brief Sail reports higher sales and saleable steel production in the third quarter, but lower prices hurt earnings The company said the reduction in prices has hurt the financial performance of all...Read More

RAPAPORT... US retail sales could face growth challenges in February as supply chains are impacted by shutdowns at Chinese factories due to the coronavirus epidemic, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said.Imports of goods from the mainland will see a sharper-than-usual drop, with US retailers struggling to shift sourcing to other countries."February is historically a slow month for imports...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe rose in the week to Friday February 14 despite offers from non-European suppliers returning to the market. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?479.34 ($519.12) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?7.67 per tonne from ?,?471.67 per tonne a week earlier on February 7. The index was calculated based...Read More

RAPAPORT... Exhibitors at the IIJS Signature show in Mumbai expressed confidence India's strong wedding tradition and enduring love of gold would help the nation's jewelry industry overcome its current challenges.Economic uncertainty, high gold prices, tight regulation and the outbreak of the coronavirus in China have created difficulties for the Indian jewelry sector, traders told Rapaport News d...Read More

Tosyali Algeria plans to start production of hot-rolled coil by the end of 2022 and is targeting output of 2 million tonnes per year, a company spokesperson told Fastmarkets on Friday February 14.The steelmaker will mainly supply the material to automotive and white goods manufacturers, as well as to pipe makers,...Read More

RAPAPORT... Shares in Petra Diamonds slipped 16% in early trading Monday after the miner reported a net loss for the first fiscal half, and warned of operational problems that could affect annual production.The company reported a net loss of $10 million for the period ending December 31, an improvement on its $57.9 million loss the year before. The loss was due to a decline in rough-diamond p...Read More

The European Commission (EC) has initiated a review of existing safeguard measures into number of imported steel products, it said on Saturday February 15. "On the basis of [the European] Union interest considerations, [the EC] may have to review certain elements of the safeguard measures in order to take account of recent developments or changed circumstances. Furthermore, such a review should be...Read More

RAPAPORT... Revenue from Angola's national diamond-trading company, Sodiam, rose 6% in 2019 as the company sold a higher volume of rough goods.Proceeds for the year came to $1.3 billion from the sale of 9 million carats of rough diamonds, compared with 8.4 million carats in 2018, the government said in a Facebook post last week.  That offset a 10% drop in the average price to $137 per ca...Read More

Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia fell over the past week amid a downtrend in the regional hot-rolled coil market.The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China continued to weigh on prices for flat steel despite Chinese President Xi Jinping urging local businesses to gradually return to work. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel slab imports, cfr Southeast Asia...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Indian manufacturer and exporter Star Rays has pledged to become the country's first carbon-neutral diamond company.It will encourage staff to save energy, cut down on single-use plastics and use public transport to get to and from work.The firm, a De Beers Sightholder, says it's working with consultants Carbon Expert to implement processes and best practices.Emissions an...Read More

The 2020 Kimberley Diamond Symposium and Trade Show will take place in Kimberley, in the Northern Cape, in early September, the South African Diamond Producers Organisation (Sadpo) has confirmed.New technologies and geological interpretations have revived activity in mid-size and small-scale diamond mining in the Northern Cape and North West provinces, and technological advances are driving greate...Read More

(IDEX Online) -  Petra Diamonds blamed a weak market for its $10 million loss in the six months to December 2019.The firm saw its revenue down 6 percent to US$193.9 million (compared with H1 FY 2019: US$207.1 million) due to a decline in rough diamond prices, despite increased production at its mines in South Africa and Tanzania.It reported a net loss after tax of $10 million, compared with a...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Retail sales in January increased 0.2 percent seasonally adjusted over December and were up 2.7 percent unadjusted year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation. During the month, online and other non-store sales were up 7 percent year-over-year and up 0.3 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted."The strength of consumer spending continues to be the anchor o...Read More

RAPAPORT... Italian luxury brand Bulgari has confirmed it will not be participating in the 2020 edition of Baselworld, a little over a week after Gucci announced it was exiting this year's show.The reasons behind Bulgari's departure were not specified in a statement Baselworld released Tuesday. However, the LVMH-owned brand "remains open" to a return next year, it noted. "We will take our dec...Read More

Turkish domestic scrap prices have rebounded over the past week following an upturn in imported scrap values, sources said on Monday February 17.In the middle of last week, imported scrap prices increased sharply in response to improved demand from Turkish steel producers.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, was $274.82 per tonne on February 14, up...Read More

Fastmarkets proposes to launch four new ferrous scrap import prices, further bolstering our coverage of Asian scrap markets.The new prices include two prices on a cfr South Korea basis and two on a cfr Bangladesh basis.South Korea is one of Asia's largest ferrous scrap importers, buying large volumes of scrap from origins such as Japan and the US West Coast. Bangladesh, a rapidly growing scrap imp...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices were up on Monday February 17 amid the gradual return of workers after the extended Lunar New Year holiday in China.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.48 per tonne, up $1.81 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.81 per tonne, up $1.81 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.84 per tonne, up $2.05 per tonn...Read More