Support for steel plate prices in Asia was likely to continue in 2020 because of the environmental restrictions imposed by the Chinese government on steelmaking during the coming winter, a source at a leading Japanese steel mill told Fastmarkets this week."Reduced supply in winter, when Chinese producers cut back their output, means that prices are likely to move up from now on," the source said.C...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday November 14 that are worth another look.China's annual scrap consumption could reach 330 million tonnes by 2030 and account for up to half of the country's steel output, according to the China Association of Metal Scrap Utilization (Camu).Copper miners and smelters look set to agree the lowest annual benchmark for concentrate i...Read More

The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange was little moved during morning trading on Thursday November 14, ignoring a fresh inflow of more than 78,000 tonnes into LME-registered Asian warehouses.Price action in the light metal was recently seen at $1,764 per tonne, just a dollar below Wednesday's closing price. Turnover was moderate, with just under 2,350 lots exchanged as of 9:...Read More

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during the morning trading session on Thursday November 14, with zinc leading on the downside with a 1.1% drop.The most-traded January zinc contract on the SHFE slumped to 18,335 yuan ($2,612) per tonne as at 10.35am Shanghai time, down 205 yuan per tonne from Wednesday's close of 18,540 yuan per tonne.Compared with their closes on Wed...Read More

US importers' interest in foreign flat-rolled products - which have been largely uncompetitive against low-priced domestic goods under the Section 232 tariffs - remains mixed on uncertain outlooks for the first quarter of 2020, market participants told Fastmarkets.Industry chatter has centered on the domestic market over the past two weeks, after US steel mills pushed out a second, widely anticipa...Read More

Latin American steelmakers this week expressed their worries about a potential dissolution of the Mercosur trade bloc in discussions at the annual conference of the region's steel association, Alacero, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.They advocated further regional integration to help them adapt to the recent decline in globalization.The local industry has been warning for quite some time about the neg...Read More

Steel billet import and export prices in Turkey have increased slightly over the past week, in line with improving demand. But domestic prices have remained fairly stable, sources said on Thursday November 14.Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region kept their offers firm, with some of them managing to secure several deals to North Africa at higher prices earlier this week....Read More

Rebar and wire rod prices in the Turkish domestic market have gone up slightly over the past week, in line with higher scrap costs and recovering demand, sources said on Thursday November 14.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey was 2,850-2,900 Turkish lira ($495-504) per tonne, narrowing up from the last week's 2,830-2,900 Turkish lira pe...Read More

Prices for steel rebar and billet in Egypt rose in the week ended Thursday November 14, stimulating demand as buyers looked to avoid being caught by any further increases, sources told Fastmarkets.Egyptian rebar producers were offering rebar at E ?9,600-10,370 ($594-641) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT, up from last week's E ?9,600-9,900 per tonne ex-works including VAT.Some Egyptian rebar pr...Read More

Fastmarkets MB will from next month display in the Price Book calculated price midpoints and averages that are rounded to two decimal places.This will ensure consistency of published values across all of Fastmarkets MB's delivery channels.Where Fastmarkets MB publishes prices as a low-high range, users have the option to view the calculated midpoint of that range. From Monday December 9, Fastmarke...Read More

Polishedmarket stable and showing rise in demand for 0.30 to 0.50 ct. Reducedmanufacturing has led to shortages of top-quality RapSpec A3+ goods. Roughtrading steady after price cuts at $390M Nov. De Beers sight. Alrosa 3Q profit -44% to $212M with concern over built-up21.7M ct. inventory. Retail outlook optimistic as Dow hits record (+19%YTD to 27,783). Ongoing unrest dampens Hong Kong luxury. Ri...Read More

Mumbai trading back tonormal after Diwali break. Israeli and Korean buyers looking for SI and I1goods. Surat cutters to resume operations on Nov. 18. Manufacturers resistingpressure to reduce polished prices after rough declines. Volatile rupee (INR72/$1) adding to market uncertainty. Jewelers expecting sales to pick up duringupcoming wedding season. RoundRead More

RAPAPORT... Bonhams is set to auction jewelry from the privatecollection of international best-selling author Barbara Taylor Bradford amassed during her 57-year relationship with her movie-producer husband. A radiant-cut, 11.30-carat, fancy-yellow, VS1-claritydiamond ring, flanked by baguette-cut diamonds, will lead the December 4 LondonJewels sale, Bonhams said Wednesday. The stone, which ha...Read More

RAPAPORT... India's polished-diamond exports fell 15% to $1.95 billion inOctober, reflecting a 22% slide in the average price of shipments. Export volumerose 8% to 2.8 million carats, according to data from the Gem & JewelleryExport Promotion Council. The nation continued to import much lower quantitiesof rough than a year ago as companies worked down their inventory. India Trade Data for O...Read More

 RAPAPORT... A sapphire and diamond bracelet fetched more than doubleits high estimate at Sotheby's Geneva auction, selling to a female Asian collector after a bidding war. The piece contains a 47.07-carat, royal-blue Burmesesapphire center stone with high clarity, cut in a cabochon shape and flanked bytwo pear-shaped white diamonds weighing 9.27 carats and 8.60 carats. Created byCartier...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A 1927 Art Deco bracelet by Cartier tripled its pre-sale estimate at Sotheby's, realizing  $6.13 million. After generating interest from six buyers, the bracelet was bought by an Asian collector. The bracelet, which is set with a 46.07-carat cabochon sapphire, realized one of the highest results for a bracelet at auction. "The magic of Art Deco continues to exer...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The European Commission is enforcing a new customs code for lab-grown diamonds. The European Federation of Jewellery (EFJ) said the code, introduced in the European combined nomenclature (Chapter 71), will be used from January 1, 2020 until the HS6 customs code, which was recently adopted by the World Customs Organisation (WCO), is applied at the European level.The EFJ said in a co...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A new survey reveals just how much marketers need to take generational differences into account to make the most of the holiday shopping season. According to insights from the 2019 Holiday Purchase Intentions Survey from The NPD Group, each generation's holiday shopping plans looks very different. So, how do the generations break down?Gen ZAbout one-third will start shopp...Read More

RAPAPORT... Singles' Day has continued to grow as a major onlineshopping occasion in China, with Alibaba Group reporting record sales through itse-commerce sites. The total value of transactions on the Chinese retailgiant's platforms rose 26% to CNY 268.4 billion ($38.4 billion) on Monday,the company said. More than 200,000 brands participated in the 24-hour shoppingfestival, it added. "Today...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Former IGI head Jerry Ehrenwald has launched a laboratory grown diamond exchange and price index. The Laboratory-Grown Diamond Price Index will use market data from LGDEX.org to publish cash asking prices.The Index will be prepared in collaboration with the GemGuide of Gemworld International."My purpose in establishing the Laboratory-Grown Diamond Exchange is to have an accurate an...Read More