Turkish long steel export prices continued to increase over the past week in response to rising imported scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday December 12. However, demand remains limited in the country's major export destinations, they added.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) export, fob main port Turkey was $435-440 per tonne on Thu...Read More

Polished trading driven by last-minute US holiday ordersand preparations for Chinese New Year. Multi-channel marketing andpersonalization are key themes for retail this season. Consumers shifting tolower price points. Diamantaires satisfied with Dec. orders after tough year. Dealershoping reduced rough supply will support prices and relieve inflated polishedinventory. De Beers cuts production plan...Read More

Sluggish polishedtrading, with buyers struggling to find the right goods due to scarcity of popularcategories. Manufacturers cautiously raising production levels. Factories stilloperating below capacity with large inventories of lower-quality diamonds that aredifficult to sell at a profit. 0.30 to 0.70 ct., G-J, SI-I1 moving well. Starsand melee stable in SI and lower piqu?(C) clarities. Jewelry r...Read More

RAPAPORT... With the holiday season well under way, the Rapaport Diamond Podcast debates different trends taking shape in the retail space. The discussion spans personalization, omnichannel, effective storytelling, being more open-minded, and the need to move away from our reliance on Christmas.In addition, news editor and host Avi Krawitz, senior reporter Joshua Freedman, editor-in-chief Sonia Es...Read More

Domestic prices of rebar and wire rod in the Turkish market have continued to increase over the past week due to rising imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday December 12.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey was 3,020-3,070 Turkish lira ($520-529) per tonne on Thursday, up from the 2,920-2,950 lira per tonne of last week.Steel producer...Read More

RAPAPORT... Operations at Petra Diamonds' South African mines haveresumed after the local electricity provider lifted restrictions on power usage. "The company's mining operations in South Africa are...nowoperating at normal load levels," the miner said Thursday. On Tuesday, Petra halted all production, hoistingand processing at its Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefontein deposits after Eskom enf...Read More

RAPAPORT... Royal Asscher has appointed Kenji Saikachi as CEO of RoyalAsscher Japan, where he will be responsible for leading the jeweler's growth inthe country. "We are confident that [Saikachi] will successfully leadRoyal Asscher to become an even more important player in the Japanese diamondjewelry market," Royal Asscher managing director and vice president MikeAsscher said last week. "Wit...Read More

RAPAPORT... Diamond manufacturers will consolidate in the coming years to avoid being further squeezed by miners and retailers, Bain & Company predicted in its annual report on the industry.The forecast stems from the midstream becoming anincreasingly weak part of the supply chain while retailers and rough producers haveimproved efficiency. This has resulted in manufacturers becoming "pri...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sotheby's garnered $43.1 million from its two New Yorkjewels auctions, led by a blue diamond ring which sold for $6.6 million. The cushion-cut, 7.55-carat, fancy-deep-grayish-blue, typeIIb, SI2-clarity Indian Blue had been estimated to fetch $6 million to$8 million at the Magnificent Jewels auction Tuesday. That sale followed theNew York Fine Jewels auction, which took place Monda...Read More

Prices for steel billet and rebar in Egypt continued to rise in the week ended Thursday December 12 amid moderate demand from the construction sector, sources told Fastmarkets.Egyptian rebar producers were offering rebar at E ?10,000-10,580 ($618-654) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Egypt,...Read More

RAPAPORT... A ruby brooch sold for nearly $9 million at Christie's NewYork sale Wednesday, far surpassing its $5.5 million high valuation. The piece, which comprises a total of 11.20 carats ofBurmese rubies, emeralds, diamonds and natural pearls, is from the collectionof noted philanthropist Jessie Ball duPont, who was the wife ofmultimillionaire businessman and duPont gunpowder heir Alfred d...Read More

(IDEX Online) - An Alrosa delegation, led by CEO Sergey Ivanov, recently met with diamond banks and funds to discuss developments in the industry. Among the attendees at the December 6 Moscow event were delegates from the State Bank of India, NBF, ABN AMRO and representatives of the DelGatto and Channel finance funds.During the meeting, the group discussed the factors leading to the weaker diamond...Read More

RAPAPORT... ABN Amro will implement changes to its guidelines for lending to the diamond industry in 2020, reasoning that the trade has become more efficient and now requires less credit.The midstream's reliance on working capital funding should have diminished given it has streamlined its production and sales processes, a spokesperson said in an email to Rapaport News. That new-found efficie...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Bain & Company and the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) have released their ninth annual global diamond study. Among the key expectations of the study is a fall in rough diamond sales by up to 25 percent in 2019. With continued geopolitical instability, strong signs of an impending recession and limited marketing support, especially for non-branded and lower-end jewelry...Read More

ABUJA – Swiss prosecutors are investigating a trader of one of the world’s most sought-after-minerals over allegations he illegally dealt in metals during the Democratic Republic of Congo’s civil war.It’s the first time the Swiss authorities have confirmed the probe that began in March 2018.AdvertisementThe Swiss are scrutinising earlier allegations that the trader, Christo...Read More

RAPAPORT... A blue diamond ring by Tiffany & Co. was the top sellerat Phillips' New York sale, leading the $5.4 million auction. The cut-cornered square modified brilliant-cut, 3.02-carat,fancy-intense-blue, VS2-clarity diamond ring fetched $1.6 million, against apresale estimate of $1.5 million to $2.5 million at Monday's New York Jewels sale. A fancy-color diamond and gold necklace feat...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Technology company Everledger and Alrosa have launched a WeChat e-commerce pilot that will give Chinese consumers a more transparent and secure mobile diamond buying experience.Consumers will now be able to check a diamond's full provenance -  including full transparency of origin, characteristics and ownership history - and unique certificate information. They will also...Read More

London-listed Petra Diamonds said on Thursday that its electricity use restrictions have been lifted by South Africa's State utility Eskom and its mines are operating at normal load levels.The company restarted its Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefontein mines in South Africa on Tuesday, but added that it was restricting power use in line with requirements by Eskom.AdvertisementRolling blackouts in...Read More

JOHANNESBURG – When South Africa’s State-owned utility announced record power cuts on Monday afternoon, Impala Platinum Holdings had two hours to hoist thousands of workers from 1 km deep shafts.The deepening crisis at debt-ridden Eskom Holdings shut down South Africa’s key mining industry for 24 hours, hitting gold and platinum producers that had been enjoying a renaissance on t...Read More

MOSCOW – Angola's major new Luaxe diamond deposit may start trial mining in mid-2020 and could produce one-million carats of diamonds worth $90-million in 2020, Russian diamond producer Alrosa said.Angola's state-controlled diamond miner Catoca and Alrosa found Luaxe's Luele pipe in 2013. Catoca has spent $200-million studying and developing it further and has said the pipe may t...Read More