Chinese re-rollers' interest in imported billet has waned in recent weeks following a surge in prices in the major global markets, sources told Fastmarkets.Global billet prices have picked up over the past month on soaring scrap prices and reduced availability in some markets, particularly the CIS. At the same time, the domestic billet price in China is largely stable, which has narrowed the gap b...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday November 5 that are worth another look.Most major aluminium producers agree that tackling the carbon intensity of the smelting process is one of the biggest challenges facing their industry.Chinese re-rollers' interest in imported billet has waned in recent weeks following a surge in prices in the major global markets, sources t...Read More

Discounts for nickel full plate cathodes in the Chinese import market flipped to premiums on Tuesday November 5 following a sudden opening of the import window over the week. "The intermittent opening of the import window this week was due to technical squeezing on China's future exchanges rather than supply tightness. [Nickel full plate cathodes are] normal premiums now," a Shanghai-based trader...Read More

Electric vehicle (EV) production growth in China has slowed over the second half of this year, dropping more quickly than the market expected, Houshan Bai, chairman of Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology Co, told delegates at a nickel and cobalt conference on Tuesday November 5. In the first six months, EV sales and production in China had been in a healthy upturn, but slower growth started to eme...Read More

Daniel Hisshion has joined Lewer Corp as business development manager, he confirmed to Fastmarkets.Lewer is an Australian privately owned company, established in 1972, which specializes in natural resources and in the sourcing, supply and distribution of materials such as gold,...Read More

Most major aluminium producers agree that tackling the carbon intensity of the smelting process is one of the biggest challenges facing their industry. What they cannot agree on is how to deal with the situation, as a lively panel hosted by Fastmarkets during LME Week at the end of October showed. Aluminium smelting is an energy-intensive business and the market is starting to differentiate b...Read More

Turkish exports of flat steel products declined by 21.8% year-on-year to 393,716 tonnes in September 2019, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).This compares with a volume of 503,524 tonnes in the corresponding period of 2018, the institute said.The reason for decrease in exports was the lackluster demand for Turkish flat steel...Read More

Hot-rolled coil import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have gone down this week on lower offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 5.Buyers were still reluctant to book large tonnages because of the falling prices as well as the weak end-user demand, they said.UAEOffer prices for HRC from China and Japan were heard in the UAE at $420-430 per tonne cfr this week, with...Read More

RAPAPORT... Shares in Pandora dropped 18% Tuesday after the Danish jeweler lowered its full-year revenue outlook. The retailer reduced its forecast to a decline of 7% to 9%,from its earlier range of -3% to -7%, despite efforts to reignite sales withits brand relaunch. The decrease was due to a deliberate reduction in promotions in an effort to strengthen its brand, as well asdisappointing res...Read More

Import prices for steel billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates have decreased over the past week, but domestic rebar prices remained stable, market sources said on Tuesday November 5.Demand for long steel was still moderate in the country, and buyers preferred to buy small quantities in order to avoid holding high stocks at the end of the year.Billet importsBillet was offered from Oman at ab...Read More

RAPAPORT... A fancy-vivid-blue diamond ring with a high estimate of $7.5million will go under the hammer at Christie's Magnificent Jewels auction inHong Kong later this month. The 3.24-carat piece, designed by Moussaieff, contains a square-emerald cut, 3.24-carat, internally flawless center stone surrounded by pink diamonds. Anotherprominent lot featured in the November 26 sale is a jadeite b...Read More

RAPAPORT... Couples are prioritizing personalization and overall costand quality rather than size when buying engagement rings, according to asurvey by wedding-planning resource The Knot. Some 45% of engagement rings contain custom-designedelements, the publication noted last week in a report based on a survey of over21,000 engaged or recently married couples. While diamonds were still the mostpop...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil exporters issue higher offers on Tuesday November 5 after a strengthening of the domestic market and amid the emergence of higher overseas bids.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,510-3,530 yuan ($499-502) per tonne, widening upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,520 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneBoth Shanghai-based and Tangshan-based traders told Fa...Read More

RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp. reported a loss at its Karowe mine inthe third quarter, amid increased operating expenses and a weak market forsmaller stones. The company recorded a net loss of $4 million for the periodending September 30, compared to a profit of $5.1 million during the sameperiod the year before. Operating expenses grew 9% as the miner switched to anew contractor, it noted....Read More

Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil firmed during the week to Tuesday November 5 as producers refused to lower their asking prices while they are able to obtain better prices domestically, sources told Fastmarkets.Market participants had expected export prices to fall further last month but such a decline failed to materialize due to the support from domestic...Read More

RAPAPORT... Polished-diamond imports to Hong Kong declined 24% in the third quarter, according to Rapaport calculations based on data from the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong, China. Polished imports fell 12% in the first nine months of the year, the official figures showed.  Hong Kong Trade Data for 3Q 2019Read More

RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, November5, 2019, Las Vegas ... Diamond trading improved in late October after variousJewish, Indian and Chinese holidays. Dealers are focused on filling holidayorders as US jewelers prepare inventory for the season. Shortages are supportingprices of nonfluorescent RapSpec A3+ goods. Polished prices stabilized in October.The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamon...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Lucara Diamond Corp. has announced that plans to expand its 100-percent owned Karowe diamond mine is expected to double the mine's life to 2040. The miner also said the expansion would also generate "significant revenue and cashflow." "Lucara is highly encouraged by the results of the Karowe Underground feasibility study, which has outlined a much larger economic opportun...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers has restated its estimation of global diamond-jewelry sales following a new study valuing the diamond content in jewelry purchases since the 2008 recession. The group also revised its production data to reflect lower output than previously believed, stemming from an overestimation of the artisanal mining sector. Global diamond jewelry demand rose 2.4% to $76 billion in 2018, d...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Prices rough diamonds dropped 6 percent in the third quarter, Gem Diamonds reported today (Tuesday). Clifford Elphick, Gem Diamonds' CEO said the drop resulted from price pressure on high-value diamonds from the Let?... ?eng mine and lower value ore mined in the previous quarter.During the quarter, which ended September 30, the miner recovered four diamonds weighing over 100 c...Read More