The benchmark London Metal Exchange cash/three-month spread is once more trading in a contango of around $20 per tonne on Tuesday October 22 following a period of deep and sustained backwardation up until yesterday when the spread was in a $108 per tonne backwardation. The LME cash/three-month nickel spread has traded in an intermittent backwardation since January 2019. It slipped into a $39 per t...Read More

Turkish steel producers remained silent in the deep-sea scrap markets for the second consecutive day, while offers for scrap stayed firm, sources said on Tuesday October 22.Steel mills have been largely active in the deep-sea markets in previous weeks, booking material for November deliveries. Turkish steelmakers have booked 16 deep-sea cargoes since the start of the month, totaling...Read More

Import prices for steel billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates increased over the past week, with domestic rebar prices remaining stable, market sources said on Tuesday October 22.Domestic prices for rebar for the month were announced by the country's producers on October 21. Both Emirates Steel and Conares Steel kept their prices unchanged.Billet importsBillet bookings were made from Oman a...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 22 that are worth another look.Anglo American has raised the 2019 iron ore production guidance for its Minas Rio operations in Brazil while maintaining the one for its Kumba operations in South Africa.Europe's largest copper producer, Aurubis, has announced its annual copper cathode premium for 2020 at $96 per tonne, unc...Read More

Trade unions representing workers for Chile's state-run miner Codelco have called on their members to mobilize in support of protests against the government.Union No1 for Codelco's Chuquicamata has joined Sindicato No1 for BHP's Escondida in backing protestors, whose opposition to inequality in the country has escalated into alleged looting and arson, and to violent confrontations with the militar...Read More

What are your favorite myths about silver and gold? by Matt from Silver Fortune via Silver FortuneWhat are your favorite myths about silver and gold? Read More

The benchmark London Metal Exchange cash/three-month spread is once more trading in a contango of around $20 per tonne on Tuesday October 22 following a period of deep and sustained backwardation up until yesterday when the spread was in a $108 per tonne backwardation. The LME cash/three-month nickel spread has traded in an intermittent backwardation since January 2019. It slipped into a $39 per t...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices increased on Tuesday October 22 after Vale lowered its sales expectation, while the spread between 65% and 62% Fe indices continued to widen.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.68 per tonne, up $1.28 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.33 per tonne, up $1.28 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $85.27 per tonne, up $1.0...Read More

A wide spread of offers emerged in the seaborne coking coal market on Tuesday October 22, though these did not translate into transactions.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $152.40 per tonne, up $0.63 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $164.70 per tonne, down $0.06 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $129.92 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $1...Read More

RAPAPORT... The US jewelry trade contracted in the third quarter, withthe rate of downsizing gaining speed after a slowdown over the past few months,data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) revealed. In the three months ending September 30, 286 jewelrybusinesses exited the market, a 27% jump versus the same period a year ago.Retailers constituted 229 of those - 19% more than last year, whi...Read More

Some flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia fell this week on limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 22.Buyers were reluctant to book large tonnages because of the falling prices as well as the weak end-user demand, they said.UAEOffer prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) from China were heard in the UAE at $440-445 per tonne cfr this week, with offer...Read More

RAPAPORT... DeBeers' production dropped in the third quarter as the miner responded to a declinein rough demand that has left it with an inflated stockpile of diamonds. Outputfell 14% to 7.4 million carats for the period amid planned mine closures andthe transition from open-pit to underground mining at its Venetia project inSouth Africa, parent company Anglo American said Tuesday. "We continue to...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa's sales fellin the third quarter amid a drop in the average price as the miner sold alarger proportion of small stones, it reported Thursday.Sales decreased 37% to $611 million for the three months ending September 30, asproceeds from both rough and polished diamonds declined. Rough sales slipped37% to $601 million, while the average price for gem-quality diamonds slid 32%to $13...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute ofAmerica (GIA) has committed $1.3 million to deploying its free gemology guidefor artisanal miners across multiple countries in Africa. The kit will be available to 10,000 miners over four years inMadagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia, GIApresident and CEO Susan Jacques said Tuesday. It follows a successful pilot project in Tanzania, which the institute comm...Read More

RAPAPORT... Belgium's diamond trade slowed in September, continuing adownward trend for the year. A 25% decline in polished exports reflected lowervolumes and a fall in the average price.  Read More

(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds announced a 23-percent drop in revenue to $61.6 million in Q1 2020 compared to $80.2 million in the same quarter of 2019. By volume, the number of carats fell from 626,541 to 603,626. The company said the drop in revenue resulted from lower diamond prices and volumes and a poorer product mix at Finsch, Williamson and Koffiefontein.Production increased 1 percent...Read More

Trade unions representing workers for Chile's state-run miner Codelco have called on their members to mobilize in support of protests against the government.Union No1 for Codelco's Chuquicamata has joined Sindicato No1 for BHP's Escondida in backing protestors, whose opposition to inequality in the country has escalated into alleged looting and arson, and to violent confrontations with the militar...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Diamcor Mining sold over 4,000 carats at its first Q3 tender and sale. With proceeds totaling $424,072.44, sales resulted in an average price of $105.15 per carat. Diamcor has been processing historical tailings and stockpiled materials at the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project, which led to an expected lower average price per carat. The company said price weaknesses in certain c...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Anglo American today (Tuesday) announced that De Beers' Q3 production dropped 14 percent to 7.4 million carats compared to Q3 2018 (8.7 million carats). The company said the lower figures were expected with the Victor mine in Canada coming to the end of its life and the transition of Venetia in South Africa to underground production. Year-to-date, De Beers' diamond p...Read More

London-listed Petra Diamonds is on track to achieve its full year production target of about 3.8-million carats, despite a challenging diamond market.CE Richard Duffy on Monday stated that the company’s cashflow would benefit from the sale of an exceptional 20.08 ct Type II blue diamond recently recovered from its mine in Cullinan, South Africa, and implementation of the company’s Proj...Read More