Plans for a London Metal Exchange spot trading platform have sparked intense debate within the aluminium industry. But opponents and supporters don't necessarily fall into the camps that one might expect. For starters, a decision by the LME not to change its futures contract, establish a new green aluminium contract or set thresholds to define what constitutes low-carbon metal is proving key in st...Read More

Plans for a London Metal Exchange spot trading platform have sparked intense debate within the aluminium industry. But opponents and supporters don't necessarily fall into the camps that one might expect. For starters, a decision by the LME not to change its futures contract, establish a new green aluminium contract or set thresholds to define what constitutes low-carbon metal is proving key in st...Read More

London Metal Exchange copper futures fell toward the 5pm close on Thursday August 13, failing to stabilize above the level of $6,400 per tonne.The LME's 3-month copper price closed at $6,256 per tonne, down by $176 per tonne from Wednesday's close, to the lowest since last Friday.Tumbling three-month prices have exacerbated a backwardation in the nearby forward curve. The cash/three-month spread w...Read More

Prices for mid-grades of iron ore went down on Thursday August 13 with the expectation of an easing of the cargo congestion at ports in China, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.38 per tonne, down by $0.13 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $120.55 per tonne, down by $0.45 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US domestic prices for hot-rolled coil moved down in line with our expectations, averaging $461 per ton in July versus our forecast price of $460 per ton. Although domestic HRC prices slipped to less than $450 per ton in late July/early August, we maintain the view th...Read More

Sentiment improving after relatively good trading in July-August. Shortages supporting prices. Fewer dealers active in the market. Suppliers with the right goods that meet selective demand gaining market share. Manufacturers considering higher rough purchases as they assess 4Q inventory requirements. Rough buying limited due to travel restrictions and inflated De Beers and Alrosa prices. Alrosa Ju...Read More

RAPAPORT... Fana, a New York-based bridal and fine-jewelry brand, has appointed three senior staff members to shore up its sales operations and interactions with retail partners.Shelby Sterrett, who joined the company in February, will lead sales development for the west region, which covers Colorado and all other west-coast states, the company said last week. Steve Rumanoff will hold the sam...Read More

RAPAPORT... Dutch bank ABN Amro will close its Hong Kong diamond business in a major trimming of its global operations.The company is shutting the branch from which it lends to the local polished market, as part of a retreat from all trade-finance activities outside northwest Europe, a company spokesperson told Rapaport News Thursday. The decision leaves ABN Amro with just its Belgium office...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Canadian miner Lucara reported a Q2 loss of ?, ?13.9m, after choosing not to sell any of its larger stones.Last year it made a 0.7m profit in the same quarter.During Q2 2020 it sold smaller stones from its Karoe mine (pictured), in Botswana, at a single tender in Antwerp and through its digital sales platform Clara - five sales of stones between one and 10 carats - generating a...Read More

RAPAPORT... Ask a De Beers or Alrosa contract client about the biggest problems with the miners' age-old systems for selling rough, and the answer will probably include a comment on prices. High rough prices relative to polished have squeezed diamond manufacturers' profit margins for years. But there's a more complex issue behind the complaints: the lack of customization.The two mining giants...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A Chinese billionaire living in the USA has ordered the world's most expensive COVID-19 face mask - costing $1.5m.Teams of jewelers are working in shifts to set 3,608 natural black and white diamonds (weighing 210 carats) into 270 grams of pure 18k gold.The anonymous customer from Shanghai is having the mask designed and made by Orna and Isaac Levy, owners of the Yvel luxury j...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Canadian miner Star Diamond claims Rio Tinto, senior partner in a joint exploration project, may be to blame for damage to some sample stones.The two companies are already tangled in a legal row over terms of another venture.  Star Diamond accuses Rio Tinto of "bad faith predatory practices", gross overspending on exploration costs at the Star-Orion South project in Saskatchew...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The desire for diamonds is as strong as ever says De Beers boss Bruce Cleaver.He was launching the company's latest Global Sentiment Report, an assessment of consumer confidence in the wake of COVID-19.The report, based on 2,800 people in the USA, China and India, revealed that that sentiment was improving as consumers adjusted to the 'new normal' and were considerin...Read More

London Metal Exchange copper futures fell toward the 5pm close on Thursday August 13, failing to stabilize above the level of $6,400 per tonne.The LME's 3-month copper price closed at $6,256 per tonne, down by $176 per tonne from Wednesday's close, to the lowest since last Friday.Tumbling three-month prices have exacerbated a backwardation in the nearby forward curve. The cash/three-month spread w...Read More

The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market remained quiet on Thursday August 13, with mills preferring to wait for some movement in the domestic and export finished long steel sectors, sources told Fastmarkets. Steel mills in the country have booked a number of cargoes in recent weeks, with the latest transactions for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the US and Baltic Sea done at $285 per tonne cfr.There were s...Read More

Sentiment in the copper scrap market in the United States has turned gloomy, with some saying that the typical summer doldrums have set in and with generally high exchange prices making discounting necessary."[It's] a combination of still-reduced manufacturing output in the US, soft demand from Europe and a strong market value near $3 [per lb]," one consumer said. "The market has typically slid in...Read More

Several mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will join a meeting with the government next week to lobby for their right to continue selling copper concentrate overseas, Fastmarkets has learned. The meeting would take place in the DRC capital city of Kinshasa on August 20. "At least now the DRC government is willing to listen," a copper miner source said. Miners in the biggest...Read More

Aluminium producer Alcoa has reached an agreement with the workers' representatives for the San Cipri??n aluminium smelter in Spain to extend the deadline of the formal consultation period for collective dismissals to September 28, 2020, the company announced on Thursday August 13.The extension will include a process intended to evaluate a potential sale of the aluminium smelter to GFG Alliance, w...Read More

Aluminium producer Rusal said global primary aluminium demand was down 6.6% to 30.3 million tonnes in the first half of 2020, with Covid-19 lockdowns halting most economies globally throughout the period. Although it estimates there was a decrease in demand in most regions of the world, the producer sees room for a rebound in the second half of 2020, it said in its first-half earnings report publi...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has unveiled a package of sustainability proposals including new aluminium and steel scrap contracts, a spot trading platform and LMEpassport - a new digital register for physical metals data. The spot trading platform is focusing initially on aluminium but is open to other metals. The first stage of LMEpassport is targeting electronic certificates of analysis (CoAs) for...Read More