Seaborne iron ore prices remained on a downward trend on Thursday September 17 amid weaker market sentiment, trade sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $122.36 per tonne, down $1.84 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $122.59 per tonne, down $1.81 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $112.28 per tonne, down $2.22 per tonne...Read More

The takeaways from the latest edition of the Steel Raw Materials Market Tracker are ready to view.Iron ore prices remained relatively stable last week, signalling an end to the price spike. And for the first time since March, at the time of the Covid-19 lock-down in Hubei, we have seen a consistent downturn in utilization rates in China. Blast furnace utilization rates dropped for a fifth consecut...Read More

Turkish domestic long steel prices have gone down slightly amid weak demand, sources said on Thursday September 17.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Turkey, was 4,000-4,010 lira ($533-535) per tonne on Thursday, down from the 4,050-4,080 lira per tonne of last week, including 18% VAT.Read More

Rising expectations for holiday season. Deloitte predicts 1.5% growth in US retail sales, driven by 25%-35% spike in e-commerce. Jewelers with strong online and social media presence doing well; others struggling. Trading momentum slowed since reopening, with dealers cautious as global Covid-19 cases increase. 5 ct., D, IF strong due to scarcity, fewer suppliers, and demand from wealthy consumers....Read More

Turkish export prices for steel rebar have remained fairly stable over the past week, while wire rod export prices have increased in line with the recent upturn in scrap costs, sources said on Thursday September 17.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was $455-465 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged week-on-week.The mills in the country...Read More

RAPAPORT... Diamond bourses in Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a cooperation deal following the recent peace accord between the two Middle East countries.The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) will open a representative office in Dubai, while the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) will establish an office Ramat Gan, the organizations said Thursday following a virtual cerem...Read More

RAPAPORT... The decline in Swiss watch exports continued to ease slightly in August, as orders from China rose.Total shipments fell 12% year on year to CHF 1.34 billion ($1.48 billion), the sixth consecutive monthly decline.However, the decrease was softer than July's 17% drop, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported Thursday."While the trend in Swiss watch exports is still down, the i...Read More

RAPAPORT... LVMH has asked a court to delay Tiffany & Co.'s lawsuit against the luxury group, prompting the US jeweler to renew its allegations of foul play by its would-be acquirer. Tiffany had petitioned the Delaware Chancery Court to fast-track the trial to enable the parties to close by the upcoming transaction deadline, the New York-based retailer said Wednesday. But LVMH later filed...Read More

RAPAPORT... Dominion Diamond Mines has sold its Ekati mine in Canada to affiliates of its owner, the Washington Companies, for $126 million amid struggles with mounting debt.The offer came from Canadian Diamond Holdings and CA Canadian Diamond Mines, which initiated the original stalking-horse bid, a bottom-floor amount that sets a certain financial expectation that must be met. No other qualified...Read More

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has written to the US Trade Representative (USTR), expressing concern about China's "overly-strict product standards, challenging licensing requirements and non-transparent quota issuances."ISRI sent a letter to USTR for inclusion in the annual China World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance report, criticizing the lack of transparency around Chin...Read More

RAPAPORT... US retail sales rose in August for the fourth consecutive month, though the rate of growth slowed from July, government data showed.Overall retail sales increased 2.6% compared to the same period last year, and 0.6% from the previous month, according to figures the US Census Bureau released Wednesday. That followed a 0.9% month-on-month and 10% year-on-year increase in July. The termin...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Israel and Dubai diamond exchanges today signed an historic agreement to collaborate, following normalization of relations between the two countries earlier this week.The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) will open an office in Ramat Gan as part of the agreement, and The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) will open a representative office in Dubai, UAE.Both sides will share expe...Read More

Some brass scrap prices in the United States rose in the week to Wednesday September 16 due to increased demand; meanwhile, certain copper scrap discounts tightened marginally even as the Comex copper price stayed above the $3-per-lb mark.Material flows have improved, and buyers can acquire copper scrap units without difficulty, sources said."Demand has been consistent for the last four weeks," a...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Diamond tech firm Sarine has joined forces with the National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC) in China to offer "light performance" grading reports.They go beyond the 4Cs and measure brilliance, sparkle, fire and light symmetry, on a scale for inimum to exceptional, resulting in an overall light performance grade. The collaboration combines Sarine's development in AI-based...Read More

RAPAPORT... It's not often a newcomer sweeps in to buy the largest diamond available on the market. Such deals are usually reserved for high-end jewelers such as Graff, Moussaieff, Harry Winston, or even large-scale retailers like Chow Tai Fook or Tiffany & Co.But the sale of the 1,758-carat Sewel?? in January by Lucara Diamond Corp. raised eyebrows for the two entities that scooped the a...Read More

A summary of Australian-Chinese miner MMG's production results for the first half year ended June 30, 2020, as well as its full-year production guidance. In brief  MMG's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) was $383.6 million in the first half this year, a drop of 41% from the corresponding period in 2019 due to lower commodity prices and sales volumes resul...Read More

Wanbao Mining's Pumpi copper and cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produced its first batch of copper cathode on Sunday September 13, the company said.The Pumpi copper and cobalt project aims to produce 40,000 tonnes per year of copper and 5,000 tpy of cobalt, Wanbao Mining said. "While [copper] production this year is estimated to be 6,000-10,000 tonnes due to the dela...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively lower during morning trading on Thursday September 17, with selling pressure emerging after the US Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low on Wednesday, but offered little in the way of further fiscal stimulus. As a result, the US dollar index breached the 93 mark while both the LME three-month nickel and zinc...Read More

The nickel briquette premium in the United States declined further to uncharted depths this week, having fallen last week to its lowest point since Fastmarkets started tracking it two-and-a-half years ago.At its launch on March 13, 2018, Fastmarkets' assessment of the nickel briquette premium, delivered Midwest US was at 28-35 cents per lb - or 31.5 cents per lb at the midpoint.Fastmarkets' latest...Read More

Buyer interest in imported flat-rolled steel remains muted, but some sources said they are at least eyeing import markets again following a steep rise in domestic steel prices in the United States.Hesitation about pulling the trigger on offshore orders stems from concerns that the US price gains - some domestic mills have announced price increases totaling at least $100 per ton in less t...Read More