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Interest rate cuts, introduced to stimulate global economies amid the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), have instead compounded market trepidation and are weighing heavily on London Metal Exchange base metals prices, which broadly closed down on Tuesday March 3. The United States Federal Reserve slashed its interest rate by 50 basis points to 0.5% on Tuesday, and while the uns...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Copper is a cornerstone of the EV revolution.At the heart of the electric vehicle, copper is used throughout because of its high electrical conductivity, durability and malleability. And even more is used in charging stations and in s...Read More

Marex Spectron has acquired non-ferrous scrap merchants Tangent Trading, making a foray into physical metal markets for the first time.Marex, which did not disclose the deal's value, is a ring dealer and broker on the London Metal Exchange and holds...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.As we look to 2020, copper is faced with a finely balanced market. For now, positive investor sentiment around copper’s fundamentals is supporting higher prices. Stronger demand growth is underpinned by new semis capacity, while...Read More

Prices in the CIS export market for rebar and wire rod slipped in the week to Monday March 2 on a lack of trading activity or supportive market factors.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $420-425 per tonne on March 2, narrowing downward by $20 per tonne week on week.Offers of Ukraine-origin rebar were reported within the range of $420-4...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Over 650 GW of new onshore and 130 GW of new offshore wind capacity will be installed between 2018 and 2028. This will consume in excess of 5.5Mt of copper, according to a recent analysis by Wood Mackenzie.Henry Salisbury, Wood Macken...Read More

The domestic price for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe was fairly stable day on day on Tuesday March 3, sources told Fastmarkets.But in the south of the region, Italian mills were targeting price increases which were likely to get support from a pickup in demand.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?484.53 ($537.97) per tonne on Tuesday, down...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.The U.S has increased tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods to 25%, from 10%, impacting a number of metals. Commentary below comes from the Wood Mackenzie metals team:Copper By Wood Mackenzie Senior Consultant, Yanting Zhou"Previous...Read More

The United States division of Russia-based steelmaker NLMK Group have filed a complaint this week with the US Court of International Trade, claiming wrongful denial of exemption for its imports of steel slab from the 25% tariff imposed under Section 232.NLMK USA, which comprises NLMK Indiana and NLMK Pennsylvania, has been requesting since March 2018 that Russia-origin slab be declared exempt from...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong fell for the 12th consecutive month in January amid a sharp downturn in tourism and an early Lunar New Year. Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts slid 42% year on year to HKD 4.92 billion ($632.2 million) during the month, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department reported last week. Sales acr...Read More

Chinese steel company Hebei Jingye Group will complete the acquisition of British Steel on Monday March 9, the UK steel trade union Community said on Tuesday March 3.The deal is expected to be done at ?50 million ($55.51 million), the union said."We look forward to working with Jingye as they bring forward the ?1.2...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.The most important driver of the zinc market in 2020 will be the performance of the world’s zinc smelting industry, according to Wood Mackenzie.The easing of trade tensions between the US and China, the struggling manufacturing...Read More

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RAPAPORT... Edward Asscher has retired as president of Royal Asscher, marking his 50th anniversary with the family-run jeweler. His daughter, Lita Asscher and son, Mike Asscher, will take his place as copresidents of the company.The fifth generation of his family to work at the company, Asscher joined the business in 1970, apprenticing with his father and uncle. In 1980 he became president, a...Read More

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RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished exports dropped 22% year on year in January, with volumes and average price both falling. Outbound shipments have declined for nine consecutive months, according to Rapaport archives based on data from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.However, rough imports showed their first monthly increase since December 2018, as post-holiday restocking was stronger than a ye...Read More

RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, March 3, 2020, Las Vegas... Diamond trading declined sharply in February due to economic uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus. Manufacturers and dealers are facing a severe liquidity crunch as sales to China and Hong Kong have stopped.Diamond prices dropped as a result of the slowdown, with the RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamonds down 1.6% in February. R...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Women's Jewelry Association (WJA) has launched a new consumer-marketing campaign aimed at empowering women to buy jewelry for themselves.March is Me Month will coincide with International Women's Day, which takes place on March 8, as well as Women's History Month. The goal of the campaign is to get women to buy themselves a piece of fine jewelry during the month, no matter the...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelry was among the best-performing categories at Macy's during the fourth fiscal quarter, even as overall sales declined at the department-store chain.Group revenue dropped 1.4% year on year to $8.34 billion in the three months ending February 1, while comparable-store sales - at owned and licensed shops open for at least a year - fell 0.5%, the retailer reported last week. How...Read More