China's domestic and export prices for stainless steel dropped over the past week due to a delayed resumption of downstream industries.Some stainless steel mills have resorted to cutting production due to the weak demand after an extended Chinese New Year break as a result of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China, but market inventory levels continued to rise gradually. This weighs o...Read More
Spot prices for steel reinforcing bar in the United States have softened on reports of lower transaction prices while market sentiment has shifted into more neutral territory, Fastmarkets has learned. Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US at $30.50-31.50 per hundredweight ($610-630 per short ton) on Wednesday March 4, down by 1.6% from $31-32 per cwt in the...Read More
The recent weakening of the Brazilian currency, the Real, and more expensive Chinese steel have made room for further price increases in the South American country's domestic market, producer Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) said on Thursday March 5.Longer-term contracts with carmakers and other industrial clients also required revision, commercial director Luis Martinez said during the compa...Read More
Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest will increase its hot-rolled coil output once it finishes testing a new rolling line at its Ilyich Iron & Steel Works at Mariupol, chief executive officer Yuriy Ryzhenkov told Fastmarkets this week. "Currently, we produce 4,500-4,800 tonnes of HRC per day [on the] new rolling line. Once we finish testing, we will increase production to 7,500-8,000 tonnes pe...Read More
Sharp decline in diamond trading amid fears coronavirus will lead to global slowdown. Midstream inventory losing value as manufacturers consider deeper discounts to raise liquidity. Polished prices falling due to China shutdown, with 1 ct. RAPI -1.6% in Feb. De Beers allows deferral of Chinese goods as sales -28% to $355M at Feb. sight. De Beers to customize sightholder supply for dealers, manufac...Read More
Liquidity tight as companies prepare accounts ahead of March 31 financial year-end. Coronavirus affecting cash flow, with Chinese clients delaying payments or returning unsold goods. Travel restrictions reducing presence of foreign buyers in Mumbai. Strict customs controls and volatile rupee (-2.6% since February 1 to INR 73.4 / $1) creating challenges for cross-border trade. Steady supply of new...Read More
The Turkish long steel export markets have been almost silent over the past week with limited demand in the major outlets, sources said on Thursday March 5.The steel mills in Turkey offered rebar for export at $435-445 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis, while bids for material were heard around $430 per tonne.There were no significant export sales heard.The Turkish market was slow because ma...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has canceled next week's career event in New York due to the coronavirus.The GIA Jewelry Career Fair was due to take place on March 13. It targets job seekers in the greater New York City area, and is open to the public. The organization plans to find a new date for the event. "We believe this is in the best interest of all participants'...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany and Co. veteran Victoria Wirth Reynolds will become the company's first female chief gemologist, it said Tuesday. Reynold joined Tiffany in 1987, working in the custom-design department before moving to the diamond office, where she worked as a grader. She held a variety of other positions, before being promoted to vice president of global merchandising for high jewel...Read More
Turkish steel billet import prices have decreased over the past week while demand has been low, sources said on Thursday March 5.The Turkish market was slow because market participants wanted to see the outcome of a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on March 5.This meeting comes after at least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed on Fe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Reforms to Angola's diamond industry have boosted the country's tax revenue by 42% over the past two years, according to national diamond-trading company Sodiam.While the previous method required all miners to sell rough to only eight "preferred customers" chosen by the government, the new policy instituted in 2018 enables them to sell to a wider range of buyers. This eliminated t...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora is embarking on a major streamlining process aimed at speeding up its ability to act on customer feedback, the jeweler said Wednesday.The Danish company will close its three regional offices - management centers that oversee stores in specific parts of the world - to eliminate a layer between upper management and customers, it noted. It will cut 180 workers as a result."[T...Read More
(IDEX Online) - More than 500,000 diamond workers are threatening strike action in Surat, India, to demand an end to "unfair" taxation.They're planning three days of walkouts and closures from 15 March in the world's cutting and polishing capital, according to the Times of India.Last year 13,000 diamond workers in the city were laid off because of weak market conditions.The Surat R...Read More
Diamond miner De Beers earned $355-million from the sale of rough diamonds in its second sales cycle of this year.CEO Bruce Cleaver on Wednesday noted that, in response to improved demand for rough diamonds during the first sales cycle, the company, recognised the impact of the Covid-19, or coronavirus, outbreak on customers focused on supplying the Chinese market and put in place additional targe...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Danish jewelry retailer Pandora is to axe 180 office jobs, in a bid to reduce "organisational complexity".The company, which has 22,000 employees, started as a family-run shop in Copenhagen, and is known for its customizable charm bracelets, designer rings and necklaces.It says it will close its three regional offices in April, in a move that will cost $30m, to streamline its g...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Angola's diamond trading reforms have seen a steep rise in revenue, with 120 companies now eligible to buy stock that was previously available to just eight "preferential customers".Sodiam, the state-owned diamond company, says gross revenue has averaged an 8.5 per cent increase since the new trading policy was introduced in 2018. Total gross revenue for 2019 was $1.29 billion...Read More
(IDEX Online ) - Alrosa has launched a website for its new Luminous Diamond brand, as it seeks a new market for the lower-value fluorescent stones.The Russian state-owned diamond mining company says the first jewelry pieces will be available for sale later this year, although no date has been fixed.It describes them on its website as having "inner light".Fluorescent diamonds lose 15 to 35 per cent...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
Iron ore prices and volumes for Brazil-origin material have been affected by heavy rainfall in the first quarter of 2020, according to iron ore and steel producer Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN).The company has seen lower volumes of iron ore sales from its operations in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state because of poor weather in the region. It expects operations to be back to no...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices dropped on Thursday March 5, with a premium mid-volatility cargo fetching a price lower than some market participants' expectations because of concerns about the weather in Queensland, Australia.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $159.64, down $3.11 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $174.23, down $1.63 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DB...Read More