Against a backdrop of poor economic growth, especially in Germany and China, and in the absence of fresh news, markets seem to be content to consolidate this morning, Tuesday July 23.This is especially so ahead of the release of flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data on Wednesday and the European Central Bank (ECB) rate decision on Thursday. Metals consolidate after recent price...Read More

Prices paid for flat steel imports into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were stable this week, with demand remaining weak amid the seasonal summer lull.Buying may improve if prices fall by about $25 per tonne, but such a fall is unlikely any time soon, one market participant said.UAE Offers for hot-rolled coil imports from China to the UAE came in at $500-510 per tonne cfr, but no major...Read More

Prices for imported rebar in the United Arab Emirates increased this week in response to domestic price hikes, but billet import values declined in line with the global market, sources said on Tuesday July 23.The higher price for rebar imports was driven by local producers in the UAE increasing their prices last week.But weakening billet prices globally, sent billet import pric...Read More

The location of the Triple R deposit on the rim of the Athabasca Basin. (Image: Fission Uranium)SASKATCHEWAN - Fission Uranium of Kelowna, B.C., is looking at an underground only option for mining its Patterson Lake South property on the southwest edge of the Athabasca Basin. Potential benefits of such a plan include low operating costs, lower capex and reduced construction time - all of which add...Read More

In the process of standardizing the names of its prices, Fastmarkets has found that the delivery destination was displayed incorrectly in the name of its Russian domestic steel prices. In Fastmarkets' price names for steel cold-rolled sheet, hot-rolled sheet, plate and rebar in the Russian domestic market, the delivery destination had been listed as Russia. The correct destination, as properly dis...Read More

Rebar prices in Russia's major steel-consuming region, the Central Federal District, edged down over the past week, with supplies to the market continuing to increase since Tula Steel's entry into the rebar market earlier this year.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia, including 20% VAT, was 41,000-41,500 rubles ($650-658) per tonne cp...Read More

Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil were mostly unchanged in the week to Tuesday July 23, with production cuts imposed on steelmakers in China limiting the impact of declining demand. Prices are likely to stagnate at current levels for now in the absence of any new developments, a trader in Tianjin said.Cold-rolled coilFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for...Read More

RAPAPORT... Tango Mining sold a 19.87-carat rough diamond for $4,358 percarat, one of a number of high-value stones up for tender from its Oena projectin South Africa. The miner sold 230 stones totaling 531.82 carats from itsMay 9 to July 7 production. It achieved anaverage price of $1,382 per carat for rough at the sale.  The company also sold a 49.6-carat diamond for $2,561 percarat, a...Read More

RAPAPORT... The French Association of Gemmology (AFG) will hold aconference in Paris on the state of the diamond industry, it said Monday.The 18th Paris Gemmological Rendez Vous - whichwill take place on September 9 - will cover topics including diamondmining, the current state of the market, colored diamonds, and the gemologicaland historical aspects of natural diamonds. Martin Rapaport, Cha...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a diamond weighing 123.5carats, its third white stone over 100 carats this year, and its second thismonth. It found the high-quality, type II stone at its Let??eng minein Lesotho on July 20, the company said Tuesday. The miner also unearthed a140-carat white diamond from the deposit on July 6, and a 161-carat stone inMarch. In total, the company has ret...Read More

RAPAPORT... Luk Fook's same-store sales decreased 10% year on year inthe first fiscal quarter amid an unfavorable comparison with last year and the impact of the US-Chinatariff war. Total same-store sales - at Luk Fook outlets open for morethan a year - in Hong Kong and Macau dropped 10% in the three months ending June 30. Same-store gold sales plunged 20%, while gem-set jewelry purchasesgrew...Read More

RAPAPORT... US retail sales rose in June, amid improved consumersentiment and a healthier economic outlook, according to the National RetailFederation (NRF). Total purchase value grew 2.3% year on year in June, withthe three-month moving average, which includes April, May and June sales, up3.7% over the same period a year ago. The moving average for the three monthsto May rose 3.3% over the y...Read More

RAPAPORT... Shares in Petra Diamonds slipped 6% in early trading Monday after the minerreported it would lower its production for fiscal 2020. The company expects to produce about 3.8 million carats inthe financial year ending June 2020, as opposed to 3.9 million caratsin fiscal 2019, it said Monday. While run-of-mine production is expected toremain flat, the decrease will come from lower pro...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices were rangebound on Tuesday July 23, while the ongoing environmental restrictions have limited iron ore demand.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.82 per tonne, down $0.51 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.74 per tonne, down $0.51 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low alumina...Read More

In an interview with IGTV, Stuart Brown, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Mountain Province Diamonds (MPD) said that "over the last five years we've probably seen too much supply of rough going into the market." Brown came to MNPD after a long career in the diamond mining industry. He spent most of his career with De Beers. De Beers is responsible for the mining side of the joint venture. In...Read More

In his first -ever blog, Ernest Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, argues that the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is slow because one of the most hot potatoes is ignored.The KPCS, he wrote,is one of the great accomplishments of the worldwide diamond community of the last two decades, as more than 99.5 percent of the diamonds produced fall under a certificati...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were steady to slightly lower on Tuesday July 23 amid a lack of offers in the spot market. Offers on premium category cargoes with a laycan date in August were around $173-174 per tonne fob Australia on the Global Coal platform, sources said. Buyer sources in China indicated that premium low-vol materials would still fetch a price of around $190 per tonne cfr Jingtang i...Read More

BlueRock Diamonds PLC, a diamond miner listed BlueRock Diamonds plc, listed on the AIM in London, reported it had sold a 12.2 carat diamond for $105,000. The price per carat realized stood at $8,584. BlueRock Diamonds owns and operates the Kareevlei Diamond Mine in the Kimberley region of South Africa. Blue Rock said that this diamond is the second most valuable diamond the firm had recovered to d...Read More

China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were unchanged on Tuesday July 23, with the opposing factors of production curbs and relatively weak demand cancelling out each other.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,900 yuan ($564-567) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,850-3,860 yuan per tonne, unchangedSpot prices were stable across the country amid moderate trading.Buyers comprised...Read More

Bad weather is weighing on domestic rebar demand in China, but prices were unchanged on Tuesday July 23 with the strength in the futures market being sustained.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,970-4,000 yuan ($577-581) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,900-3,930 yuan per tonne, unchangedVarious parts of northern and southeastern China were inundated with heavy rain in the last co...Read More