The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange climbed by 1.4% at the close of trading on Wednesday July 31, shaking off downward momentum emanating from an expected US Federal Reserve interest rate cut and subsequent dollar incline. Nickel futures closed at $14,490 per tonne on Wednesday, climbing from an intraday low of $14,255 per tonne while just over 7,000 lots of metal traded over...Read More

Dramatic inflows of lead stock into London Metal Exchange warehouses this week have challenged the market notion of physical tightness following a suspension at Nyrstar's Port Pirie smelter, which has been cited as the key driver of a recent surge in the lead price. Total LME lead stock soared to 79,050 tonnes as of Wednesday July 31, up 42.5% from Monday's 55,475 tonnes. There were significant de...Read More

Chinese buying activity appears to be supporting prices for premium low-vol hard coking coal despite a bearish outlook for the market among Indian buyers who pointed to ample supply and a subdued steel market in the South Asian country.A September-loading cargo of premium low-vol product was at $182.50 per tonne cfr China, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 31.Another cargo of the same pro...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and its sisterorganization, the American Gem Society (AGS), have established a scholarship inhonor of the contributions made by Beatrice Shipley. Shipley, the wife of GIA and AGS founder Robert Shipley,provided the emotional, financial and managerial support that enabled bothinstitutes to be created, the GIA said Tuesday. The Beatrice Shi...Read More

RAPAPORT... Yury Okoemov, one of Alrosa's deputy CEOs and head of its diamond-cutting division, is leaving the Russian miner, the company said Tuesday. Okoemov has been with the Alrosa since 1993. After his departure, employees of the cutting business will report directly toSergey Ivanov, Alrosa's CEO. Meanwhile, Alexander Matveev, a 10-year veteran and the headof Alrosa's legal department,...Read More

RAPAPORT... Pandora's US division will have new roles to fill, astwo senior executives leave the company. Laurie McDonald will exit the Danish jeweler after 15 years,the last three spent as the general manager of Pandora US, while JohnDePasquale, US vice president of wholesale sales, will depart after six yearsat the company. "[McDonald] has decided to leave the company to begin a newchapter...Read More

Petra Diamonds commented on the release of its share price performance for the financial year  of 2019, saying it delivered "solid set of operational results for 2019," with improved safety, a production of 3.87 million carats - in line with guidance - and lower capital expenditure of $81.7 million, down from US$129.6 million in 2018 Petra generated $17 million of free cashflow in the second...Read More

Diamond miner Petra Diamonds’ share price on the LSE rose more than 25% on Tuesday after CEO Richard Duffy assured shareholders that it would not need to raise further equity to refinance its bond.The company’s share price had fallen since it published a trading update for the 2019 financial year and guidance for the 2020 financial year.Advertisement“We are executing our plans an...Read More

RAPAPORT... UK-based synthetic-diamond-jewelry retailer Lark & Berryhas hired Paul Ziff as its brand manager for North America. Ziff was previously a brand president at both Richemont andLVMH, and has held executive positions at Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewelry,Zenith Watches, and Ferragamo Timepieces. He will be responsible for helping tolaunch Lark & Berry's products in the North Amer...Read More

Two veteran members of Alrosa's Executive Committee will be leaving Alrosa: Deputy CEO Yury Okoemov and Alexander Matveev, the head of Alrosa's legal department. The miner also announced two new appointments. Sergey Imangulov was appointed the company's chief ore enrichment specialist, and Alla Popova will take up the position of director of Alrosa's personnel training center....Read More

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is offering $2 million in scholarships for aspiring or current gem and jewelry professionals interested in GIA gemology, jewelry manufacturing arts, distance education courses and lab classes in 2020. The scholarships are available for on-campus and distance education programs and are open to U.S. and international prospective students. Applications will...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies expects to report a loss for the second quarter, ascontinued market uncertainties led to lower demand for its diamond-manufacturing equipment. The net loss will be approximately $1 million, the companycautioned earlier this month, compared with a profit of $4.1 million for the same periodlast year. Sarine also predicted revenue of approximately $11.5 million, a...Read More

RAPAPORT... Two companies dealing in pre-owned luxury jewelry and watches have merged, aiming to tap into what they claim is a $1 trillion market. Circa and Mondiamo will continue to operate under two separate names and logos, but will combine their resources, they said Monday."We are miners - we mine above ground," said OrenSchneider, CEO of Mondiamo parent company Adama Partners, which will...Read More

The US nickel briquette premium narrowed in the week to Tuesday July 30 with the material no longer being offered or traded at lower premium levels, while the nickel premium markets in China and Europe were quiet on a lack of import incentive and summer slowdowns respectively. US briquette premium narrows with business concluded at higher levels despite seasonal lull  Chinese premiums flat wh...Read More

Sales at Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) dropped by 12.1% in the second quarter from a year earlier because of weakness in markets both at home and abroad, it said.Its sales volumes totaled 1.16 million tonnes in April-June, down from 1.32 million tonnes in the second quarter of last year, it said in its earnings report on Tuesday July 30. The faltering Brazilian economy...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 31 that are worth another look.A fundamental industry that has always been a primary facilitator of global trade, shipping aims to be at the forefront of digital technology. This report explores initiatives at the Dutch Port of Rotterdam - Europe's largest port by cargo tonnage - and how those connect with global tra...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday July 31.Please click...Read More

Premiums for tin ingot in the United States edged lower this week, primarily due to a lack of fundamental support in the domestic market, while a declining London Metal Exchange tin price further exacerbated business conditions, but did little to budge European and Asian premiums. US premium falls for the first time in six weeks  Warrant availability stifles European physical market  As...Read More

Asian equities were weaker in the morning of Wednesday July 31 on uncertainty on the progress in US/China trade negotiations, although base metals, which have focused more on brighter Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data, rose by an average of 0.4%. China's manufacturing PMI increased to 49.7 in July, from 49.4 in June. It is a busy day ahead for other economic data whi...Read More

A summary of Nornickel's production results for the first half of 2019In brief Nornickel increased production across all base metals, particularly copper, and platinum-group metals in the first half of 2019. Refined nickel output fell 4% in the second quarter of 2019 from the first quarter to 54,000 tonnes, which reflects scheduled maintenance at the...Read More