Domestic prices for heavy steel plate decreased across Europe in a slow market after Italian authorities enforced a country-wide travel ban, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 11. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Northern Europe was ?,?505-520 ($573-590) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?5 per tonne week on week from ?,?510-525 per tonne on...Read More
RAPAPORT... A challenging rough market in the first half of the year led to a decline in Alrosa's profit in 2019, despite a stronger fourth quarter.Profit fell 31% to RUB 62.7 billion ($874.6 million) for the year, as an oversupply of polished stones hampered rough demand, the miner said Tuesday. Revenue dropped 21% to RUB 238.2 billion ($3.32 billion). Diamond sales slid 23% to RUB 215.4 billion...Read More
RAPAPORT... Two additional industry events will not take place this month as fears of the coronavirus continue to escalate.Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America (MJSA) has postponed its Expo, while JA New York has canceled its upcoming show, both set to run in New York from March 15 to 17. Jewelers of America (JA) has not announced an alternative date for that event, but still expects...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales at Chow Tai Fook dropped 60% in Hong Kong and Macau and 42%in mainland China in the first two months of the year as stores shut for muchof the period."In response to the measures of local governments [to contain] the spread of [the] COVID-19 virus, the majority of our points of sale in mainland China were temporarily closed since late January 2020, and Hong Kong and Macau fr...Read More
RAPAPORT... When lab-grown diamonds first started to make noise in the consumer jewelry market, much of the marketing power driving them forward was about cutting through the confusion. Are they real? Why do they cost so much? Why should I buy them? Shoppers had questions, and the only way to make sales was to answer them clearly, concisely, repetitively and in unison. The messages have start...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will hold an exhibition and sale of pieces Parisian jewelry house Mellerio made for royals including Marie Antoinette.The exhibition, which will showcase some of the jeweler's most important commissions, is set to take place from March 28 to 31. It will feature 17 items made by the 407-year-old brand, which have been worn by Marie de Medici, former queen of France, as we...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Stargems and A.A. Rachminov are to pool their respective sourcing and marketing resources in a new joint venture.It will capitalize on Stargem's rough sourcing capabilities as an accredited DTC buyer and A.A. Rachminov's 80-year reputation for polishing, marketing and distribution.The stones will be sourced in South Africa and most of the manufacturing will be done...Read More
Diamond miners Gem Diamonds delivered solid operational results for the year ended December 31, which, together with the targeted gains of a business transformation programme and continued emphasis on cost controls, affirmed it as one of the lowest-cost producers in the industry, CEO Clifford Elphick said on Wednesday.The operational results were characterised by the achievement of all guided oper...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond workers are being laid off in the Indian cutting and polishing capital Surat because of coronavirus.Smaller factories have been hardest hit by the downturn in demand, and payments being trapped in its main markets of China and Hong Kong, according to a Times of India report.Ranmal Jilariya, president of Gujarat Diamond Workers' Union, told the paper he'd met 40 di...Read More
China's iron ore imports rose by 1.5% year on year to 176.84 million tonnes in January-February 2020 amid the Lunar New Year shutdown and coronavirus (2019-nCoV) spread, the country's General Administration for Customs said.Before the Chinese New Year holiday, iron ore demand from China is typically quite good because steel mills prefer to restock material while blast furnaces (BFs) continue to wo...Read More
LSE-listed Gem Diamonds has highlighted the recovery of a number of top-quality white, as well as one pink, diamond from its Letšeng mine, in Lesotho, between February 28 and March 3.Five white gem diamonds, weighing between 33 ct and 114 ct, were recovered, along with a 13 ct pink gem diamond.AdvertisementEarlier in February, Gem had recovered an exceptional 183 ct white Type IIa diamond f...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa's total rough and polished sales for February dropped 14 per cent to $346.6m, the company announced today.The Russian mining giant said coronavirus had reduced diamond demand and was likely to do so in the coming months. Sales in January totaled $405.0mAlrosa yesterday blamed weak demand for a 21 per cent drop in revenue and a 31 per cent slump in net profit for 2019 wh...Read More
Turkish steel mills remained inactive in the deep-sea scrap import markets on Wednesday March 11 because of firm prices and weak billet and rebar markets, sources said.Although there have been no new bookings so far this month, suppliers have kept their offers largely stable.Offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the United States remained at $280 per tonne cfr, while offers for similar material increase...Read More
Japanese export ferrous scrap prices have declined for a second consecutive week with a stronger yen making material from the East Asian country less attractive, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 11.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap H2 export, fob main port Japan, settled at ?22,500-23,000 ($215-220) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?500-800 per tonne week on week from ?23,...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices retreated on Wednesday March 11, with fresh concerns about weather-related disruptions to Australian supplies adding to worries over deliveries from Brazil.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.05 per tonne, down $2.04 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.09 per tonne, down $2.31 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices were relatively stable on Wednesday March 11, with market participants focused on possible weather-related disruptions to supply and the state of demand from China.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $158.22 per tonne, up $0.93 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $165.67 per tonne, down $0.99 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DB...Read More
Join Fastmarkets' free webinar on how the steel supply chain in Asia has responded to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, and what the next moves could be for the steel industry and its upstream raw materials. Register here for the webinar.Date Wednesday April 8 Time 9:30-10:30am (London time) Topics The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on China's and Asia's steel industry as w...Read More
The Shanghai grade-A copper premium increased in the week to Tuesday March 10 on improved arbitrage opportunities following a sharp drop in London Metal Exchange copper earlier in the week, while markets participants in Europe and the US struggle against robust copper cathode availability.Shanghai market participants capitalize on import arbitrage opportunitiesLME warrant availability hampers dip-...Read More
LME three-month base metals prices were broadly trading down in the morning session on Wednesday March 11 while the complex oscillates between positive news from China and more precautionary economic measures taken in other regions to quell the impact of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). In the United Kingdom, the Bank of England cut interest rates by 0.5% to its lowest-ever rate of 0.25% - ...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices gained strength on Wednesday March 11 amid improved sentiment generated by government measures encouraging businesses to return to work.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,510-3,520 yuan ($505-506) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,340 yuan per tonne, up 30-50 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said trading activity picked up on...Read More