China's domestic rebar prices started retreating again on Thursday March 22 after holding steady for a day with traders eager to offload their materials.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,610-3,700 yuan ($570-585) per tonne, down 30-60 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,830-3,860 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonne Trading activity was low on Wednesday when traders kept their prices u...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The International Gemological Institute (IGI) has announced screenings to determine the origin of diamond inventory for manufacturers operating out of SEEPZ (Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone) in Mumbai in order to ensure only natural diamonds are part of merchandise offered to consumers.   IGI is the only full-fledged laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment for...Read More

Stainless steel prices in East Asia remained in a downward trend over the past week amid soft demand and a softening of the nickel market. Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed CRC was $2,170-2,250 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the week ended Wednesday March 21, narrowing downward by $10 per tonne from $2,170-2,260 per tonne cif a week earlier. Metal Bu...Read More

RAPAPORT...Blue Nile has appointed Katie Zimmerman as chiefmerchandising officer, a role that entails overseeing bridal and fashionjewelry. "Katie brings a unique eye and thoughtful analysis tomerchandising," said CEO Jason Goldberger, to whom Zimmerman will report. "Herskill set is critical to unlocking the sourcing, assortment and sales wins thatwill further Blue Nile's position as the industry...Read More

RAPAPORT... Carol Pennelli has been appointed president of US-basedluxury jeweler David Yurman, where she will be responsible for everything exceptdesign and creative functions, the company said Tuesday. Pennelli (pictured) has worked at David Yurman for 15 years, mostrecently as chief commercial officer. "Carol has been critical to our business's growth across allcommerce points, and ha...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures registered gains for the most part on Thursday March 22 except for SHFE nickel which closed slightly lower. SHFE lead gained 3%, zinc rose 1.6% and copper climbed close to 1%.The ferrous complex was weaker as iron ore saw a narrower rise of 1%. Coke edged up but coking coal fell close to 2%. Hot-rolled coil dipped almost 1% an...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures registered gains for the most part on Thursday March 22 except for SHFE nickel which closed slightly lower. SHFE lead gained 3%, zinc rose 1.6% and copper climbed close to 1%.The ferrous complex was weaker as iron ore saw a narrower rise of 1%. Coke edged up but coking coal fell close to 2%. Hot-rolled coil dipped almost 1% an...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures registered gains for the most part on Thursday March 22 except for SHFE nickel which closed slightly lower. SHFE lead gained 3%, zinc rose 1.6% and copper climbed close to 1%.The ferrous complex was weaker as iron ore saw a narrower rise of 1%. Coke edged up but coking coal fell close to 2%. Hot-rolled coil dipped almost 1% an...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 19 points in pre-opening trade. Investors are responding to reports that the U.S. government will impose tariffs against Chinese goods valued at $50 billion. U.S. equity index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the Weekly Jobless Claims report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was 225,000 versus 226,000 las...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa has launched a device that can identify both syntheticdiamonds and other imitations, the miner said Wednesday. The Alrosa Diamond Inspector analyzes individual stones, aswell as mounted jewelry, and can distinguish natural polished diamonds from treatedstones, synthetics, and simulants such as cubic zirconia and moissanite. "One of the main competitive advantages...is the use of...Read More

This week, the S&P 500 continued to decline with 3 days of losses. The index closed Thursday at its lowest yet of the week and fell 3.77% from this time last week. It is down 1.93% YTD and is 8.0% below its record close.The US Treasury puts the closing yield on the 10-year note at 2.83%.Here is a daily chart of the S&P 500. Today's selling puts the volume at its 50-day moving average.Here'...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – China's aluminium industry is likely to take a greater hit than the steel industry as a result of the US' recent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, said director and top economist at the Rushi Advanced Institute of Finance, Guan Qingyou.He made the statement as Chinese aluminium accounted for 16.6% of the US' aluminium import...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – China's aluminium industry is likely to take a greater hit than the steel industry as a result of the US' recent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, said director and top economist at the Rushi Advanced Institute of Finance, Guan Qingyou.He made the statement as Chinese aluminium accounted for 16.6% of the US' aluminium import...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – China's aluminium industry is likely to take a greater hit than the steel industry as a result of the US' recent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, said director and top economist at the Rushi Advanced Institute of Finance, Guan Qingyou.He made the statement as Chinese aluminium accounted for 16.6% of the US' aluminium import...Read More

Mantashe made a point of the senior management hunt this week in a statement."Aware that most senior management is in an acting capacity, we have prioritised to fill vacant positions in the department," he said."There is a great potential in the department, also the ability to overcome past and present challenges."We will, therefore, delve into all allegations of corruption and manipulation of pro...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will offer the historic Farnese Blue diamond atits Geneva sale in May, the first time it has been on the market. The pear-shaped, 6.16-carat, fancy dark grey-blue stone - originallygiven to Queen Elisabeth Farnese of Spain as a wedding gift following hermarriage to King Philip V in 1714 - has spent 300 years in the private collection of Europe'sroyal families. The diamond wil...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – As LME inventories of nickel is likely to grow, we see limited upward room for prices of LME nickel even as the US dollar weakens. Investors are more likely to take long positions on copper or zinc that saw larger drops.LME nickel inventory rose 0.9% to 325,800 mt, and cancelled warrants dipped 7.1% on Wednesday March 21. This indicated that the d...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – SHFE zinc is likely to stay rangebound at lows with strong upward resistance in the short term, given high inventories and a slow recovery of consumption, SMM expects.The 1805 contract fell below the 24,500 yuan/mt level at the end of the day on Wednesday March 21. Overall momentum was weak as inventories were high. Despite production cuts from ma...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Spot copper in the Shanghai market was offered at a discount of 190-140 yuan/mt on the morning of Thursday March 22, SMM learned.This compared with discounts of 210-160 yuan/mt on the morning of Wednesday March 21. For editorial queries, please contact Daisy Tseng at daisy@smm.cn For more information on how to access our research reports, please email service...Read More

The auto industry is becoming increasingly dependent on the DRC-dominated battery metal as it ramps up supply of electric vehicles, with Glencore expecting demand for the metal to increase 67% over the next three years.IndustriALL said it went on a fact-finding mission to Glencore's Kamoto Copper Company and Mutanda mines in February after urgent requests from its affiliate TUMEC, which represents...Read More