Domestic prices for hollow steel sections in Southern Europe are likely to rise over the next month, with producers facing a shortage of hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the region, sources have told Metal Bulletin.HRC prices have enjoyed a strong start to 2018 in Southern Europe thanks to a lack of available imported material at workable prices and problems with output at Italian steelmaker Ilva."[Steelm...Read More

The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Wednesday January 24.Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange have recovered 1.3% during morning trading despite another large delivery into LME warehouses.The three-month copper price plummeted to a 2018 low of $6,885 per tonne yesterday after inventories increased a net 36,300 tonnes to 248,075 tonnes. A further 2...Read More

Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai, as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday January 24.Base metals prices were down across the board during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, with copper leading the losses following a sharp increase in red metal stocks on the London Metal Exchange overnight.LME copper inventories increased a net 36,300 tonnes to 248,075...Read More

RAPAPORT... Signet will implement a new organizational structurecomprising two separate reporting lines that will both answer topresident and chief customer officer Seb Hobbs (pictured).  The move is intended to strengthen Signet's efforts to"drive profitable comparable-store sales growth and deliver exceptionalcustomer experiences," said David Bouffard, Signet's vice president of corporate a...Read More

RAPAPORT... Attendancewas strong at the January edition of VicenzaOro, spurring confidence that Italy's gold-jewelry exports would improve in 2018.Risingproduction and consumption of gold jewelry signaled a favorable outlook for thesector, said Lorenzo Cagnoni, president of organizer Italian Exhibition Group (IEG),in his opening address on January 19. "VicenzaOro January opens in a highly positive...Read More

(IDEX Online) - ALROSA has signed 67 long-term agreements with 65 companies for the sale of gem-quality and industrial rough diamonds for the new 2018-2020 contract period, the Russian miner announced.   The new list of long-term clients is posted on ALROSA's sales website at http://sales.alrosa.info/rough-diamonds/long-term-contacts/our-customers-2/.   The company signed agreements...Read More

MOSCOW – Russia is not discussing reducing its stake in diamond miner Alrosa in 2018, the RIA news agency quoted Alrosa CEO Sergei Ivanov as saying on Wednesday.AdvertisementRead More

RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, January 24, 2018, Las Vegas ... The Rapaport Group is pleased to announce the launch of the newmonthly Rapaport Research Report. The report provides unrivaled insight into transaction trends,market performance and developments throughout the diamond pipeline. Itincludes in-depth market analysis along with proprietary Rapaport diamond data.Each issue of the RapaportResearch...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has announced that dates have been set for the 2018 World Diamond Congress, the biannual meeting of the WFDB and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA). The Congress will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv, from June 19 to 21.   The Congress will start on June 19, with a cocktail event to take place in...Read More

RAPAPORT... Funds available for the Diamond Producers Association (DPA)to spend on generic marketing will jump to $70 million this year following anincrease in contributions from its members.The extra cash will enable the organization to grow its USmarketing and expand campaigns around the world, Jean-Marc Lieberherr, its CEO,said in an exclusive interview with Rapaport News, during the forthcomin...Read More

(IDEX Online) - In a planet threatened by uncontrolled climate change, the jewelry industry could come to be recognized as a beacon of sustainability and positive environmentalism was the message from a seminar co-organized by CIBJO and the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) at the VICENZAORO January show.   Entitled "Green and Blue Jewellery, Environmentally Sustainable Luxury," the seminar, hel...Read More

Lithium fans, take note. The metal's crown as the leading raw material in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) is facing increasing competition from other products such as cobalt and nickel. Lithium has hogged the top spot in EV batteries for some time, largely due to its early adoption in technology developed by Tesla. For more than a decade, the US-based company has been using lithium-ion batte...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa's list of long-term clients has grown to 65companies, with six new contract clients signing diamond-supply agreements forthe 2018-to-2020 period.Three new domestic clients, including Aives, Diapur andKristalldiam, as well as three new foreign businesses, Firestar Diamond, BlueGems and Niru Diamonds Israel, have signed deals for the sale of gem-qualityrough diamonds. Alrosa...Read More

SHANGHAI, Jan 24 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures traded lower this afternoon, only nickel and tin edging up slightly. Copper led the loss among base metals with a 1.7% drop, while zinc lost 1%. Aluminium and lead slightly dropped.The ferrous complex saw mixed trading today. While iron ore dropped 1%, coking coal, hot-rolled coil and rebar rose around 1%. Coke also gained 0.5%.Copper: Chinese...Read More

SHANGHAI, Jan 24 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures traded lower this afternoon, only nickel and tin edging up slightly. Copper led the loss among base metals with a 1.7% drop, while zinc lost 1%. Aluminium and lead slightly dropped.The ferrous complex saw mixed trading today. While iron ore dropped 1%, coking coal, hot-rolled coil and rebar rose around 1%. Coke also gained 0.5%.Copper: Chinese...Read More

SHANGHAI, Jan 24 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures traded lower this afternoon, only nickel and tin edging up slightly. Copper led the loss among base metals with a 1.7% drop, while zinc lost 1%. Aluminium and lead slightly dropped.The ferrous complex saw mixed trading today. While iron ore dropped 1%, coking coal, hot-rolled coil and rebar rose around 1%. Coke also gained 0.5%.Copper: Chinese...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 6 points in pre-opening trade. Futures are responding to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin's comments that prompted weakness in the U.S. Dollar Index.Gold gained $16.50 per ounce in response to Mnuchin's comments.Fourth quarter reports continue to pour in. Reports released since yesterday's close included Capital On, United C...Read More

SHANGHAI, Jan 24 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Three nickel pig iron (NPI) plants in Inner Mongolia were set to be suspended for maintenance this month due to aging facilities, SMM learned.We estimate about 1,250 mt of nickel ouput will be lost, accounting for 4% of China’s high-grade NPI output.SMM forecast China’s high-grade NPI output to drop 8% to 35,000 in January from the previous month as a numbe...Read More

China Copper Group has generated 706 million yuan of profits in 2017, setting a new record high since its establishment. The article is edited by SMM and is provided for information purpose only. It does not mean SMM agrees with its views and SMM assumes no liability for accuracy of information contained or quoted in the article. Read More

Tin stocks at London Metal Exchange warehouses have fallen further since the start of 2018, with a 34% reduction in on-warrant stocks pushing tin prices to a three-month high.Total tin stock levels are at 1,780 tonnes as of Wednesday January 24 - their lowest since the 1980s - after a series of cancelations and deliveries out since January 10. This is in comparison with the start of 2017, when Jan...Read More