Demand for passenger cars in Europe decreased by 7.85% year-on-year in June 2019, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Wednesday July 17.New car sales in Europe totalled 1,446,183 units in June, compared with 1,569,363 vehicles sold in the corresponding month of 2018."To a large extent, this drop [in June] can be attributed to a negative calendar effect. On average, Jun...Read More

The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe has widened upward by ?,?5 ($6) per tonne week on week, with Italian mills intending to raise prices before the traditional August holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 17.Market activity remains low and buyers remain generally reluctant to commit to volumes, market participants said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assess...Read More

The domestic prices of hollow steel sections in Northern and Southern Europe fell this week, pressured lower by poor demand, market sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?620-630 ($696-708) per tonne on Wednesday July 17, down from ?,?625-640 one week earlier."Some mills are decreasing capacity but it seems not to have wo...Read More

The price of mesh-quality wire rod in Southern Europe narrowed slightly upwards week on week - mills in Italy looked to raise their offers ahead of the summer slowdown, sources said on Wednesday July 17.Fastmarkets' assessment of the price of steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was ?,?475-500 ($533-562) per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing upwards week on week from ?,?...Read More

The price of domestic rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe remained unchanged over the past week due to limitedbuying activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 17.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?500-520 ($562-584) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from one week earlier on July 10."Most market...Read More

RAPAPORT... A New York federal judge has refused to back down after ruling that Signet Jewelers' downplaying the impact of sexual-harassment claims could be used in an investor class action against the retailer.On July 10, Judge Colleen McMahon ruled Signet shareholders could form a class action in their securities-fraud claim against the jeweler. The following day, Signet claimed it would seek a...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Women's Jewelry Association (WJA) has revealed thewinners of its 2019 Excellence Awards scholarships and grants. The group will award a total of $65,500 - raised through itsAwards for Excellence Gala, individual member donations and sponsorships - to 49women. Recipients use the funds to pay for their education and advance theirprofessional careers. "Our grant and scholarship winne...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa has agreed to a joint venture with nationalminer Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) for exploring new diamondprojects in the country. The deal, which provides Alrosa with a 70% stake in any newgreenfield deposits, encompasses geological exploration, diamond mining andindependent sales of rough stones to external markets, the Russian miner saidTuesday. "We are committe...Read More

AGD Diamonds, the firm that operates and owns the Grib diamond mine in northern Central Russia announced it has recovered a gem-quality, deep lemon yellow diamond, weighing 47.61 carats, on July 13, 2019. The stone was found during the ore processing at Grib's processing plant. In a news release in Russian, AGD said the diamond is of an extremely rare deep lemon hue and is classified as a "h...Read More

The Swatch Group, which, apart from the Swatch brand itself, owns brands such as  Blancpain, Breguet, Glashuettel, Longines, Omega, Tissot, RADO and., last but not least, Harry Winston, published its performance report for the first half of 2019. The company reported net sales of CHF 4.078 million, 4.4 percent less than in 2018. Its profits dropped 13 percent, compared to 2018, to CHF 547 mil...Read More

The seventh edition of "Gold Italy" will open on October 26, 2019 in Arezzo, Italy. The three -day event is called International Business Workshop, instead of a show or fair, to emphasize the networking value of the three-day event, which will be held at the Arezzo Fiere Congressi Exhibition Centre. Gold Italy is part of and organized by the Italian Exhibition Group. According to the show manageme...Read More

The United States' ferrous scrap export market is enjoying momentum on the West Coast, with a pair of bulk cargoes and decent container sales concluded, while the East Coast remains quiet.From the West Coast, one cargo for an 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap was sold to Vietnam at $308 per tonne cfr on Thursday July 11 and another for the same material to Taiwan at $303...Read More

The largest investment project of Russian diamond miner Alrosa, the Verkhne-Munskoye diamond deposit, produced a 63.15 carat diamond earlier this month. The rough stone came from the deposit's Zapolyarnaya pipe. The crystal has an octahedral shape with small chips on the edges and tops. The mined diamond is transparent with a yellow hue. The Verkhne-Munskoye diamond deposit is located in the...Read More

The World Gold Council published its "mid-year outlook" for 2019. The WGC explained that there are four attributes that make gold a valuable strategic asset, by providing investors with a source of return; low correlation to major asset classes in both expansionary and recessionary periods; a mainstream asset that is as liquid as other financial securities; and a history of improved portfolio ris...Read More

The 2019 Global Multi-Stakeholder SIDS Partnership Dialogue, which took place at the United Nation in parallel with the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), focused on opportunities available to a group of 57 small-island developing states in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Caribbean, Mediterranean and South China Seas, examining how they may be advanced through m...Read More

Turkish steel mills continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market on Wednesday July 17, because of the sluggish finished steel demand, sources told Fastmarkets.After booking a UK cargo at $288 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), the mills have stayed out of the market despite still needing to buy more cargoes for August deliveries."The steel producers in Turkey need to buy scrap for August...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials.Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreVale, Global Ore, 85,000 tonnes of 65% Fe Iron Ore Carajas, traded at $128.70 per tonne cfr China, bill of lading dated July 8.BHP, bilateral...Read More

Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market was muted on Wednesday July 17 with Chinese buyers and global sellers digesting the implications of restrictions on imported coal at ports in China. Earlier this week, the Port of Caofeidian in Hebei province restricted customs declarations to only local end users, market sources said on Tuesday. This effectively bars traders from using the port...Read More

BHP expects to produce 73-79 million tonnes of metallurgical coal over the next year even as it plans major wash plant shutdowns for the current quarter.The mining major said on Wednesday July 17 that it produced 20.98 million tonnes of metallurgical coal in the April-June period, down 1.2% year on year amid lower wash plant yields.Its output for the 12 months ended June 30 totaled 74.5 million to...Read More

BHP expects its Western Australia Iron Ore operations to produce 273-286 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material on a 100% basis over the next 12 months amid a significant maintenance program at the Port of Port Hedland, from which it ships its cargoes abroad."As part of this, a major car dumper maintenance campaign is planned for the September 2019 quarter, with a corresponding impact expe...Read More