Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 12 that are worth another look.The development of the futures market in China has been a "double-edged sword" for the domestic ferro-silicon industry, leading to more flexibility for market participants and wilder price swings than prior to its existence, one speaker said at Fastmarkets' Asian Ferro-alloys Conference...Read More

The London Metal Exchange is prepared for whatever outcome arises from the planned departure of the UK from the European Union, including a so-called "hard" Brexit, its chief executive officer said on Tuesday March 12.The two key requirements for the exchange to continue to operate as normal had already been achieved, or would be achieved, by the time of Brexit, Matthew Chamberlain said.Brexit, th...Read More

A power outage in Venezuela has forced local aluminium producers Venalum and Alcasa to temporarily stop operations at their smelters, the state-owned parent group of both companies, CVG, said on Saturday March 9.Venezuela's largest hydro power plant, Guri, was out of commission for most of the day on March 7 and many parts of the country were left with no electricity for more than 24 hours, accord...Read More

RAPAPORT... Eurostar Diamond Traders could be forced to file for bankruptcy soon, aftera Belgian court rejected its reorganization plan.The large Antwerp-based manufacturer, which owes anestimated $500 million, is no longer considered a financially viable business after losing its DeBeers sight, Belgian newspaper De Tijd reported Saturday.The Antwerp Court of Appeal turned down its request for pro...Read More

RAPAPORT... US retail sales bounced back at the beginning of 2019 after surprisingly slow figures during the December holiday period. Total purchases, excluding automobiles, gasoline andrestaurants, rose 3.6% year on year in January, according to data the NationalRetail Federation (NRF) reported. The three-month average for theNovember-to-January period was up 2.7% versus a year ago. Retail sales...Read More

Fastmarkets has amended its weekly London Metal Exchange warrant premiums coverage across the entire base metals asset class. Following a one-month consultation period, Fastmarkets will change the publication date for LME warrant premiums to Wednesdays 3-4pm London time from Tuesdays 3-4pm, effective from March 12, while the frequency of the coverage will remain unchanged on a weekly basis. In add...Read More

RAPAPORT... The massive project by the Diamond Producers Association(DPA) and Signet Jewelers to test and review 18 synthetic-diamond detectors hasraised an important question: What should you look for in such a machine? Accuracy is, of course, a major part of the equation(alongside speed, price and usability), but it isn't a clear-cut issue. The firstset of results from the DPA and Signet's Assur...Read More

The luxury sector in the West is worried about the Chinese. The steady flow Chinese tourist to Europe, Japan and other western destinations is drying up and fears are, it will die down to a trickle.The luxury sector's concerns are real. Chinese consumers, Bain & Co. says, generated a third of global luxury sales in 2017 - and mostly outside China's border.It started with the Chinese government...Read More

RAPAPORT... MID House of Diamonds was the premier Israelipolished-diamond exporter for the fourth year running, according to a list thenation's Ministry of Economy and Industry published recently.The company, whose exports rose 12% to $196 million in 2018,was one of several in the top 10 that saw an increase. Niru Diamonds took the second spot, moving up from third in2017, with its expor...Read More

The Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS) plans to boost cooperation in gemological education with Chinese institutions. AIGS Chairman Kennedy Ho met with Shunyu Hou, President of GTC - Guangdong Gemstones & Precious Metals Testing Center, in Guangdong on February 27, and agreed to further collaboration in educational projects and in gemstone testing. "At AIGS, we plan to roll out man...Read More

Market participants do not expect significant declines in the volumes of steel billet imported in Egypt following their government's decree that denies traders the ability to import such material, Fastmarkets has learnt.On March 5, Egypt's ministry of trade and industry issued a directive permitting only entities with a manufacturing license to import billet.The country has capacity to produce aro...Read More

The Angolan diamond mining company Catoca Ltd Mining Co, a joint venture of the Russian diamond miner ALROSA and Angola's state-run diamond mining company Endiama reported that they have taken significant steps toward improving the quality of Catoca's corporate governance. A number of new entities will be established: The Supervisory and Fiscal Councils will control, approve and finalize contracts...Read More

Offer prices for CIS-origin wire rod remained firm in the middle of March, supported by higher prices achieved in deals in previous weeks as well as increased scrap costs in the global market, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday March 12.CIS wire rod was available to foreign customers at $515-525 per tonne fob Black Sea, with some sources even reporting offers as high as $540 per tonne fob...Read More

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has released a simplified guide to ethical and responsible practices in the handling and trading of diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls and coral, and has made it available for downloading in PDF format from the CIBJO website, in multiple languages, free of charge.The 10-page to 13-page document, depending on the language in which it is downloaded, provid...Read More

RAPAPORT... Belgium's shipments of rough and polished slowed inFebruary. An 8% drop in the volume of polished exports outweighed growth in theaverage price, with the total value down 3% for the month, according to datathe Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) released last week. The decline reflected a drop in orders from Hong Kong, the US, Switzerland, Israel and India. Roughimports and export...Read More

Price assessments for steel rebar and billet imported into the United Arab Emirates have increased slightly this week but demand remained moderate, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 12.New local rebar prices will probably be announced after March 20, after which buying activity may increase, sources said.Market participants expected rebar prices to go up because of rising raw material pric...Read More

Chinese steel plate export prices were unchanged over the past week on stable demand.Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for April shipments of commercial-grade, chromium-added steel plate remained at $545-555 per tonne fob for the week to Tuesday March 12.Negotiation levels remained at $545-555 per tonne fob, with mills raising their plate offers to $555-560 per tonne fob...Read More

Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) increased again over the past week, with mills continuing to raise their offers amid support from China's robust domestic market.Cold-rolled coilFastmarkets MB's weekly export price assessment for Chinese SPCC 1.0mm CRC was $555-565 per tonne fob China on Tuesday March 12, up $7-8 per tonne from $547-558 per tonn...Read More

Malaysia has imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from 2.66-16.13% on hot-dipped galvanized steel coils (HDG) and sheets imported from China and Vietnam, its Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) announced on Friday March 8.The final affirmative duties will be effective for five years - from March 8, 2019 to March 7, 2024 - and should address unfair trade practices, the ministry state...Read More

Two-time Vale president Eliezer Batista diesLeadershipLook beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipGlobal Atomic's 'transformational discovery' changes everythingSPONSOREDglobal atomic corp"Tshisekedi would be a relatively positive figure for mining investment"SPONSOREDverisk maplecroftAmong the highlights, it reported 28.95m at 0.48% copper, 0.77g/t go...Read More