Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 13 that are worth another look.Moves to enhance electronic trading on the London Metal Exchange are not a back-door attempt to close the ring, Europe's last open outcry trading floor, the exchange's chief executive officer said. The Singapore Exchange has seen a "tremendous uptick" in iron ore futures trading a...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange is forecast to continue its uptrend in 2019, according to the copper analysts sitting on a panel at Fastmarkets' International Copper conference in Amsterdam on Wednesday March 13. The three-month copper price has recently continued to trade just below $6,500 per tonne, up by more than 6% since the start of the year. And copper's incline wi...Read More

Chinese and European zinc premiums fell over the past week amid lackluster demand and disappointing spread structures between the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange, while the Indian lead premium slid after increased availability of Iranian units in the spot market. The zinc premium in China moved down amid muted import demand in line with worsening import conditions and an oversu...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrants premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday March 13. This is Fastmarkets' first warrants report following the amendment of...Read More

Tight tin supply in Europe has market participants looking to Indonesia's elections next month for guidance on renewed supply from the major tin exporter; meanwhile, the United States has adequate stock but new suppliers are looking to edge into the market and China has a quiet week. Europe awaits inflow as Indonesian export ban is lifted  US sees new players, though some suppliers are offer...Read More

The Comex copper price continued to push higher in the midweek session on Wednesday March 12 with potential supply disruptions supporting the market. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 0.55 cents to $2.9340 per lb. Codelco faces further delays in bringing back refined copper smelting at its Chuquicamata plant, which is now...Read More

The advent of blockchain and other digital ledger technologies cannot be ignored, and they will play a much greater role in the financial markets in the next five years, according to the heads of several of the world's commodities exchanges.Matthew Chamberlain, chief executive officer of the London Metal Exchange, told Fastmarkets that the blockchain route for the LME would probably be pursued thr...Read More

Brazilian imports of flat steel products increased year on year in February 2019, mainly due to an improved performance by the flat steel sector, while long steel imports increased slightly in the same comparison.The country imported 91,208 tonnes of flat steel products in February, up by 62.73% from 56,049 tonnes a year before, according to figures recently released by the country's foreign trade...Read More

RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has appointed Joan Hilson chief financialofficer, as part of an effort to strengthen its leadership team. The former David's Bridal executive - who also managed finances forAmerican Eagle Outfitters and Victoria's Secret - will begin at the company onApril 4. The outgoing chief financial officer, Michele Santana, will continuein her role until then, and will remain with...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales from the Grib diamond mine in Russia were flat at $300 million in 2018 as prices of smallerstones faltered. "Grib Diamonds rough is concentrated by value in the smaller end, which was under pressure from mid-2018," Antony Dear, head of sales at the mine's marketing unit, Grib Diamonds, told Rapaport News Tuesday. "Our prices reflect this, and were overall down on a like-for-...Read More

Gone are the days where the economics of sustainability meant mining companies had to choose between what was best for their bottom line and what was best for the environment and the communities their mines affect, a BDO report, Impressions from PDAC 2019, released this week finds.Among the reports key findings are that sustainability pressure turns into competitive advantage. After stakeholder p...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds' sales and profit increased in 2018 as the miner produceda record number of large stones at its Let??eng mine, including the 910-caratLesotho Legend. Revenue rose 25% to $267.3 million for the year, the minersaid Wednesday. Sales volume jumped 17% to 125,111 carats, a record for thecompany. The average price climbed 10% to $2,131 per carat, reflecting thelarger percen...Read More

RAPAPORT... There's a caveat that Stephen Lussier emphasizes when marketing diamonds to millennials as a symbol of love. The industry needs to recognize that love may not entail the formality of marriage, the De Beers head of marketing stressed in an interview with Rapaport Magazine last September. Marketers must focus less on tradition and more on the underlying motivation for buying the diamond,...Read More

Conventional wisdom says that an increased rate of diamond recycling results in downward diamond price pressure due to the theoretical increase in supply. However, the contrary may actually be true today in this relatively nuanced market. In fact, a more prevalent diamond recycling market could in fact be the natural diamond industry's saving grace.Historically, given that a more active recycled...Read More

For the second month in a row, the Luxury Industry Performance Index (LIPI) has been rising. The indicator gained 0.6 points. Investors' mood has been improving as the market capitalization of luxury related stocks increased by 5.6 percent. This growth outpaced the rise the S&P 500, EuroStoxx and Nikkei. The LIPI is compiled by Frank Mueller of The Bridge to Luxury, a Dresden, Germany-bas...Read More

Signet Jewelers announced the appointment of Joan M. Hilson as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The company also implemented additional organizational changes "to strengthen its leadership structure in support of its Path to Brilliance transformation plan." Hilson was CFO of David's Bridal from 2014 to March 2019. Prior to that, she was the CFO of American Eagle Outfitters and held several roles wit...Read More

Six foreign-controlled miners operating in Indonesia, including PT Vale Indonesia and a unit of Australia's Newcrest Mining, intend to divest some of their shares "in the near future" to meet regulations, an Indonesian official said.According to Indonesian mining rules, foreign-controlled miners are required to gradually start reducing ownership after five years of production. Within 10 years, for...Read More

In January, retail sales in the USA rebounded slightly, and this after the biggest decline in a decade. The 0.2% gain in January was led by sales on the Internet and in home centers.  It remains clear, however, that the US economy was losing momentum in early 2019. The report that retail sales has increased a meager 0.2 percent in January came from a government report that was delayed by the...Read More

Shares in Africa-focused Gem Diamonds (LON:GEMD) took a hit on Wednesday as the miner disappointed investors by withholding its full-year dividend, citing uncertainty about the global diamond industry as one of the main reasons.The London-listed miner, which reported a sharp increase in annual profit thanks to record recoveries of large diamonds, said it had decided to strengthen its balance shee...Read More

LSE-listed Petra Diamonds has recovered a 100.83 ct D-colour Type II gem-quality diamond at its Cullinan mine, in South Africa.The large diamond find follows the recent recovery of a 6.12 ct Type II blue stone at the same mine.AdvertisementThe company indicated in a statement last week that these recoveries demonstrated the prevalence of these types of stones in the Cullinan orebody, as well as th...Read More