Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up during morning trading on Thursday July 4, following record closing highs for US stocks on Wednesday.Tin and nickel led the advance with gains of 0.9% and 0.8% respectively so far this morning, while the others posted more moderate increases ranged between 0.1% for lead and 0.7% for aluminium. Zinc bucked the stronger tone exhibite...Read More

Steel import volumes into Spain fell to 3.51 million tonnes in January-April 2019, down by 3.1% from 3.62 million tonnes in the corresponding period in 2018, according to Unesid, the country's steel association.Import volumes from non-EU countries fell by 5.8% to 1.17 million tonnes in the first four months of 2019, from 1.24 million tonnes in January-April 2018, with Unesid noting the swift exhau...Read More

The European Commission (EC) has re-adopted a cartel ruling against five Italian rebar producers and imposed fines totalling ?,?16.07 million ($18.14 million), it said on Thursday July 4.The decision related to the companies' participation in a price-fixing cartel between December 1989 and July 2000.The five steelmakers named by the EC were Alfa Acciai, Feralpi, Ferriere Nord (Pittini), Partecipaz...Read More

The price of steel billet imported into Egypt increased in the week to July 4 on higher offers, despite poor domestic demand."Higher offers are because of high scrap and iron ore prices," a local market source told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily index for Northern Europe-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap was calculated at $291.88 per tonne cfr on July 4, up from $273.88 per tonne...Read More

Egypt's Administrative Courts suspended an earlier decision to impose safeguard duties on imports of rebar and steel billet on Thursday July 4.The country's Ministry of Trade & Industry started a safeguard investigation into billet imports on March 31.The ministry then imposed a temporary additional duty on imports of rebar and billet on April 15, with the import duty for rebar set at 25% and that...Read More

The domestic rebar prices in Turkey have edged down slightly over the past week amid strength in the Turkish lira against the US dollar, sources said on Thursday July 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,100-3,120 ($550-554) per tonne ex-works, narrowing down from last week's TRY3,100-3,160 per tonne ex-works.The domestic rebar price in the Izmir region was...Read More

Turkish rebar producers failed to fully pass the increase in imported scrap costs onto their finished goods prices over the past week due to weak demand, sources said on Thursday July 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey was $445-465 per tonne fob on actual weight basis, slightly wideneding up from last week's $445-460 per tonne.The country's mills increased their...Read More

Italian welded tube manufacturer Padana Tubi & Profilati Acciaio is to increase tube capacity at one of its mills with a new welding line, equipment provider SMS Group said on July 3.SMS group will provide the new 16 3/4 -inch ERW tube welding line which will be installed at Padana ?s Guastalla works in 2020. There is already a 14-inch tube welding line at the same location. This new line...Read More

Diamond market quiet as US dealers takevacation. America supporting the trade with steady retail sales and expectedboost from Independence Day weekend. Midstream under pressure with tightliquidity, slow orders and excess inventory. Weak sentiment continues aspolished prices soften. 1 ct. RAPI -1.4% in June. Manufacturers buying polishedrather than rough, as they need to focus on profitability inst...Read More

Cautious sentiment amid ongoing liquidityconcerns and sparse orders. Heavy monsoon rains affecting business, with delaysin delivery and worker arrivals. Fewer foreign buyers in Mumbai. Good demandfor top-make SIs and lower piqu?(C) goods. Manufacturers keeping production 30% to40% below last year's levels. RoundRead More

RAPAPORT... High-end online retailer Net-a-Porter isset to launch an invitation-only digital platform, selling exclusive jewelry toits most loyal members. From later this month, customers whohave been awarded EIP (Extremely Important People) status by Net-a-Porter willbe able to access EIP Priv?(C), a "private and personalized online space" within the Net-a-Porterwebsite. The digital "destination"...Read More

RAPAPORT... When it comes to the size of a diamond, looks can be deceiving, admits Garry Holloway. Two stones with an identical carat weight might not look the same size due to light leaking out of the stone. "Most diamonds are cut too deeply, and therefore measure small [in millimeter terms] for their carat weight," explained Holloway, founder of Melbourne-based Holloway Diamonds. "Deep-cut...Read More

Watch and jewelry sales were finally back in the black in April, but overall, market growth in the US retail jewelry sector remained subdued, compared to the sales results of the same month in 2018. Year-over-year, total jewelry and watch sales grew 1.5 percent in April. Please note that the US government publishes sales data of jewelry two months "after the fact." Interesting enough, while total...Read More

RAPAPORT... Mary Lou Keen, trade-show manager at theAmerican Gem Trade Association (AGTA), is retiring after three decades at the organization. Keen has been responsible for developing AGTA's presenceat a range of national events - including the AGTA GemFair Tucson, the AGTASpectrum Awards and the AGTA pavilion at the JA New York Summer Show. She wasalso pivotal in debuting the AGTA GemFair Las Ve...Read More

Kathryn Parker and Flavio Cereda, equity analysts at Jefferies, wrote in a research note quoted on Insideretail.asia, that sentiment within Hong Kong has almost unanimously worsened since March due to the lingering effects of the trade war reducing high-quality tourism traffic into the territory, the rebalancing of prices after Mainland China's VAT cut, ongoing Hong Kong protests and closer m...Read More

The 19th Congress of the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) will take place at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok from 12th to 15th October 2019, enabling industry experts to share their latest knowledge and insights with members of the trade and industry professionals. The biennial ICA Congresses are organized in member countries across the world. Thailand will be the first country to...Read More

A group of investors from Europe and Canada at the Timantti Diamond Project near Kuusamo, Finland, in May 2019. The photo shows part of the Grey Wolf Kimberlite excavated after removing less than two meters of overburden. If it is up to the exploration company Arctic Star Exploration Corp. of Vancouver, Ca., the Timantti Diamond Project, near Kuusamo, Finland, will become a diamond mine,...Read More

ArcelorMittal has widened the area that it considers vulnerable to any tailings dam breach at its Serra Azul iron ore mine in the southeast Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, the company said on Thursday July 4.It has decided to relocate 30 families from the vicinity, it said.The alert status for the mine, however, will remain unchanged at level 2, because those risks did not derive from the latest...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for August shipments despite increasing prices, market sources said on Thursday July 4.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 26,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) and 1,500 tonnes of bonus, at an average price of $298.50 per tonne cfr.Fastmarkets calculates the HMS 1&2 (80:20)...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Thursday July 4, while futures prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange plunged after hitting a five-year high earlier this week.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $122.03 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.72 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $122.03 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $2.72 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $124 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $...Read More