Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday March 7 that are worth another look.UC Rusal's net profit rose by 39% year on year in 2018 despite the aluminium producer operating under trading sanctions imposed by the United States for the majority of the year, Rusal said in its results statement on Thursday March 7. Fastmarkets summarizes six hot topics that will like...Read More

The Comex copper price continued to drift on Thursday March 7 with uncertainty around US-China trade talks forcing market participants to retreat and delay any serious price action. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 1.15 cents to $2.9070 per lb. Additionally, European buying was lackluster ahead of the European Central Bank's pol...Read More

UC Rusal's net profit rose by 39% year on year in 2018, despite the aluminium producer operating under trading sanctions imposed by the United States for the majority of the year, Rusal said in its results statement on Thursday March 7. Rusal recorded a net profit of $1.689 billion compared with $1.222 billion in 2017. The company's revenue increased by 3.1% to $10.28 billion from $9.969 billion f...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading on Thursday March 7, with European buying lackluster ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting where Eurozone growth forecasts could face cuts amid the bloc's slowing economic progress.Bucking the trend however, the three-month lead price pushed higher over the morning, breaching $2,100 per to...Read More

Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday March 07 *Copper -$172.72 (-1,161.42 yuan) Aluminium -$270.74 (-1,820.57 yuan) Zinc -$169.95 (-1,142.80 yuan) Nickel -$98.74 (-663.99 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker again this morning, Thursday March 7.With the exception of tin that was up by 0.5% and aluminium that was little changed, the rest of the complex were down between 0.2% for lead and 1.4% for nickel.Copper was off by 0.4% at $6,428 per tonne, compared with $6,455 per tonne at Wednesday's close, while nickel ha...Read More

Trade log for nickel sulfate in China including transactions, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets MB.Unless otherwise stated, all prices are yuan per tonne on an ex-works basis. Fastmarkets MB prices Click here for Fastmarkets MB's price assessment...Read More

Diamond trade cautious after slow Hong Kongshow. Demand selective and inventory levels high, with buyers insisting on deepdiscounts for goods under 0.50 ct. Low manufacturing profits reducing Indianpolished production as smaller goods not making money. 0.30ct. RAPI -0.6%, 1ct. RAPI +0.1% in Feb. with better market for 0.70 to 1.99 ct. De Beers prices flat at $490 million sight. Far East consumerou...Read More

Manufacturers maintaining reduced production in quietmarket. Margins under pressure due to high rough prices at De Beers sight and subduedpolished demand. Steady orders for 0.50 to 1.99 ct., G-H, VS2-SI1 (3X, nofluorescence). Stones with good or fair cut very hard to sell. Melee stable,with selective demand for stars, but manufacturers want to sell bigger meleesizes, as they offer better profits....Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales at Alrosa fell 36% year on year to $345.6 millionin February as a slowdown in the rough market continued. Rough-diamond sales dropped 36% to $340.6 millionfor the month, according to Rapaport calculations based on Alrosa reports.Polished revenues slid 45% to $5 million. Overall demand has improved versusJanuary, however, with total sales up 23% month on month, the Russian miner s...Read More

RAPAPORT... Retail sales of jewelry and other luxury items increased inHong Kong in January, boosted by the earlier timing of the Lunar New Year and highertourism. Revenue from jewelry, watch, clocks and other valuable giftsimproved by 4.7% year on year to HKD 8.47 billion ($1.08 billion), themunicipality's Census and Statistics Department reported Tuesday. Sales in allretail categories were...Read More

Reinforcing bar (rebar) steel prices have risen in the United States following late-February's mill hikes, while import prices have fallen following confirmed offers for Italian material. Fastmarkets' assessment for domestic rebar increased to $35.25-36.50 per hundredweight ($705-730 per short ton) fob mill on Wednesday March 6, up by 2.6% from $34.25-35.75 per cwt previously. At the same time, th...Read More

RAPAPORT... Four of Asia's industry groups have agreed to work together on standardizing language and rules for the diamond trade. The National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC), the Gem andJewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT), the Gemmological Institute of India (GII),and the China Gems & Jade Exchange (CGE) signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU) to further that effort, the NGTC said. Th...Read More

Alrosa, (MCX:ALRS) the world's top diamond producer by output, reported Thursday that total sales of rough and polished diamonds increased to $345.6 million, up 23% compared to January 2019 (up $64.1 million).Rough diamonds sales in February increased to $340.6 million, compared to $278.2 million in January 2019, while polished diamond sales grew to $5 million, compared to $3.4 million a...Read More

Diamcor, a Canadian junior diamond miner, said it had sold 1,220 carats of rough diamonds from the Krone-Endora at Venetia project in South Africa at its second tender held in the first quarter of the year. The sale netted the junior miner $376,000, with an average price of $308 per carat sold. This represented a significant improvement over the average price - $176 per carat - on all rough diamon...Read More

Diamond rich Botswana expects mineral revenues in the 2019/20 fiscal year to drop by 4 percent to 13.6 billion pula ($1.26 billion) due to a decline in royalties and dividends, a minerals ministry budget document showed on Thursday.Mineral Resources Minister Eric Molale said in the document that global diamond demand was showing signs of slowing down. Retail jewellery sales fell during the last qu...Read More

RAPAPORT... Russian diamond manufacturer Kristall Smolensk is selling areplica of the Great Imperial Crown of the Russian Empire on RapNet's newjewelry platform for $15.5 million. The crown, which weighs 2.3 kilograms, comprises more than11,000 round, oval and pear-shaped white diamonds, weighing 1,928 carats andset in white gold. The stones were sourced from Russian miner Alrosa, certifiedby...Read More

GIA (Gemological Institute of America) opened its new laboratory in Kowloon in the presence of Susan Jacques, GIA president and CEO, and Tom Moses, GIA executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer. The opening reception of GIA's new and expanded location was held in mid-February with laboratory clients and industry executives in attendance. "Hong Kong is a vital center of th...Read More

ALROSA of Russia, a global, leading diamond producer, reported it has sold $345.6 million worth of rough and polished diamonds in February. The sales amount represents an increase of 23 percent compared to January 2019. ALROSA's rough diamond sales increased to $340.6 million, compared to $278.2 million in January 2019, while polished diamond sales grew to $5 million, compared to $3.4 million a m...Read More

Jewelers of America (JA) has announced the agenda and opened registration for the first annual Jewelers of America National Convention, an education-focused executive forum open to jewelry professionals. The Convention will take place July 28-29, 2019, at the Intercontinental New York Barclay in New York City The two-day convention will feature data-driven keynote presentations and a wide range of...Read More