RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, March 2, 2021, Las Vegas... The diamond industry was optimistic in February as the US and China saw solid jewelry sales. Polished trading was steady during the month, though seasonally slower than in January. Polished prices were stable despite a gradual increase in inventory levels. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamonds rose 0.8%. RapNet Diamond Index...Read More
More than 7,000 tonnes of uncut nickel cathode entered London Metal Exchange warehouses in Rotterdam on Tuesday March 2, but the 13% increase to Rotterdam's nickel stocks has not yet resulted in any reduction to premiums."The markets don't react that quickly; it only came in today," one nickel trader said on Tuesday, the day of Fastmarkets' weekly nickel price assessments. "But it's a big chunk, a...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has received a significant rise in objections to its closing prices since trading on the LME Ring was halted in March 2020, new data released by the exchange on Tuesday March 2 shows.The exchange has published new data surrounding the number of objections, the volume in the pricing process and the number of participants involved while the debate around a permanent shift t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Beyonce is joining jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz to select two black students for scholarships at the GIA.They became friends through a shared love of jewelry and established The Beyonc?? (C) Knowles-Carter x Lorraine Schwartz GIA Scholarship.It will fund tuition and expenses for two successful applicants to the GIA's Graduate Gemologist distance learning program, wh...Read More
The price of aluminium in China hit a 10-year high in the week ended Friday February 26, following news on the Thursday that the Inner Mongolia autonomous region would take measures to reduce its energy consumption from 2021 onward under its 14th Five-Year Plan.The region will not approve any new electrolytic aluminium capacity projects nor any for alumina, according to a draft document titled "Se...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A jeweler's guard dog dozes through an armed "raid" on a store in Thailand.Fortunately for owner Worawut Lomwanawong and Lucky, his docile husky (left of picture) it was only a training exercise by police in the city of Malay. In real life the perpetrator may well have been able to flee unchallenged.Mr Lomwanawong posted CCTV on Lucky's Facebook page and had well over a m...Read More
Treatment charges for both zinc and lead concentrates maintained their ranges in the last week of February 2021, with market participants mainly focused on hashing out annual benchmarks for the raw materials.Fastmarkets assessed the zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China, at $70-85 per tonne on Friday February 26, stable since January 29, when it dropped to a two-and-a-half-year low.Likewise, the lea...Read More
Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe stood unchanged day on day on Tuesday March 2, with the mood across the region still bullish because of tight supplies, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?740 ($892.39) per tonne on March 2, unchanged from Monday.The index was, however, up by ?,?14 pe...Read More
German steelmaker Salzgitter is to offer low-CO2 strip steel grades following verification of the reduced emissions arising from their manufacture by certification agency T?oeV S?oeD.Salzgitter obtained two conformity statements certified in line with T?oeV S?oeD's VERIsteel procedure. The process provides proof of product-specific CO2 emissions in steel production.The low-CO2 steel grades are pro...Read More
Pakistan's National Tariff Commission has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into alleged dumped imports of cold-rolled coil (CRC) and cold-rolled (CR) steel sheet originating in or exported from the EU, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.The move follows an application from Aisha Steel Mills and International Steel, domestic producers of CRC and sheet. They have alleged that such materials were...Read More
Buyers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia booked hot-rolled coil (HRC) during the week to Tuesday March 2, while the price of some products changed, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was slow in both markets recently, but several bookings were heard to have been made because of decreasing stock levels.Saudi ArabiaChina sold 1.2mm thick HRC at $825 per tonne cfr Saudi Arabia this week, norm...Read More
Brazilian steel slab producer Companhia Sider??rgica do Pec?(C)m (CSP) has scheduled a maintenance stoppage at its blast furnace in the second half of 2021.The stoppage was previously scheduled for the second quarter of the year, but it was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, CSP told Fastmarkets. The maintenance...Read More
Imported steel rebar prices to the United Arab Emirates decreased this week amid new deals, after the price reduction from local rebar producers, sources told Fastmarkets on March 2.The country's biggest steel producer Emirates Steel has been offering rebar at 2,535 dirhams ($690) per tonne ex-works since February 24 and Conares Steel is offering rebar at 2,530 dirhams per tonne ex-works.Hamriyah...Read More
The export market for steel hot-rolled coil from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) improved during the week to Monday March 1 on new sales to Turkey and bullishness among suppliers.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $725-735 per tonne on Monday, up from $705-725 per tonne a week earlier.One Russia-origin cargo was sold to Turkey at $760 p...Read More
Auteco has the right ingredients with PickleSPONSOREDauteco mineralsAzure's Western Australia nickel success could get golden hueSPONSOREDazure mineralsHot Chili knock, knock, knockin' on tier 1 doorSPONSOREDhot chiliMegatrends 2035: How expansion of megacities will impact demand for commodities?EUR
Auteco has the right ingredients with PickleSPONSOREDauteco mineralsAzure's Western Australia nickel success could get golden hueSPONSOREDazure mineralsHot Chili knock, knock, knockin' on tier 1 doorSPONSOREDhot chiliMegatrends 2035: How expansion of megacities will impact demand for commodities?EUR
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed this morning, Tuesday March 2, while on the Shanghai Futures Exchange they were mainly weaker.Manufacturing, as indicated by recent purchasing managers index data, has provided mixed signals – growth is slowing in China, but still recovering well in Europe and the United StatesBase metalsLME three-month base metals prices were mixed t...Read More
Hot Chili knock, knock, knockin' on tier 1 doorSPONSOREDhot chiliScrape around for some negative commentary, however, and you'll find those who fret about labour negotiations amid reports unions want a substantive pay rise to take account of the sky-high price ofRead More
Russia's Mikhailovsky HBI - the world ?s largest hot-briquetted iron (HBI) plant - should start operations in the first half of 2024, it said on March 2.USM Holdings and Mikhailovsky GOK - part of Metalloinvest, which is the largest global HBI producer and one of USM's assets - jointly own the plant.The plant will have capacity to produce more than 2 million tonnes per year of HBI, it said."The ne...Read More
Turkish steel mills stayed out of the deep-sea scrap markets again on Tuesday March 2, focusing instead on raising steel prices following the latest surge in scrap values, market sources told Fastmarkets.The latest transaction was recorded late on Friday February 26, when a steel mill in the Marmara region paid $456 per tonne cfr for Baltic Sea-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20).The transaction raised the dai...Read More