(IDEX Online) - American rapper and actress Cardi B was weighed down with carats when she appeared on stage with an estimated $2.5m of bling.The 28-year-old wore dozens of dazzling high-end pieces for her performance at the annual Summer Jam hip-hop and R&B fest at the MetLife Stadium, New York.The most valuable single item was a 20-carat heart-shaped diamond ring from her husband Offset, also...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa is set to pay out record dividends to shareholders this year after a swift recovery from the pandemic.The Russian miner is proposing an allocation of RUB 64.7bn ($880m) for H1 2021, equal to its entire free cash flow.It says it expects an even higher allocation in H2, which could bring the annual total for 2021 to as much as RUB 135bn ($1.84bn).The H2 2020 dividends amounted...Read More

RAPAPORT... Four US jewelry retailers weigh in on whether their clients are concerned about products' sustainable origins.Cathy Calhoun (pictured, top left)owner, Calhoun JewelersRoyersford, Pennsylvania"It's hardly an issue for me here in Royersford, but I opened Calhoun Estate Jewelers in Carmel by the Sea in California, and it is an issue out there. Since it's estate jewelry, I present it...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Bluerock's largest ever rough gem from its Kareevlei mine in South Africa has sold for $585,000.The 58.6-carat stone is a D-color makeable (pictured) - colorless but with spotted black sulphide intrusions.The London-based AIM-listed miner also sold a 21.6-carat stone for $268,000. A 14.3-carat stone fetched $236,000 - setting a company record this year at $16,500 per carat.The...Read More

The mood in the European hot-rolled coil market soured in the week ended Friday August 27 after both buyers and producers started to return after the summer holiday in August.Trading activity has been limited while buyers follow a wait-and-see strategy.Buyers expect domestic coil prices to decline in September due to lower raw material costs.Demand outlook for the automotive segment - one of the k...Read More

The European hot-rolled coil (HRC) market remained calm on Tuesday August 31 while buyers remained in a "wait-and-see" mode, sources told Fastmarkets.Although both buyers and sellers have returned to the market after a traditionally slow August, they have been taking their time to assess market trends. Buyers' sentiment has been largely negative due to lower iron ore costs, uncertainty over automo...Read More

Aluminium's three-month price had the strongest growth in the complex this month, trading at $2,726.50 per tonne on Tuesday August 31, while most other prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower than on August 2. Aluminium closed at $2,718 per tonne on Tuesday, a rise of 2.6% from last Friday's price of $2,649.50 per tonne and up from $2,615 per tonne at the start of August. Bullish funda...Read More

The London Metal Exchange's new digital register for physical metals data, LMEpassport, will launch on October 1, starting with aluminium, the exchange announced on Tuesday August 31.LMEpassport will store electronic Certificates of Analysis (CoAs), which are specification and quality assurance documents that must accompany shipments of LME metals into and out of warehouses.It will also store sust...Read More

China's biggest metals conglomerate, Minmetals, has hired Julio Cesar Rojas Ramirez to develop its copper concentrates blending business and the utilitization of its copper smelting capacity, Fastmarkets has heard.Prior to joining Minmetals, Rojas was director for primary raw materials with Aurubis, Europe's biggest copper smelter.His previous roles include head of global sales at Nyrstar and seni...Read More

London Metal Exchange prices were mixed on the morning of Tuesday August 31, with aluminium and nickel leading on the upside due to tightening fundamentals but lead's three-month price under pressure. Aluminium's three-month price reached a peak of $2,726.50 per tonne on Tuesday morning, its highest since May 2011, when the metal reached $2,746 per tonne. It was down slightly to $2,697.50 per...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly firmer on the morning of Tuesday August 31, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were more mixed.This comes despite the release of some weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing numbers. The US dollar index was, however, weaker. China's manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 50.1 in August from 50.4 in July. China'...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States drifted lower - but still held above $96 per hundredweight ($1,920 per short ton) for a fourth straight business day - after service centers reported better availability and some shorter lead times. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.17 per cwt ($1,923.40 per ton) on Tuesday August 31, down by 0.78% from $96...Read More

Flat steel imports into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were mostly at decreased offer prices during the week ended Tuesday August 31, while the uncertainty about the direction of prices continued, sources have told Fastmarkets.The uncertainty came because China has still not announced the level of an expected export duty to be applied to hot-rolled coil.Some buyers believed that new dut...Read More

With Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In discussion with Fastmarkets' Carrie Bone, he outlined the changes and challenges anticipated for decarbonizing the steel industry."Why green? Because when we started on...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly firmer on the morning of Tuesday August 31, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were more mixed.This comes despite the release of some weaker than expected Chinese manufacturing numbers. The US Dollar Index was, however, weaker.* China’s manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 50.1 in August, after registering...Read More

Export prices for steel billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States region continued to decrease in the week to Tuesday August 31 with the market lacking support, Fastmarkets has heard.One of the principal negative factors weighing on prices was the dearth of trading activity in the major export outlets.Last week, CIS sellers covered the demand from Latin America...Read More

Steel billet and rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates decreased on Tuesday August 31 while demand for rebar improved, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand for rebar improved after a long period of poor demand due to low stock levels, sources said.The country's biggest producer, Emirates Steel, was offering rebar at 2,610 dirhams ($710.46) per tonne, and Conares Steel's rebar price was 2,574 dirhams...Read More

Revenue jumped 24% to a record A$813 million as a result of the sale of 65,698 tonnes of copper and 37,394 ounces of gold. Operating cashflow rose from $273.6 million in FY20 to $471.Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 8 points in pre-opening trade.The Canadian Dollar slipped 0.10 to U.S.79.40 cents following release of Canada's June GDP report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a gain of 0.7%. Actual was an increase of 0.7%.Zoom dropped $52.11 to $305.35 after announcing lower than consensus second quarter revenue growth. Target price o...Read More

Turkish steel producers made no new scrap bookings on Tuesday August 31, however a deal from the previous Friday came to light, which lowered prices, market participants said.The Baltic-sea cargo was heard late on Friday August 27, past the closing of the daily indices, and was followed by a public holiday in both Turkey and the United Kingdom on Monday August 30. The cargo was booked by a steel m...Read More