Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange performed well during the day but largely failed to hold momentum by 5pm on Thursday August 26, despite reaching intraday highs above Wednesday's closing levels.The aluminium three-month contract hit $2,639 per tonne during Thursday's trading, just $3 per tonne below its latest year-to-date high of $2,642 per tonne from July 30.It was the most traded...Read More
Prices for imported steel billet continued to decrease in Egypt during the week ending Thursday August 26 and demand remained weak, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand for rebar was limited to government projects, sources said.Egypt removed its construction ban on July 1 but rebar demand remained low because of high prices and a liquidity shortage.Domestic rebarEgyptian rebar producers kept...Read More
Las Vegas shows open with positive sentiment but fewer exhibitors and light traffic. Serious buyers attending. Dealers hoping JCK will signal start of holiday buying after 3Q slowdown. Polished inventory rising but shortages remain. Difficult to find top-quality diamonds. Rising expectations for holiday season, but retail growth starting to decelerate. Jewelry ranks among top-selling categories fo...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers is introducing a new program called "Code of Origin" that enables retail jewelers to sell the miner's diamonds and tap into its branding. The initiative is part of a wider effort to raise the company's profile among consumers.The program, which is in the development stage and will be scaled up over the next year, is structured to give designers and retailers greater acces...Read More
RAPAPORT... The artisanal and small-scale (ASM) mining sector plays an important role in the diamond industry, accounting for around 25% of global supply by volume. However, the sector is largely informal, using rudimentary technology and processes. Miners often lack access to capital, the knowledge to carry out mining safely and in an environmentally responsible manner, or access to the inte...Read More
RAPAPORT... In the corridors of the Kimberley Process (KP) intersessional and plenary meetings, smartly dressed men and women exchange pleasantries as they gather to review progress in the KP implementation. Various working groups submit reports that all indicate great progress in ensuring traceability of diamonds and the ability of the scheme to stem out conflict diamonds. The generally agre...Read More
The striking workers union at Caserones said that it was prepared for a "lengthy strike" on Wednesday August 25, after rejecting Minera Lumina Copper Chile's latest wage offer. 96% of members of the workers union at Caserones rejected the company's latest wage offer to the union and criticized the company for "presenting a new offer without first having talks". The union noted that it hopes t...Read More
Most base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange fell during morning trading on Thursday August 26 ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium, with aluminium stock being delivered into Port Klang while warrant cancellations for large quantities of copper continued for a fourth day. Lead's three-month price, for example, was down by 1.6% at 9am on Thursday, at $2,281.50 per tonne. This compares with a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The De Beers Group has unveiled its new strategy to connect consumers to its social purpose and engage them directly with its Building Forever mission to achieve ambitious sustainability goals by 2030. The new approach was presented at the JCK Luxury Breakfast during the keynote speech by De Beers Executive Vice Presidents Stephen Lussier and David Prager under the theme Th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine Technologies Ltd has announced that diamond retailers and wholesalers can now easily search for Sarine traced diamonds on IDEX Diamond Trading Network. Sarine, a worldwide leader in the development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of precision technology products for the evaluation, planning, processing, measurement, grading and trading of diamonds and gems, said th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has approved Diamonds de Canada Ltd. as an Approved NWT Diamond Manufacturer. The agreement ensures that Diamonds de Canada has access to NWT-mined rough diamonds, and that its manufacturing activities, which include cutting and polishing, take place in the Northwest Territories, the GNWT said in a statement. The company has...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were weaker on the morning of Thursday August 26, although for the most part they seem to be consolidating after recent volatility. Asian-Pacific equity indices mainly weaker this morning while broader markets focus on Friday's United States Federal Reserve Jackson Hole symposium More companies report that supply shortages are affecting their ability...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States rose to nearly $97 per hundredweight ($1,940 per short ton), with market participants projecting that a flurry of planned mill closures for maintenance will extend the rally.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.83 per cwt ($1,936.60 per ton) on Thursday August 26, up by 1.59% from $95.31 per cwt on Wednesday A...Read More
Steel hot-rolled coil prices in Europe remained largely flat on Thursday August 26 in typically slow summer trading conditions, while buyers and mills attempted to gauge the market direction for September.Market participants in Northern Europe have been returning to the market after holidays but trading in the region remained limited. Buyers were cautious about making new deals, expecting prices t...Read More
Billet prices in Turkey have gone down over the past week thanks to falling imported scrap costs and limited demand, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday August 26.Turkish steel producers' demand for imported scrap has been limited in recent weeks.The most recent deep-sea scrap trade was recorded on Wednesday August 25, when a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Belgian cargo...Read More
Domestic long steel prices in Turkey have continued to weaken in line with falling scrap costs and the strengthening lira, market sources said on Thursday August 26.Turkish steel producers were keeping their deep-sea scrap purchases at a slow pace to be able to put downward pressure on scrap prices.The most recent deep-sea scrap trade was recorded on August 25, when a steel mill in the Iskenderun...Read More
Turkey's reinforcing bar and wire rod export prices have continued to fall over the past week amid sluggish demand, supported by softening scrap costs, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday August 26.The country's steelmakers have reduced their rebar offers for exports to $670-675 per tonne fob on actual-weight basis from $680-695 per tonne fob last week. But no significant bo...Read More
Iranian export prices for steel billet continued to decrease in the week to Wednesday August 25 amid the general global downtrend, Fastmarkets heard.Steel output from the country's mills was expected to improve in September, when the weather will be less hot and mills will be allowed a more generous allocation of electricity to be used for steelmaking.For the moment, Iranian producers had to cut p...Read More
Since the company raised US$45 million in debt at the end of 2019, the development has been hit with a succession of challenges, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has tested companyRead More
The workers' union at BHP's Cerro Colorado has called on its members to reject a final contract offer by the company, paving the way for a strike at the small deposit, Reuters reported.It's another potential setback for the mine, after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of indigenous communities in a complaint related to water use earlier this year.Union leader Marcelo Franco said BHP had used the...Read More