RAPAPORT... Michael Hill has appointed Andrea Slingsby as chiefoperating officer, it said Wednesday. "Her unique experience in people-focused, fast-growingcompanies, business-model improvement and operational excellence is a majorbenefit for Michael Hill as we implement our strategy to become a globallyrelevant leader in the premium-jewelry category," said Daniel Bracken, CEO ofMichael Hill. Slin...Read More
(IDEX Online) - IDEX Online has launched the 2019 edition of its much-anticipated annual Trade Fair Guide. The guide provides extensive details regarding a wide range of trade fairs taking place this year, including dates, venues and contact information. It also provides information relating to De Beers' sales dates in 2019, and ALROSA's dates for publishing details of its...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond Foundry, the manufacturer of lab-grown diamonds, said it raised its prices by an average of 15% across all channels as of January 1. "After careful monitoring of the market situation over the past months, we see demand increasingly outpacing supply," the firm said in a statement. "This is due to the increase in size and frequency that buyers in the diamond industry a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co. plans to share information on a diamond's complete journey through the supply chain - from mine to where it was cut and polished - by 2020 in what the retailer says would be an industry first. The move is part of the firm's aim of telling customers where its diamonds come from in a bid to boost consumer confidence by increasing its business transparenc...Read More
Last year yielded positive results for Aim-listed diamond miner BlueRock Diamonds, which achieved significant increases in production and recovered grade, and saw its diamond sales increase by 71% to 5 805 ct, compared with the 3 385 ct sold in 2017.Production volume for the miner, which owns and operates the Kareevlei diamond mine, near Kimberley, increased by 24% to 189 999 t, compared...Read More
The opening of the import window in China's zinc market kept premiums stable in the country while the rest of Asia was experiencing a wide backwardation. Meanwhile, lead premiums in India went up amid a reduction in supply from Iran. Chinese zinc import window remains open. Italian zinc premiums and Indian lead premiums move up. US market quiet after holidays.Chinese zinc import window opens to lo...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Wednesday January 9, with a continued uptrend in copper, nickel and tin futures topping gains while a softer US dollar index continues to support commodity investment. Climbing furthest over the afternoon, the three-month copper price appreciated just shy of 1% during afternoon trading, closing at its hig...Read More
The US copper price increased during midweek trading this morning in the US, amid a softer dollar and positive trade talks between the United States and China.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.30 cents to $2.6690 per lb. Trade talks between the world's economic powers continued for a third consecutive day earlier this morn...Read More
Fastmarkets MB launched an assessment of chrome ore inventories at the main Chinese ports of Tianjin, Qinzhou, Lianyungang and Shanghai on Monday January 7. After a one-month consultation period following the initial proposal, Fastmarkets MB has decided to launch this assessment to reflect the chrome ore inventory changes at major ports in China. The first assessment was published on January 7. Fa...Read More
The European molybdenum markets fell in trading this week to a six-month low, with suppliers cutting their offer prices in the face of stubborn resistance among consumers against paying more.Both the alloy and oxide markets in the second week of January were at prices last seen in July 2018.Moreover, there has been an abundance of spot ferro-molybdenum available since the past quarter, as well as...Read More
Increased numbers of spot market inquiries exposed the greater availability of cobalt in Europe in the first half of the week that began on Monday January 7, with metal prices continuing to fall as a result.Standard-grade cobalt prices dropped to $24.75-26.25 per lb, in-warehouse, on January 9, from $25.75-27.25 per lb at the end of last week.Alloy-grade prices remained slightly lower on January 9...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Key data from the Wednesday January 9 pricing session in Europe.Key driversThe market has been quiet during the first week of the calendar year, with only a small drop in ferro-titanium prices, while the price of scrap was stable. Liquidity is expected to increase throughout January.Around 110 tonnes was reported traded between $4.30 per kg and...Read More
Turkish steel mills were absent from the deep-sea market on Wednesday January 9, with no bookings recorded and no change in prices, sources told Fastmarkets. On January 8, three steel producers booked four deep-sea cargoes from the United States and Europe at steady prices and then started to watch the finished steel markets.A long steel producer in Izmir was said to be selling 50,000 tonnes...Read More
The Shanghai copper premium rose from its lowest in more than a year because of a narrowing negative import arbitrage for bringing units into China that made buying more attractive.The nearby LME forward curve switched to a solid contango as well, firming up sellers' positions globally. Shanghai cif premium rises by $3 per tonne from last Monday; bonded warehouse premium up by $5 LME cash/three-mo...Read More
The US copper price increased during midweek trading this morning in the US, amid a softer dollar and positive trade talks between the United States and China.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.30 cents to $2.6690 per lb. Trade talks between the world's economic powers continued for a third consecutive day earlier this morn...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were stronger across the board by an average of 0.6% this morning, Wednesday January 9.Tin led the way with a 1% gain and is back over $20,000 per tonne and has an impressive double bottom in place on the chart, with lows in August and November. Lead, zinc and aluminium were all up by around 0.8%, copper was up by 0.4% at $5,959 per tonne...Read More
Increased numbers of spot market inquiries exposed the greater availability of cobalt in Europe in the first half of the week that began on Monday January 7, with metal prices continuing to fall as a result.Standard-grade cobalt prices dropped to $24.75-26.25 per lb, in-warehouse, on January 9, from $25.75-27.25 per lb at the end of last week.Alloy-grade prices remained slightly lower on January 9...Read More
Turkish pipe export prices have continued to fall with weak demand and lower costs for pipemaking raw materials, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 9.Steel pipe mills reduced their offers for EN10219-standard, grade-S235 tube, with 2mm wall thickness, to $570-580 per tonne fob from the $590-600 per tonne heard last month.Fastmarkets' monthly export price assessment for tube of this grad...Read More
Activity in the export market for flat steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was slowly recovering from the new-year holiday silence during the week that ended on Tuesday January 8.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) was unchanged at $440-460 per tonne fob Black Sea on January 8."The market remains very slow. Suppliers jus...Read More