RAPAPORT... Indian diamond manufacturers are planning a curtailed Diwali break as they scramble to fulfill US holiday orders amid a shortage of polished.Factories will shut for five to 12 days instead of the usual two to three weeks, aiming to offset months of inactivity due to Covid-19, manufacturing executives said this week. Demand is growing ahead of the Christmas and Chinese New Year sea...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gemological Science International (GSI) has launched a new online educational course dedicated to lab-grown diamonds, it said Tuesday.The Laboratory-Grown Diamond Essentials class was created in response to the rapid rise in the number of companies active in the sector, as well as increased consumer demand for synthetics, GSI noted. "It is imperative that the jewelry industry has the a...Read More

A large cargo of Ukraine-origin steel billet was heard sold into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in the week to Thursday October 22, while other regions were waiting to see how the market would move.A 50,000-tonne batch of Ukrainian billet was reported sold to Saudi Arabia at a price close to $440 per tonne cfr, according to estimates by market participants. This would be equivalent to s...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Petra is to sell a unique collection of blue diamonds, recovered within a week at its iconic Cullinan mine, in South Africa.The Type IIb diamonds, weighing between 9.61 carats and 25.75 carats, are all described as being of significant color, clarity, size. They contain a small amount of boron, which determines their blue color.They've been named Letlapa Tala, which means "blu...Read More

(IDEX Online) - An extremely rare 74.48-carat fancy yellow diamond is to headline a sale of rough by Rio Tinto from its mines in Canada and Australia.The diamond (pictured) has been named the Diavik Helios, after the Canadian mine where it was found, and the pure yellow sunlight emitted by the mythical Greek god of the Sun.The Specials Tender of stones over 10.8 carats also includes 28,399 carats...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Veteran diamond industry journalist Rob Bates is making his debut as an author - with the release of a murder mystery set in New York's Diamond District.After 25 years' writing about real-life intrigue in the world of gems, he's penned A Murder is Forever, a fictional account of conspiracy, death, secrets and a $4m pink diamond.Mimi Rosen, the central character, does...Read More

Multiple battery chemistry offerings will continue to co-exist in the marketplace, according to Ernie Ortiz, president and managing director at Lithium Royalty Corporation."The future will be balanced and diversified across battery chemistry. [Original equipment manufacturers] acknowledge that battery chemistry is not a one-size-fits-all approach," Ortiz said during the Focus Day on electric vehic...Read More

The three-month price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Thursday October 22, making a steady approach toward resistance at the $2,600-per-tonne threshold.Copper futures were the laggard over the day, in spite of Wednesday's upsurge.Zinc's underlying price on the LME closed at $2,578.50 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, climbing from an intrad...Read More

Freeport-McMoRan has proposed expanding its existing copper smelter at Gresik in Indonesia by 30% and adding a precious metals refinery in place of constructing an entirely new smelter nearby. The chief executive officer of the US copper producer said this option was attractive to the government of Indonesia as an alternative to undertaking a major construction project during the Covid-19 pandemic...Read More

The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) will revise its performance standard to align with the London Metal Exchange's responsible sourcing requirements, Marieke van der Mijn, director of impacts and partnerships at ASI said on Thursday October 22. Speaking at the exchange's focus day during LME Week van der Mijn explained: "ASI is working closely with the LME to align the ASI guidance and stan...Read More

US copper producer Freeport-McMoRan said its Cerro Verde copper mine in Peru is operating at around 90% of its 2019 annual average while it works to restore operations following restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The mine, in which Freeport owns a 53.56% stake, saw operating rates average 351,000 tonnes per day of ore during the third quarter, the company said. Consolidated sales i...Read More

Freeport-McMoRan expected consolidated copper sales for the full year of 2020 to be around 3.18 billion lb, or 1.44 million tonnes, slightly more than the 3.15 billion lb, or 1.42 million tonnes, that was forecast in July.In its earnings statement for the July-September quarter, published on Thursday October 22, the miner said that it expected consolidated copper sales in 2021 to rise to 3.85 bill...Read More

Freeport-McMoRan is to restart its Chino copper mine in the US state of New Mexico at 50% of capacity starting in 2021, the company has said.The US copper producer had been evaluating options for the mine, which was shuttered in April after...Read More

Reinforcing bar prices in the United States were stable week on week on mostly flat domestic ferrous scrap prices and a partially successful mill price hike, market participants said.Those factors appear to have offset - at least for now - concerns about construction demand and outright pessimism about infrastructure spending heading into 2021, some sources said.Fastmarkets ass...Read More

A summary of the financial results for Turkey's largest steelmaking group, Erdemir, for January-September 2020.In brief Erdemir Group's local flat steel sales totaled 5.4 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by about 1.3% from 5.47 million tonnes in the January-September 2019. The company's local long steel sales decreased by 0.8% to 774,000 tonnes from 780,000 tonnes...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were unchanged day on day on Thursday October 22, but steelmakers were expected to announce a price increase, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?497.50 ($589.78) per tonne on Thursday, flat from the day before.The index was up by ?,?1.87 per tonne w...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were weaker this morning, Thursday October 22, this after a day of general strength on Wednesday that saw copper prices climb, intraday, back above $7,000 per tonne.* Concerns that an additional stimulus package in the United States may struggle to get agreed before the presidential election has weighed on sentiment.* Forecasts from the International...Read More

Demand for rebar and billet in Egypt failed to improve in the week to Thursday, October 22, despite the authorities reducing safeguard duties on the products, sources told Fastmarkets.Steel billet and rebar prices in Egypt were unchanged as a result, they added. The duty for imported billet was cut to 13% for the cif market last week, with a $60-per-tonne minimum, compared with ...Read More

CSX Corp.(CSX), an S&P 100 stock moved above $81.40 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend following release of higher than consensus third quarter earnings.  Pre-opening Comments for Thursday October 22nd 2020U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 7 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following relea...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore remains the most bullish commodity of the year, with prices fuelled by Chinese demand and supply disruptions in Brazil, along with bullish sentiment. But prices are expected to come down because Brazilian exports have begun to recover, and have reached their highest level since the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019. W...Read More