RAPAPORT... Birks Group has eliminated a top omni-channel position on its management team as part of a restructuring effort in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.The Canada-based jeweler has let go of Lanita Layton, its vice president and chief omni-channel sales and marketing officer, according to a July 6 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Layton, the former managing d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's ailing diamond industry is calling for a huge cut in the duty charged on its polished exports. It's also requesting "direct" rough purchases to reduce costs, rather than being forced to buy through middlemen in Antwerp, and a package of other measures relating to e-commerce and gold monetization. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) says the expo...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will keep its open outcry trading ring in London closed despite the United Kingdom easing its lockdown restrictions, it announced on Wednesday July 8. "Following detailed discussions with our ring-dealing members and User Committee, and having fully assessed the updated UK government guidance that came into effect on 4 July, our position remains not to reopen the ring unt...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The "bible" of lab-grown diamonds is being republished to update jewelers, traders and consumers.Authors Dusan Simic and Branko Deljanin have revised existing content and added 50 pages since the last edition of Laboratory Grown Diamonds in 2007 and aim to present complex technical information in an easy-to-understand format.Simic, a research gemologist at New-York based Analytical...Read More
Fresh deals for third-quarter aluminium ingot supply to Japan have been concluded at $79 and $80 per tonne cif main Japanese ports (MJP), sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 8. A consumer confirmed buying 500 tonnes per month for the quarter from a producer. Sources also reported hearing a producer deal at $80 per tonne cif MJP for the quarter. Despite being a week into the third quarter of...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Diamond Price Index was down in June by 0.35 per cent with only negligible changes day-to-day. There were some hopes of a post-COVID recovery in April, when the Index rose by 0.7 per cent, but they seemed to be dashed in May, when the graph showed a virtual straight line, and they have now been followed by month of decline, albeit slight. IDEX Onl...Read More
RAPAPORT... Surat authorities have extended the shutdown of the Indian city's diamond-manufacturing sector for another week after the number of coronavirus cases grew.While trading markets can reopen this Friday, cutting factories won't be able to restart until July 14, the Surat Municipal Corporation ordered Monday.The industry closed for seven days last week after polishing units increasing...Read More
A summary of aluminium producer Alcoa's preliminary second-quarter results, to June 30, 2020.In brief Alcoa said it is expecting a net loss attributable to Alcoa Corp of between $190 million and $205 million, as compared to net income attributable to Alcoa Corp of $80 million in the first quarter of 2020.For the second quarter, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortizati...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil have moved further upward over the past week across Europe, supported by a lack of competitive import offers and a slow revival of demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 8.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?404.00 ($456.17) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?,?0.87 per tonne day on day from...Read More
Steel rebar prices were largely steady in Europe in the week to Wednesday July 8 with buying activity reported to be satisfactory in most regions. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe was ?,?425-435 ($480-492) per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing from ?,?420-435 per tonne delivered last Wednesday. The assessment was based on...Read More
Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesOverall, some 1.5 million people have lost their jobs in the past year in Chile, a 16.5% fall, bringing employment rates back to levels last seen in September 2010."This is a clear example of the impact of the [COVID-19] pandemic on employment," said Sonami research manager Alvaro Merino.Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPO...Read More
ArcelorMittal Brasil will restart activities of the No2 blast furnace (BF) at its Tubar??o mill, in the Brazilian south-eastern state of Esp?-rito Santo, on July 26, after more than a year of downtime, the company said on Wednesday July 8.Production from the No2 BF is solely export-oriented and the decision to reignite it was taken after a demand recovery in external markets, ArcelorMittal added.T...Read More
The price of hollow steel sections in Northern Europe widened on Wednesday July 8 with mills seeking to fill their order books before the seasonal summer slowdown, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?540-560 ($610-632) per tonne on Wednesday, widening downward from ?,?550-560 per tonne a week earlier.F...Read More
Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesData from state copper agency Cochilco shows output was maintained at normal levels during the first five months of the year, averaging 473,200 tonnes per month.Chile produced 432,500t of red metal in May, but market observers are expecting these figures to fall as mining operations slow due to COVID-19 cases among miners increasin...Read More
With the exception of China’s CSI 300, Asian-Pacific equities and pre-market major western equity futures were weaker this morning, Wednesday July 8, while base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed and those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally firmer.We wait to see if the halt in the rise in equities is just a pause, or whether focus is turning to the rap...Read More
After rising last week, stainless steel scrap prices in the United States have hit a wall even as the nickel cash contract on the London Metal Exchange climbed above $13,230 per tonne ($6 per lb) for the first time since late January.The typical summer slump has started, and steel mill operations have continued at a slow pace while stainless scrap flows remain limited. At the same time, market par...Read More
The US East Coast ferrous scrap export market has gone quiet with no cargoes sold over the past week, although an underlying stability was present while exporters worked to fill vessels to Turkey.While Turkish steelmakers bypassed the East Coast over the past week, mills in that country have continued to purchase scrap. One such cargo booked out of Texas, which Fastmarkets reported on July 2, cont...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market so far this week because of weak demand for finished long steel, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 8.Mills in Turkey booked five deep-sea cargoes late last week, totalling around 140,000 tonnes.However, they went quiet at the beginning of the week after struggling to sell finished long steel products i...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Price uptrend stumbles, but expected to resumeAs we expected, Chinese export and domestic steel prices moved upward in June, settling within the 2% range of our forecasts. Rebar prices trended downward in the second half of the month while heavy rains and floods in parts of the country meant that some construction sites had...Read More
Fastmarkets' iron ore index for 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao rose to its highest level in 2020 on Wednesday July 8, with iron ore prices continuing to strengthen amid the recovery in Chinese domestic demand for rebar. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $106.50 per tonne, up $3.49 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $108.28 per tonne, up $2.97 per tonne. 58% Fe fines...Read More