(IDEX Online) - Alrosa will again permit zero buyouts at its August tender, in the face of continued weak demand, it said today.The Russian state-owned miner adopted the same policy last month, when rough sales plunged to just $22.7m.Buyers will have the option of visiting Alrosa's office in person this month, travel restrictions permitting, or viewing goods online.The miner maintains a price...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Indian gem and jewelry manufacturers will "meet" international buyers online as their Buyer-Seller Meet goes virtual for the first time.Organizers GJEPC say the event, using high-end cameras to showcase goods, will "give buyers an experience better than the real one".The usual live event, with face-to-face meetings, has been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.The GJEPC is ex...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A number of extremely rare purple diamonds have been unearthed at the Ellendale field in Western Australia.Junior miner India Bore Diamond Holdings found fancy yellow diamonds at a large alluvial deposit, but tests by the Delta Diamond Laboratory, in Perth, revealed that many featured a highly rare and attractive purple fluorescence under ultraviolet light (see picture).Ellendale f...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe increased day on day on Tuesday August 18, with the mills pushing their offers further upward, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?424.50 ($503.41) per tonne on Tuesday, up by ?,?5.33 per tonne day on day from ?,?419.17 per tonne on Monday.The index w...Read More

RAPAPORT... The World Diamond Congress will take place in a virtual format beginning September 14, giving industry leaders an opportunity to brainstorm ways of navigating coronavirus-related challenges. The biennial event, a joint meeting of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), was originally scheduled to take plac...Read More

Miner BHP has identified what it has termed "future-facing commodities" in which it plans to invest further, based on trends for demand growth in the medium to long term - these are copper, nickel and potash.According to the mining giant's chief executive officer, creating and securing more options in these commodities will be a priority because this will protect and grow value over the long term....Read More

The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange consolidated slightly higher during morning trading on Tuesday August 18, building on a rally at Monday's close, while tin futures remained subdued over the morning. Zinc's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $2,470.50 per tonne, climbing by 0.8% from $2,442 per tonne at yesterday's close. Turnover was moderate at just over 3,70...Read More

There are numerous crosscurrents running through the markets this morning, Tuesday August 18, with the base metals mainly firmer and gold rebounding strongly, while equity markets were mixed and the dollar continued to weaken.Broader US equity markets were weaker this morning following Monday's poor US manufacturing data and rising mortgage delinquencies, but the Nasdaq established a fresh record...Read More

The annual Asia Copper Week gathering has been canceled this year due to the global spread of Covid-19, its Chilean organizer, the Center for Copper and Mining Studies (Cesco), announced on Tuesday August 18."We regret to announce the cancellation of all Asia Copper Week hosted events during ACW2020. However, we will maintain our presence during the week by offering a series of complimentary webin...Read More

Sales volumes from flat-rolled steel distributors in Brazil grew by 19.4% in July 2020, compared with figures from the corresponding month in 2019, amid lower availability from steelmakers, distributors' association Inda said on Tuesday August 18.Domestic shipments from Inda members totaled 344,000 tonnes in July, up from 288,000 tonnes a year before. Volumes also rose from 290,500 tonnes in June,...Read More

Hot-rolled coil import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia continued to increase this week while demand was moderate, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 18.Buyers said they preferred to postpone booking because the recent price increases were too sharp and they expected some correction.Additionally, some buyers were in no rush to secure deals after bookings were made last w...Read More

Prices for steel rebar in the United Arab Emirates have continued to increase over the past week but buying was only moderate, market sources said on Tuesday August 18.Domestic rebarSince Monday, the country's biggest rebar producer has been offering the product at 1,830 dirhams ($498) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in September. This was up from 1,773 dirhams per tonne ex-works for...Read More

There are numerous crosscurrents running through the markets this morning, Tuesday August 18, with the base metals mainly firmer and gold rebounding strongly, while equity markets were mixed and the dollar continued to weaken.* Broader US equity markets were weaker this morning following Monday's poor US manufacturing data and rising mortgage delinquencies, but the Nasdaq established a fresh recor...Read More

Export prices for steel rebar and wire rod from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased in the first half of August, supported by a combination of favorable market factors, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday August 18.The revival of interest in finished long steel products among some European and Middle Eastern suppliers, reduced allocation of materials from Russian mills and the positive...Read More

The uptrend continued in the export market for flat steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States during the week to Monday August 17 on higher sales to Turkey, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $475-480 per tonne on Monday, narrowing upward from $460-480 per tonne a week before.A sale of Rus...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil exporters kept offering high on Tuesday August 18 based on stable domestic market, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,080-4,090 yuan ($588-590) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneOne Shanghai-based trader said the futures price gains continued to improve market sentiment in the spot market, however, the demand mainly came from speculators who w...Read More

S&P 500 Index moved above 3393.52 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.Frontier iShares (FM) moved above $24.69 extending an intermediate uptrend. JD Inc. (JD), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $69.18 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Pre-opening Comments for Tuesday August 18thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 6...Read More

The Turkish steel producers have continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap markets due to weak demand for their finished long steel products, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 18.Turkish steel mills paused their deep-sea bookings on August 7, when the price for HMS 1&2 (80:20) reached $285 per tonne cfr for US- and Baltic Sea-origin material.The poor demand for long steel was the mai...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were relatively flat across the board on Tuesday August 18 in a day of muted trading. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $103.49 per tonne, down $0.06 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $115.07 per tonne, up $0.05 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $85.02 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking...Read More

Digital financing will ease a lot of strain businesses are facing on liquidity due to the Covid-19 pandemic, DBS Bank group head of trade product management Sriram Muthukrishnan told Fastmarkets in a recent interview. "Quicker and more cost-efficient financing" available to suppliers earlier in the business cycle compared with conventional post-shipment supplier financing programs is especially re...Read More