RAPAPORT... The Hong Kong show usually scheduled for September will take place in an online-only format this year due to the coronavirus.Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong, formerly the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, was initially rescheduled to November because of the pandemic. However, organizer Informa Markets has now canceled the physical event entirely, and will inst...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong plunged in Julyamid a continued lack of tourism and a resurgence in coronavirus cases.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts slid 54% year on year to HKD 2.55 billion ($328.5 million) for the month. While the figure was an improvement over the previous month, the lingering effects on the trade continued to be...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has unearthed a high-quality, 233-carat, type II diamond from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho, the company said TuesdayThe discovery is the fifth rough stone over 100 carats that Let??eng has yielded this year, according to Rapaport records. It follows that of a 442-carat, type II diamond that was recovered on August 23, the company said Tuesday. That stone is one of the larg...Read More

RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, September 1, 2020, Las Vegas... Diamond markets improved in August as governments eased Covid-19 restrictions and dealers sought to fill specific orders from jewelers. Indian manufacturers increased polished production to fill shortages in certain categories. Polished prices firmed. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamonds rose 3.2% in August. It has fallen...Read More

Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil across Europe increased further over the week to Friday August 28, supported by high import prices, reduced production from domestic mills and seasonal demand recovery.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?450.45 ($537.09) per tonne on Friday August 28, up by ?,?16.70 per tonne week on week and...Read More

(IDEX Online) - De Beers reportedly sold $300m of rough at Sight 7 last week, after offering 10 per cent discounts to buyers.It signals the start of a recovery after its sales for the whole of Q2 fell 96 per cent to just $56m.The miner sold $551m of uncut gems at its February Sight, the last before the pandemic took hold globally and decimated demand.De Beers, which sells a quarter of the world�...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A spectacular yellow-brown diamond fetched $325,000 in the first online-only sale of diamonds by Christie's.The Jewels Online: Summer Sparkle realized $1,492,625 in total, with 84 per cent sold by lot.The headline lot was a 20.21-carat pear-shaped stone (pictured) set in a fine white diamond necklace. Other highlights included old mine brilliant-cut diamond ring of 12.02...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Uncertain times are reflected in an uncertain market, with few price movements during July and little to discern by way of overall trends. A glance at the charts shows a more or less equal split between red (falls) and green (rises). Key one-carats (1.00-1.24cts), both round and fancy cuts, were pretty much static. Only the smallest fancies (0.18-0.22cts) showed consistent increase...Read More

RAPAPORT... The first Christie's online auction dedicated solely to diamonds achieved $1.5 million, with a Graff necklace coming in as the top lot.The piece features a detachable pendant with a pear brilliant-cut, 20.21-carat, fancy-deep-yellow-brown, VS1-clarity diamond and 47.29 carats of white diamonds. It brought in $325,000, falling within its presale estimate range, Christie's announced last...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly trending upward during the afternoon session on Tuesday September 1, rallying on better data for the China purchasing managers' index (PMI) and a weak US dollar.The base-metals complex continued its recent macro-following trend on Tuesday, rising on hopes of greater Chinese demand with the region's manufacturing figures going...Read More

Zinc concentrate treatment charges (TCs) continued its upward trend in August with smelters reluctant to accept lower offers, while lead concentrate TCs fell sharply in response to supply tightness. Fastmarkets assessed the zinc spot concentrate TCs, cif China at $170-190 per tonne on Friday August 28, rising by $5 from the previous range of $165-185 per tonne at the end of July. Offers of zi...Read More

Impol Group's facility in Bistrica, Slovenia has received the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance Standard certification, it said on Tuesday September 1. The facility produced 250,000 tonnes of various value-added aluminium products such as extrusion billet, rolling slab, sheet and others in 2019, and was certified for its responsible production, sourcing and stewardship...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively higher during morning trading on Tuesday September 1, with both nickel and zinc prices leading the way with 2.5% increases on high turnover, while positive manufacturing data out of Europe this morning bolstered buying momentum further. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently at $15,715 per tonne, climbing 2.58%...Read More

Fastmarkets invites all aluminium market participants to provide feedback on its initiative to price the physical low-carbon aluminium market. Specifically, Fastmarkets seeks feedback on proposed specifications of low-carbon aluminium, the type of pricing mechanism used to perform price discovery for low-carbon aluminium and the products and locations in which low carbon aluminium should be priced...Read More

Markets were for the most part upbeat this morning, Tuesday September 1, with all the metals on the London Metal Exchange firmer, as were pre-market major western equity index prices. China's Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) beat expectations with a reading of 53.1 for August, compared with 52.8 in July. This was enough to send three-month LME copper prices to levels not seen...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesGomez, a long-time union leader and opponent of Grupo Mexico, made his demand after the company and its principal owner Jorge Larrea failed to respond to a request by president Andres Lopez for it to negotiate a settlement to a long-running strike at several of its operations.Gomez asked the president, a personal friend, to strip t...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States inched lower day on day after surging on Monday August 31, but have remained above $25.50 per hundredweight ($510 per short ton) thanks to expectations of short-term market strength.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $25.53 per cwt ($510.60 per ton) on Tuesday September 1, down by 0.3% from $25.60 per cwt on Aug...Read More

The spread between Black Sea export billet and slab prices reached a four-month high on Tuesday September 1, with slab currently exceeding billet by at least $29 per tonne amid better demand and reduced availability.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $430-440 per tonne on Tuesday, widening up by $5 per tonne.Fastmarkets daily steel billet index, ex...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe moved up day on day on Tuesday September 1, driven by a combination of reduced output from domestic mills, a lack of import alternatives and some demand pick-up, sources told FastmarketsFastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at ?,?453.48 ($541.18) per tonne on September 1, up by ?,?3.03 per...Read More

Exporters of flat steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States remained bullish over the week ended Tuesday September 1, even though no major deals were reported over the period.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $480-490 per tonne on Tuesday, unchanged week on week.Offer of Russia-origin HRC were heard only from Magnitogor...Read More