RAPAPORT... August saw Belgium's first increase in polished-diamond exports for 16 months, after a long period of inactivity led to a buildup in demand."There's definitely demand and shortages in certain categories. People are buying again," Karen Rentmeesters, senior communications manager at the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), told Rapaport News Tuesday.Polished shipments out of the co...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Exports of polished diamonds form Belgium were up 6.3 per cent in August, compared with the same month last year, in spite of the coronavirus pandemic.Total sales were $343m, according to figures released by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) on Tuesday. Carats sold were down 8.3 per cent to 156,795.Exports were down over 50 per cent by dollar value in the first half of 2020 b...Read More

Triland Metals Singapore Pte Ltd (TMS) has appointed Nicholas Quek as its head of sales & trading, effective September 1. Quek, who joined TMS in April 2019, most recently worked at Raffemet Pte...Read More

New Day Aluminum Holdings has signed a letter of intent with Cemtech Materials Corp to supply it with bauxite residue for use in the cement production process - a deal that will have an environmentally beneficial impact, New Day said.The agreement, made through New Day subsidiary Noranda Alumina, begins in the fourth quarter and will see the bauxite residue used as the raw material for iron, repla...Read More

The three-month copper price was the standout underperformer during morning trading on Thursday September 10, after a complex-wide sell-off emerged during the Asian trading session, while LME nickel futures continued to correct firmly below the $15,000-per-tonne threshold. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $6,637 per tonne, down by more than 1.7% from Wednesday's closing pric...Read More

A rebound in the United States' Nasdaq Composite Index on Wednesday September 9 may have underpinned broader markets, but the base metals were less convinced with most ending the day in negative territory.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower again this morning.Asian-Pacific equities and pre-market major western equity index futures, exclu...Read More

Brazilian imports of flat and long steel decreased year on year in August amid increased prices in China, according to figures released by the country's economy ministry early this week.Imports of flat steel products dropped by 30.3% year on year in August, to 66,302 tonnes from 95,116 tonnes a year before. In comparison, Brazilian imports of flat steel products...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States are closing in on $27.50 per hundredweight ($550 per short ton), while some mills have begun looking to up the ante and raise prices to as much as $30 per cwt ($600 per ton).Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $27.40 per cwt ($548 per ton) on Thursday September 10, up by 1.1% from $27.11 per cwt on Wednesday Sept...Read More

Prices for domestic steel reinforcing bar in the United States rose for the first time since January, after buyers mostly accepted mills' price increases. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US climbed to $29.25 per hundredweight ($585 per short ton) on Wednesday September 9, up by 4.5% from $28 per cwt previously, where the price had remained since mid...Read More

Imported steel billet prices increased again in Egypt this week because of higher offer prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 10.No bookings were heard during the week, however, because of ebbing end user demand amid weak domestic construction activity, Egyptian sources said.Construction in Egypt has been slow since a construction ban was imposed in the country on May 25, which is...Read More

Two-time Vale president Eliezer Batista diesLeadershipLook beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipAuroch taps into further nickel potentialSPONSOREDauroch mineralsAVZ closes on financing for tier-one lithium projectSPONSOREDavz mineralsThe company is ramping up production to 1.35Mtpy milled by the second quarter of 2021 on time and on budget. An updated life of mine plan de...Read More

Turkish steel billet prices have increased this week because of the increasing scrap values, sources said on Thursday September 10.Steel billet producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to raise their offer prices for exports into Turkey following the recent uptick in Turkish import scrap prices, sources said.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix),...Read More

Turkish domestic long steel prices have increased over the past week on the back of firm scrap costs and a weakening Turkish lira, sources said on Thursday September 10.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, exw Turkey, was 4,050-4,080 lira ($541-545) per tonne, including 18% VAT, on Thursday, up from last week's 3,950-3,960 lira per tonne ex-works.M...Read More

Scoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp.AVZ closes on financing for tier-one lithium projectSPONSOREDavz mineralsThe US company, founded in 2010, usually focuses on overvalued Chinese tech and media firms but has now set its sights on North American mineral explorers twice in as many months.Read More

A rebound in the United States’ Nasdaq Composite Index on Wednesday September 9 may have underpinned broader markets, but the base metals were less convinced with most ending the day in negative territory.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower again this morning.* Asian-Pacific equities and pre-market major western equity index futures...Read More

Iron ore prices in the seaborne market fell further on Thursday September 10, with market sources saying that although the fundamentals of iron ore remained stable, the high levels of steel inventories dragged prices downward.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $126.09 per tonne, down by $0.45 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $126.15 per tonne, down by $0.68 per t...Read More

McDonalds (MCD), a Dow Jones Industrial Average stock moved above $216.43 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.  Pre-opening Comments for Thursday September 10thEquity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 6 points in pre-opening trade. The ECB announced that its overnight lending rates to European banks remained unchanged. Index futures were vi...Read More

Brazilian ferrous scrap exports fell both year on year and month on month in August while suppliers shifted their focus to the domestic market, data published this week by the country's ministry of the economy shows.Scrap exports reached 55,377 tonnes in August, a 19.7% year-on-year decrease from 69,000 tonnes in 2019 and a 27.6% drop in comparison with 79,460 tonnes in July of this year.The count...Read More

Seaborne hard coking coal prices in the cfr China and fob Australia markets hiked on Thursday September 10 following firmer premium hard coking coal prices and better demand in the fob Australia market, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $112.18 per tonne, up $0.53 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $126.81 per tonne, down $0.37 per tonneHard coking c...Read More

China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices stopped dropping on Thursday September 10 on optimism generated by positive data for the country's automotive sector.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,920-3,950 yuan ($573-577) yuan per tonne, unchangedThe China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) reported during the day that the country produced 2.12 million vehicles in August. This is a 6.3% y...Read More