(IDEX Online) - Chow Tai Fook, the largest jewelry retailer in Asia, has joined CIBJO in a move that's been described as a "giant milestone".CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, promotes international cooperation in the industry and describes itself as "the United Nations of the jewellery business".Kent Wong, managing director at Chow Tai Fook, which has over 4,590 stores, said: "It is i...Read More

The whole London Metal Exchange complex fell on Thursday June 17 due to a high US dollar, with zinc and lead the hardest hit.The US Dollar Index touched 91.93 on Thursday, its highest level since April 13. This followed a more hawkish view expressed by the US Federal Reserve regarding inflation and interest rates, delivered on June 17.The three-month price of zinc fell the furthest, to $2,911.50 p...Read More

The United States has published a strategy for lithium-ion battery manufacturing which calls for the elimination of cobalt and nickel from the cathode by the end of the current decade.It intends to achieve this through research and development into new technologies, with the goal of establishing a domestic battery supply chain that meets the demands of the growing electric vehicle (EV) and electri...Read More

Joseph Carrabba, formerly chairman, president and chief executive officer of Cleveland-Cliffs, has been named CEO of ElementUS Minerals, the company has said.Carrabba was at Cleveland-Cliffs, at one point known as Cliffs Natural Resources, from 2005 to 2013. Prior to this, he had spent more than 20 years in executive leadership at Rio Tinto, holding positions in its North American, Australian, Asi...Read More

The smooth unloading of a stranded alumina cargo locked in China's Bayuquan port calmed sentiment in the Chinese alumina market on June 17, sources said.Offers for port material rose to 2,550 yuan ($398.37) per tonne on June 15, up 30 yuan per tonne from a week earlier, after news of the quarantined ship became widely known, sources said. "Offers rose after the news [of the trapped ship] but low s...Read More

Fastmarkets will launch a monthly assessment of the discount for No1 copper material, candy/berry, on a cif China basis on June 28. After a consultation period, Fastmarkets has decided to launch a monthly assessment of the discount for No1 copper material, candy/berry, on a cif China basis. Over the consultation period from May 5 to June 7, buying interest in No1 copper material remained stro...Read More

Copper's price fall and a higher US dollar index were the main factors in a decline in London Metal Exchange base metals prices for a fourth day on the morning of Thursday June 17, with most down by at least 1%.The three-month copper contract on the LME was at $9,459.50 per tonne at 9am London time on Thursday, down by 2.1% from its $9,667 per tonne closing price on Wednesday. The contract fell to...Read More

Proudfoot Global CEO Pamela Hackett talks 'wrestling chaosSPONSOREDproudfootAntipa set to soar amid Winu and Havieron potentialSPONSOREDantipa mineralsAzure's Andover nickel shapes as a Pilbara NovaSPONSOREDazure mineralsMcDermitt puts Jindalee at top of US lithium stock-pileSPONSOREDjindalee resourcesThe company aims to submit an environmental impact assessment in September, produce a fea...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have held above $84 per hundredweight ($1,680 per short ton) for five consecutive business days, with mills struggling to meet buoyant demand, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $84.22 per cwt ($1,684.40 per ton) on Thursday June 17, down by 0.75% from $84.86 per cwt on Wednesday June 16...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman exploration"The renewal of our licence at Kombat marks a key milestone as we prepare to commence copper production by the end of the year," president and CEO Jed Richardson said."With licences in hand, it is full speed ahead to become a revenue generating company, capable of funding further exploration of our significan...Read More

Latin America's apparent steel use grew by 27.04% in March this year over the corresponding month of 2020, while consumption increased by 17.03% on the same basis of comparison during the first quarter, regional association Alacero said on Thursday June 17.Steel consumption in the region totaled 6.72 million tonnes in March, up from 5.29 million tonnes a year before, according to data from the ass...Read More

Domestic steel rebar prices in Turkey have widened upward significantly, market sources said on Thursday June 17, while wire rod prices were stable.Demand was moderate in Turkey because of low levels of construction activity, sources told Fastmarkets.The country's scrap prices decreased recently, but the price falls were not sharp.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), Nort...Read More

German steelmaker Salzgitter has raised its full-year forecast for 2021 to ?,?400-600 million, tracking the persistent uptrend in the flat steel market, Fastmarkets heard.In its first-quarter report published in May, Salzgitter said that it expected a pre-tax profit of between ?,?300-400 ($363-484) million for 2021, up from its previous forecast of ?,?150-200 million. ...Read More

Offers from billet producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States were stable in the second half of the week despite reports of limited demand.Customers in Asia, particularly China, were not willing to pay above $700 per tonne cfr early in the week, which would be equivalent to $640 per tonne fob Black Sea. No deal were concluded at this price because it was considered too low by mills sellin...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 9 points in pre-opening trade. Response to the Federal Reserve's announcement on interest rates continued this morning. The U.S. Dollar Index extended gains recorded late yesterday. Gold dropped an additional $62.80 to $1,798.80 per ounce.Investors were waiting for announcement of economic news this morning. The June...Read More

China produced about 326.29 million tonnes of unprocessed coal in May 2021, up by a slight 0.6% year on year but down by 1.8% from April. Coal production has been capped by frequent inspections from central and local authorities at major coal mines in northern China in April and May to ensure safety measures and environmental protection measures are being followed, sources said. Some mines which h...Read More

Turkish steel mills extended their silence in the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday June 17, with market participants reporting no new bookings for the second day in a row and describing the market as "quiet."Two cargoes heard booked earlier in the week, but brought scrap prices down by $10 per tonne. This week, Turkish steel mills have mostly focused on selling rebar in the export market, with Fa...Read More

The steel mills in Bangladesh have picked up a raft of containerized scrap cargoes at higher prices over the past week, preferring boxes over bulk cargoes, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 17.Demand for bulk material was muted in the country following recent completed trades, rising bulk prices from the United States West Coast and continued congestion at the Bangladeshi port...Read More

Vale is testing the use of unmanned trains at its Mariana iron ore complex to transport ore to the Timbopeba plant in a bid to reverse a recent state-ordered stoppage, it said on late Wednesday June 16.The Brazilian mining company expects the tests - of an automated train that will cover around 16 km in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state, where Timbopeba is located - to last one or two month...Read More

Coking coal prices increased in the cfr China market on Thursday June 17 amid active buying between North American suppliers and Chinese traders, sources said.The fob market, however, remained largely stable on firm demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $174.10 per tonne, up $0.24 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $283.37 per tonne,...Read More