Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 2 that are worth another look.The rapid spread of Covid-19 infections in at least eight major cities in China is casting doubt on the recovery of steel demand in the country for the rest of 2021, market sources said.Four unions representing...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices were fairly stable across Europe on Monday August 2 due to the seasonal slowdown, market sources told Fastmarkets.In Northern Europe, buyers have been in "wait-and-see" mode while assessing price trends. They have booked sufficient volumes of coil and, therefore, were able to take a pause in their purchasing activity.Buyers also needed to evaluate effect on the mark...Read More
The price of lead reached a new year-to-date peak of $2,412.50 per tonne on Monday August 2, while nickel and copper faltered in trading on the London Metal Exchange.Lead's three-month price was at its highest on Monday for 37 months, since July 2, 2018. The metal's price was up by 0.8% from its price last Friday, hitting $2,402 per tonne at the close of trading. It had risen by 5.5% last month.Eu...Read More
Turkish steel mills remained inactive in the import markets at the start of this week, making no new bookings of deep-sea scrap cargoes on Monday August 2, sources told Fastmarkets.But two older cargoes have come to light since the calculation of the scrap indices closed for the day last Friday.Two European cargoes were booked by mills in the regions of Marmara and Izmir, each comprising unspecifi...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 2 that are worth another look.The rapid spread of Covid-19 infections in at least eight major cities in China is casting doubt on the recovery of steel demand in the country for the rest of 2021, market sources said.Four unions representing...Read More
The price of lead reached a new year-to-date peak of $2,412.50 per tonne on Monday August 2, while nickel and copper faltered in trading on the London Metal Exchange.Lead's three-month price was at its highest on Monday for 37 months, since July 2, 2018. The metal's price was up by 0.8% from its price last Friday, hitting $2,402 per tonne at the close of trading. It had risen by 5.5% last month.Eu...Read More
Iron ore prices mostly went up on Monday August 2 with the Chinese government being urged to pull back its aggressive carbon-reduction measures. This resulted in improved expectations for iron ore demand, because the proposed cuts in steel production for the rest of 2021 may be eased, market sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $184.42 per tonne, up by $2.85 per tonn...Read More
Prices of hot-rolled coil across China's domestic market fell sharply on Monday August 2, while futures prices tumbled after Beijing's latest comments on carbon emissions reductions sent confusion across the markets, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,760-5,860 yuan ($892-907) per tonne, down by 150-240 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Ex...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong's hard-luxury market saw only a partial rebound in June as the lack of tourism kept retail sales well below pre-pandemic levels.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts grew 32% year on year to HKD 3.31 billion ($452.7 million) but was still 42% lower than in the same month of 2019, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department reported Monday. The incre...Read More
RAPAPORT... Prices of fancy-color diamonds increased in the second quarter amid supply shortages, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF).The group's Fancy Color Diamond Index gained 0.2% compared with the previous three months, the organization reported Monday. Prices of blue fancy-color diamonds jumped 0.4%, while pinks increased 0.3%, and yellows rose 0.1%."As retail in the US,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Two specialists in source verification have teamed up to provide consumers with precise origin information for natural and lab-grown diamonds.Australian science organization Source Certain International will provide the technology for SCS Global Services' Certification Standard for Sustainable Diamonds, it said Monday. That technology will enable SCS to state the mine of origin on...Read More
Glencore has purchased a 9.99% stake in junior mining company Hot Chili for A$14.4 million ($10.62 million), the latter said on Monday August 2.The agreement gives Hot Chili, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and operates assets in Chile, the financing to complete a feasibility study for...Read More
RAPAPORT... Chow Sang Sang's profit soared in the first half of the year amid a recovery in the mainland China market, the company estimated.Profit increased between 145% and 155% year on year for the six months ending June 30, the Hong Kong jeweler said in a preliminary announcement last week. The figure ranged from HKD 518 million ($66.6 million) to HKD 539 million ($69.3 million), com...Read More
(IDEX Online) - LVMH sales of watches and jewelry more than trebled in the first half of 2021, the company said - up to $4.75bn.The French luxury conglomerate said Tiffany & Co, which it acquired earlier this year for $16.2bn after prolonged negotiations, had performed extremely well."The first half saw the integration for the first time of iconic jewelry maison Tiffany, which has benefited fr...Read More
Zinc and lead concentrate treatment charges (TCs) rose toward the end of July due to more mined tonnage hitting the market and pushing terms higher.Fastmarkets' assessment of zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China was $78-90 per tonne on Friday July 30, up from $75-88 per tonne three weeks earlier, and its highest level since last October.Terms have gradually increased since Chinese smelters took ext...Read More
(IDEX Online) - French police foiled an audacious bid by thieves to blow up glass cases at the city's Museum of Natural History (pictured) and steal a 217-ct necklace made for the Queen of Egypt.The $5.8m piece is among than 500 items in the Gems exhibition, which includes minerals, gemstones and objets d'art from the museum's collection, together with over 200 jewels by Van Cleef &...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Young couples are dispensing with engagement rings - and having a diamond pierced straight into their finger. It's called finger dermal. A small circle of flesh is removed from the finger, an anchor is inserted under the skin and the surrounding area has to be stitched to keep the gem in place. The process is, apparently, no more painful than piercing other parts o...Read More
Indian producer Vedanta Aluminium has purchased 354 million units of renewable energy for the 2022 financial year, it announced on Monday August 2.The energy, which will be from a mix of solar and non-solar renewable sources, will be used to help power aluminium production at its Jharsugada smelter in Odisha, India, to help the company achieve its carbon mitigation goals while producing "green," v...Read More
Hydrometallurgy company Hellenic Minerals has completed the construction of a nickel sulfate hexahydrate facility in Cyprus, paving the way for initial production there.The plant in Skouriotissa, about 30km west of the island nation's capital, Nicosia, is thought to be on the site of the world's oldest copper mine. It was expected to reach output of 44,000 tonnes per year of laterite ore, containi...Read More
BHP requested government mediation to reach an agreement and prevent a strike at the world's largest copper mine. Government mediation can last up to 10 days before workers can commence a strike.Read More