The Mexican economy secretariat has extended the period of an existing countervailing duty on imports of longitudinal welded carbon steel pipes from the Unites States, and has started an anti-dumping investigation on flat-steel imports from Vietnam.Mexico has extended the duty on welded steel tubes from US for five years starting on May 28, 2020, according to a decision published in the country's...Read More

Brazilian aluminium producer Companhia Brasileira de Alum?-nio (CBA) acquired a 49% stake in two wind power generation assets from a joint venture by sister company Votorantim Energia and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) for 59.56 million Reais ($11.4 million), the company said on Monday August 30.The two units are a part of the Ventos do Piau?- I and II complex, located...Read More

Chilean copper producer Codelco signed early labor deals valid until October 2024 with two trade unions representing workers at its El Teniente division, the state-owned company said on Saturday August 28.Unions representing workers at El Teniente mine and the Caletones smelter joined the No5 union at El Teniente, which had signed a deal a week prior, Codelco said. Existing labor contracts were du...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 30 that are worth another look.Spot prices for steel rebar imports into Singapore continued their downward trend in the week to August 30 amid growing pressure on traders to slash offers due to unsold seaborne cargoes fast approaching the island state.Read More

When fiat currency gets a regulating hand not by a free market but the meddling of politics trying to micromanage a market mainly through narrative, manipulation of the psyche of market participants, restraints are...by Korbinian Koller via Midas Touch ConsultingYou get bombarded with financial terms and economic and historical theories that make the mysteries of the market even harder to decipher...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices decreased on Monday August 30 due to China's potentially stricter steel production cuts by the end of November, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $156.66 per tonne, down by $0.89 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $157.19 per tonne, down $0.65 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $125.81 per tonne, down $0.69...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices increased on Monday August 30, largely due to tight supply, sources said. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $414.55 per tonne, up by $6.04 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $390.21 per tonne, up by $4.54 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $251.25 per tonne,up $2.35 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $210.73...Read More

Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in China's domestic market rose sharply on Monday August 30; news of production curbs raised futures prices to their highest in more than a week.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,720-5,750 yuan ($884-888) per tonne, up by 70-120 yuan per tonne.The most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit an intraday high of 5,654 yuan per tonne in early afte...Read More

Silico-manganese futures prices in China surged on Monday August 30 after market sentiment was bolstered by expected supply disruptions in Guangxi province, one of the main manganese alloy production regions in the country. The government of China's Guangxi province is poised to crack down on the "blind development" of its high energy-consuming and high-pollution (Two High) projects to ensure comp...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) has launched an automated service enabling select members to protect their memo goods at a fraction of the usual price.The new offering helps businesses carry out a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filing - a legal document declaring that goods on consignment to a customer are the property of the supplier. This lets the company recover the merchandis...Read More

The magnesium branch of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) published a proposal on August 27 calling for the healthy development of the magnesium industry. This came amid surging metal prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for magnesium, 99.9%, exw China, was 25,000-26,000 yuan ($3,862-4,017) per tonne on Friday August 27, an increase of 2,800-3,600 yuan per tonne or 14.3% f...Read More

RAPAPORT... Trust, reputation, integrity - these words are central to the diamond trade. "Our business is like no other in that we've always conducted it on a handshake," says Maximo Quinones, president and CEO of wholesaler DVG Diamonds in Miami, Florida.But these lofty ideals have also been tested, especially regarding the sale and use of conflict diamonds. In 2003, the Kimberley Process (K...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Authorities in Angola have seized almost 2,500 diamonds from illegal buyers as part of a long-running crackdown on illicit gem trafficking.They launched Operation Transparency in December 2018, targeting the eastern Lunda Norte province, where there are an estimated 700 illegal mining sites.The country's Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) seized 2,477 diamonds, plus cash equ...Read More

(IDEX Online) - An Indian farmer has recovered his sixth diamond in two years - a 6.47-ct gem valued at over $40,000.Prakash Majumdar leases a small patch of land in diamond-rich Panna from the Madhya Pradesh state government. The diamond, which he found last Friday, will be sold at a price fixed by the Government Diamond Office, and the proceeds -  minus taxes and royalties - will be sp...Read More

China's nickel sulfate price slid from its all-time high amid active spot trading in the week to Friday August 27, with easing raw material tightness and volatile nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange said to have driven the decrease.Fastmarkets assessed the price for nickel sulfate min 21%, max 22.5%, cobalt 10ppm max, exw China, at 36,500-38,000 yuan ($5,639-5,871) per tonne on August 27, d...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Armed raiders targeted diamond couriers on a bus to Surat, India, but were thwarted when passengers locked them in the driver's cab.Three gang members traveled with the angadiyas (couriers) from Bhavnagar, in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, and asked the driver to stop at Ankleshwar. There an accomplice who'd been following in a car pointed a gun at him and or...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have slipped below $97 per hundredweight ($1,940 per short ton), with market sentiment mixed on whether the price has peaked.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.93 per hundredweight ($1,938.60 per ton) on Monday August 30. It was down by 0.13% from $97.06 per cwt on Friday August 27, but up by 0.37% from $96....Read More

Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in China's domestic market rose sharply on Monday August 30; news of production curbs raised futures prices to their highest in more than a week.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,720-5,750 yuan ($884-888) per tonne, up by 70-120 yuan per tonne.The most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit an intraday high of 5,654 yuan per tonne in early afte...Read More

Spot prices for steel rebar imports into Singapore continued their downward trend in the week to Monday August 30 amid growing pressure on traders to slash offers due to unsold seaborne cargoes fast approaching the island state.A trader had cut his offers for Indian rebar to $725-730 per tonne cfr Singapore on a theoretical weight basis. Market sources said buyers remained silent due to the presen...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices increased on Monday August 30 supported by stronger demand and futures gains.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,230-5,260 yuan ($809-813) per tonne, up by 100 yuan per tonneThe weather has been favorable for construction work in Eastern China over the past few days, leading to stronger demand for rebar in the region.Rebar...Read More