Domestic rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates remained unchanged over the past week, but are expected to increase soon in the wake of rising steel billet and scrap prices, sources said on Tuesday December 10.Billet importsFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr Jebel Ali, UAE, was $445-460 per tonne on December 10, up from $425-435 per tonne last week.One UAE cu...Read More

Fastmarkets has amended the specification of its northern China domestic hot-rolled coil price assessment to ex-works from ex-warehouse after a one-month consultation period from the date of this notice.This is to reflect the changing market situation in the region where Tangshan's ex-works prices is growing in influence in the spot market.The updated specifications are as follows:Assessment: Stee...Read More

Algeria will switch to fob-basis trade from cfr starting from January 2020, Fastmarkets learned on the sidelines of the Middle East Iron & Steel Conference being held in Dubai from December 9-11."The government is doing it with an aim of controlling the outflow of foreign currency from the country so they want to see how much is paid for the product and how much is paid for the delivery," an Alger...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa's sales rose 5% year on year to $287.8 million inNovember, as the manufacturing sector began to rebound, the Russianminer said Tuesday. The monthly sales are the highest the company has reportedsince April, and the fourth highest of the year.  "November sales growth [is] evidence that [the] midstreamsector, specifically in India, is on track to restore its balance," sa...Read More

RAPAPORT... A pair of blue diamond earrings fetched just under $1.3 million atBonhams' New York Jewels sale, beating its high estimate. The set features a marquise-shaped brilliant cut,fancy-intense-blue diamond with VS1 clarity, weighing 1.81 carats, and anoval-shaped modified brilliant-cut, fancy-blue diamond, weighing 1.62 carats. Thosestones are topped by two cushion-shaped modified brill...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Diamond Empowerment Fund has changed its name to Diamonds Do Good to simplify its identity within the industryand resonate more with consumers. The move, announced last week, is designed to align theorganization's branding in the trade with the way it is already recognized by thepublic. "We refer to ourselves as Diamonds Do Good to consumers," vice president and executive dir...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a 114-carat yellow diamond at itsLet??eng mine in Lesotho, the fourth of that color above 100 carats this year. The miner found the type I stone on Monday, a week afterunearthing a 93.5-carat, high-quality white stone. Two weeks ago, Gem Diamondsrecovered two stones weighing more than 100 carats from the deposit. The miner alsofound a similar-sized yello...Read More

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has had to put operations on hold at itsthree South African mines, due to a restriction on power usage enforced by the local electricity provider. Eskom has told the miner to limit its power usage to "essential loads," Petra said Monday. As a result, Petra has halted production, hoisting and processing at its Cullinan, Finsch andKoffiefontein deposits, and removed a...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa's sales of rough and polished diamonds in November increased 5 percent year-over-year, the miner announced today (Tuesday). Sales reached $287.8 million during the month. Rough diamond sales mounted to $282.1 million while polished diamond sales totaled $5.8 million.For the year to date, Alrosa has sold $2,974 million worth of goods. During the first 11 months of 2...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Jewelers Mutual has donated seven lab-grown diamonds to the Diamond Durability Laboratory (DDL). The donation is part of a year-long collaboration between the two entities to better understand damaged diamonds - both mined and lab-grown. The goal of the research is to create a more predictive model for potential damage during wear.The donated, damaged diamonds ranged in size from 0...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Sotheby's has appointed Wenhao Yu as its deputy chairman, Jewellery, Asia.Based in Hong Kong, Yu will be responsible for developing the auction house's jewelry business across Asia.Yu has a background in finance. He studied at Sotheby's Institute of Art in London before joiningPoly Auction Beijing in 2010 as senior manager where he co founded its Jewels and Watches d...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sotheby's has appointed Wenhao Yu as deputy chairman ofjewelry for Asia, to help strengthen its expertise and sourcing capabilitiesand expand its business in the region. Yu was previously at Poly Auction Hong Kong, where he founded and headed its jewels and prestige collection department.Prior to that role, he cofounded the jewels and watches department at PolyAuction Beijing. "O...Read More

South Africa’s biggest platinum and gold mining companies are scaling back some operations as record power cuts, now in their sixth day, start to cripple key parts of the economy.Eskom Holdings on Monday moved to Stage 6 load-shedding from 18:00 local time, meaning it cut 6 000 MW from the national grid, the most yet, after a technical problem at the new Medupi Power Station. The utility has...Read More

RAPAPORT... J.C. Penney has appointed Karl Walsh as chief digitalofficer, charging him with overseeing improvements to its e-commerce platforms and customer experience. Walsh waspreviously chief digital officer at Danish jeweler Pandora, a role he took onin March. He also worked at Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey & Company. He began at J.C. Penney on December 2, reporting to executiv...Read More

Petra Diamonds said on Monday it was in the process halting operations at its Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefontein mines in South Africa after State utility Eskom asked the miner to reduce its electricity load.Production, hoisting and processing have stopped with immediate effect and Petra Diamonds is now removing all people from underground, except those required for essential services, it said in...Read More

Mexican scrap prices have logged further gains, with optimism growing due to steady demand and a positive ferrous scrap settlement for December in the United States.Prices for most grades of scrap in the region of Monterrey city in northern Mexico rose by 175-225 pesos ($9-12) compared with the previous week, except for machine shop turnings.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel scrap No1 bushe...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued to buy deep-sea scrap on Tuesday December 10, pushing up prices ahead of the winter holiday period in the United States and Europe, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel producer in the Northern Turkey booked a cargo from the US on Tuesday, comprising 33,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $295 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $300 per tonne and 2,000 tonn...Read More

Iron ore seaborne prices eased a little on Tuesday December 10, but some market participants remained optimistic that steel mills' restocking will likely lend some support.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.57 per tonne, down $0.36 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.66 per tonne, down $0.36 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.48 per tonn...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices edged up on Tuesday December 10 amid a strengthening market for the steelmaking raw material as well as that for coke in China.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $136.25 per tonne, up $0.04 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $150.34 per tonne, up $1.34 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.33 per tonne, up $1 per tonneHard coking co...Read More

Higher offers for Indian hot-rolled coil in the international market have raised the likelihood of transactions involving the flat product from China despite further price gains in the East Asian country's domestic market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,830 yuan ($543-544) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,660 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneSpot prices in...Read More