Market observers do not expect planned interruptions to power supply in South Africa by Eskom to affect deliveries from South32's Hillside aluminium smelter, they told Fastmarkets.State power utility Eskom implements load shedding - controlled power blackouts - to reduce pressure on the country's electricity grid when power is severely constrained.Last week it was forced to implement stage 6 load...Read More
Kris Vansanten, a Belgian entrepreneur specializing in restructuring distressed assets, has built up a 3.42% holding in the voting rights of Nyrstar NV, Nyrstar said in a notice on December 17.Vansanten notified the company, which in turn published a notice on the Euronext exchange to inform investors, that his shareholding exceeds the 3% required...Read More
London Metal Exchange aluminium stocks continued to climb on Tuesday December 17, with 42,500 tonnes of material delivered into warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia.Total LME aluminium stocks, now at 1,444,300 tonnes, are up by 53% from 942,125 tonnes on November 11, when sizeable deliveries first emerged in response to LME aluminium nearby spreads being in backwardation.But while the benchmark cash...Read More
Benchmark alumina prices have failed to trade above $300 per tonne since August 2019 and are likely to remain under pressure in 2020 partly because aluminium companies are diversifying along the supply chain, market participants said. There has been a sharp drop in alumina prices in 2019 - Fastmarkets' benchmark alumina index, fob Australia averaged $279.56 per tonne in November, 26.8% lower...Read More
Sabic Hadeed expects local steel consumption to increase gradually over the next 10 years thanks to stronger demand from the private sector and not only via government spending or the oil sector, the state-owned Saudi Arabian steel producer said at Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron and Steel conference in Dubai last week.Consumption of steel including rebar, wire rod and flat products, in Saudi Arabia...Read More
Some flat steel import prices to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased this week on higher offers, but demand was moderate as end-user consumption remained subdued, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday December 17.No new bookings were heard this week because buyers wanted to see if the price increases were sustainable.UAEOffer prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) from China were heard in...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gemfields auctioned 12 parcels of rubies backed by G? 1/4 belinGem Lab's Provenance Proof program, the first blockchain-enabled rubies theminer has sold, it said Tuesday. "[The stones] have become the first Gemfields rubies ever topioneer the use of blockchain in facilitating improved supply-chaintraceability," Adrian Banks, Gemfields' managing director of product and sales,expla...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's supervisory board has approved a three-yearstrategy for its cutting-and-polishing divisions, including the integration of newacquisition Kristall. The plan, which it will implement between 2020 and 2022,will improve the efficiency of the Russian miner's cutting andpolishing units, Alrosa said Monday. The strategy includesmeasures aimed at optimizing the product mix and pr...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa will help launch a blockchain-based provenance program offering Chinese consumers greater transparency when buying jewelry via WeChat. The e-commerce program, apartnership with blockchain platform Everledger and Chinese Internet giantTencent Holdings, will be available to nearly a billion WeChat users, thecompanies said Monday. WeChat, which is owned by Tencent, is a m...Read More
Prices for steel billet imported to the United Arab Emirates have increased slightly over the past week amid strong demand, market sources said on Tuesday December 17.Market participants in the UAE expect prices to increase further due to the global rise in production costs and low stock levels in the country.Local rebar producers will announce new prices around December 20 and expectations are fo...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has appointed Peter Hill as non-executivechairman, succeeding company founder Adonis Pouroulis, who is stepping down,the company said Tuesday. Hill is currently non-executive chairman of geotechnicalcontractor Keller Group and of building-products company Volution Group. Hewill begin with the miner as non-executive director and chairman-designate onJanuary 1, and will be...Read More
Prices in the CIS export slab market rose above $400 per tonne fob Black Sea on Monday December 16, as customers from some destinations accepted higher offers on a sharp increase in finished flat steel prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $400-405 per tonne on Monday December 16, up from $385-395 per tonne a week earlier.A cargo of Ukrainan sl...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Jared, in collaboration with James Allen, has opened a concept store in Frederick, Maryland. The retailer said the new format "provides an updated environment that is a significant, yet welcome, departure from a traditional jewelry store."These updates include a more tactile experience for those shopping for bridal jewelry. The store has a hands-on product experience that encourage...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited, in partnership with French jewelry school Haute Ecole de Joaillerie (HEJ), has launched the Loupe Jewellery Academy. The company said academy will shape the future by "incubating and inspiring forthcoming generations in the jewelry industry."The academy, whose curriculum covers design, craftsmanship and sales and marketing, has already held it...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds has appointed Peter Hill CBE as its new non-executive director and chairman-designate with effect from 1 January 2020. Hill replaces Petra founder and current chairman Adonis Pouroulis who is stepping down on March 31, 2020. Hill, a mining engineer, is non-executive chairman at Keller Group plc, one of the world's largest geotechnical contractors, and...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico increased further for the week ended Friday December 13, following a continued upward trend in global steel scrap prices and improved sentiment following the latest settlement in the United States.Some steelmakers in Mexico's central Baj?-o region increased their buying prices by around 200 pesos ($10.52) per tonne late last week due to higher prices in the US, but n...Read More
Turkish steel mills made no fresh deep-sea transactions on Tuesday December 17, with prices remaining stable, market sources said.Mills started the week by booking two Baltic Sea cargoes on Monday for February shipment.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $299 per tonne cfr, 15,000 tonnes of shredded at $304 per tonne cfr, and 3,5...Read More
Indonesian ferrous scrap buyers are still cautious about purchasing imported cargoes even after state-owned surveyor KSO Sucofindo resumed inspections this week."Some traders are rushing to buy cargoes to supply Indonesian customers again but not all buyers are in the market yet," an industry source in Singapore told Fastmarkets on Tuesday December 17.Negotiations for containerized ferrous scrap i...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were largely rangebound on Tuesday December 17 despite pollution curbs being removed in Tangshan.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.07 per tonne, up $0.03 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.16 per tonne, up $0.03 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.95 per tonne, up $0.28 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Q...Read More
Prices of seaborne premium hard coking coal slipped on a fob Australia basis on Tuesday December 17 while cfr China rates remained underpinned by decent demand and the strength of the coke market in China.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.16 per tonne, down $2.42 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $147.33 per tonne, down $0.37 per tonneHard coking coal, fob...Read More