China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices gained on Monday December 23 as supply remained short in the east of the country, but a mill based in northern China exported material at a low level despite high offers, market participants said.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,910 yuan ($556-558) per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,640-3,650 yuan per tonne, widening upward...Read More

Billet exporters in the Commonwealth of Independent States saw a splash of demand from Saudi Arabia this week, with several cargoes heard booked, while most other markets remained quiet, market participants said.Two cargoes of billet with increased manganese content, each around 50,000 tonnes and scheduled for shipment in February, were sold to Saudi Arabia at the end of last week within the range...Read More

Zinc was the worst performer at the London Metal Exchange 5pm close on Monday December 23, while the other base metals consolidated in quiet market conditions. The three-month zinc price closed 2% lower at $2,291 per tonne, due to weak fundamentals triggering a sell-off. The metal has been retreating after it failed to stabilize above $2,300 per tonne last week. "The stronger than expected sell-o...Read More

Recylex has placed three companies including German primary smelter Weser-Metall up for sale, with the European lead producer forced to offload assets to reduce outstanding debts of ?,?200 million ($221.4 million)."The group is working on the disposals of PPM Pure Metals GmbH, for which it has already received expressions of interest, Norzinco GmbH and Weser-Metall GmbH," it said in a statement la...Read More

Peter Waszkis will retire as chief executive officer of warehouse and logistics provider Access World next February 2020, the company said in a news release on December 20.After becoming CEO in 2006, Waszkis led the company's push into Asian markets, helping it become one of the leading...Read More

The London Metal Exchange aluminium price was relatively steady during morning trading on Monday December 23, shrugging off a large cancellation of 107,125 tonnes from LME warehouses. Most of the cancellations were at warehouses in Port Klang and Singapore, while there were also 4,625 tonnes canceled in Rotterdam as well. The three-month aluminium contract traded at $1,807 per tonne at 9:45 am Lon...Read More

Daily PDFs will be downloadable until Wednesday December 25. After that, because of the Christmas and New Year holidays, the next daily PDF will be downloadable on Friday January 3, 2020.Read More

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange mostly softened during morning trading on Monday December 23, with the exception of the most-traded nickel contract, which bucked the trend with a 1.6% increase.Most investors stayed on the sidelines despite a partial resolution of the trade war between China and the United States.On Sunday, the Chinese finance ministry said it would lower tariff...Read More

Improving sentiment in the European domestic and import flat steel market in recent weeks spurred Italian customers to accept higher prices for CIS slabs, supporting Fastmarkets' assessment range in the week to Monday December 23. The price of imported hot-rolled coils prices in Southern Europe has gained $20-30 per tonne since the beginning of December, while the domestic price has increased by $...Read More

Overcapacity in the global steel sector has been an issue for many years, but has intensified in the recent years, according to Ankur Dana, chief executive officer of Dubai-based multinational Dana Group .Global overcapacity causes steel prices to fall, so governments should only approve new capacities if there is need, Dana said at Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron and Steel Conference in Dubai on De...Read More

One of the main challenges facing the Middle East steel sector is a lack of protection in an industry where protectionism is increasing, according to Abu Bucker Husain, chief executive officer of United Arab Emirates-based galvanized coil producer Al Ghurair Iron and Steel.North America, South America, Europe and Asia have taken protectionist measures to curtail imports, and this opens up the Midd...Read More

The domestic price for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe remained unchanged day on day on Monday December 23, sources told Fastmarkets.Market activity has been low due to seasonal slowdown during Christmas holiday period in Europe but is expected to start to recover in the second week of January. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, ex-works Northern Europe...Read More

RAPAPORT... It shouldn't be a novel idea, but in the jewelry industry,it's practically revolutionary. Unlike in almost every other fashion andaccessory retail sector, the idea of jewelers targeting female shoppers asdirect consumers only began to emerge fully in the past couple of years.But why has this strong and fast-growing segment beenoverlooked in the trade for so long? In this male-domi...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelers of America(JA) will expand its new marketing campaign following a successful test which reached more than 3 million unique consumers and garnered positive response."The industry came together and we were able to execute a campaign by the industry, for the industry," said JA CEO David Bonaparte. "The success of the test campaign gives us great promise for the future of a n...Read More

RAPAPORT... Pandora has elected Peter Ruzicka to succeed Peder Tuborghas chairman of the board, as part of its efforts to reinvigorate interest inits brand.Ruzicka's appointment follows the recruitment earlier this year of Alexander Lacik as CEO, along with other executive changes, as the company seeks to cut costs and improve its profit via its Programme Now strategy. Pandora announced in Ma...Read More

RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports fell in November as orders from HongKong continued to slow. Shipments to all countries declined 3.5% to CHF 1.99 billion($2.03 billion) in November, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industryreported last week. That mainly reflects a 27% drop in exports to Hong Kong,which outweighed a 4.6% increase in orders from the US.Pro-democracy protests have devastated luxury...Read More

Anglo American has received an operational permit for a "downstream" tailings dam at its Minas-Rio expansion project in southeast Brazil, the company said on Monday December 23.In the final stage of its development, Minas-Rio is expected to achieve nameplate capacity of 26.5 million tonnes of iron ore by the end of 2020.The company forecast output for the unit for 2019 was 23 m...Read More

Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices continued to push up this week in line with rising imported scrap values, sources said on Monday December 23.Two steel mills raised their buy prices for auto bundle scrap by 60 Turkish lira ($10) per tonne in response to the rising imported scrap costs.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS...Read More

The ferrous scrap market in the United States might be calmer in 2020, with metals recyclers potentially facing less volatility and price declines than in 2019, which could present a unique set of opportunities for buyers and sellers.Market participants do not expect the steep decline in prices that characterized the market in 2019 to reoccur due to the extent of that drop. Fastmarkets' asses...Read More

RAPAPORT... Martin Siegel, the chairman of Hamilton Jewelers who wasinstrumental in growing the US retailer's brand, died on December 17, thecompany announced. He was 86. Born in New Jersey, Siegel joined his father'sfine-jewelry business on leaving the army in the 1950s. He became president in1968, and served as chairman from 1994 until his death. The company now hasstores in Princeton, New Jerse...Read More