Weak demand and good availability of cargoes continue to put pressure on global alumina prices toward the end of the third quarter of 2019, with prices on a downward spiral over the past four months.Fastmarkets' benchmark alumina index, fob Australia fell to $292.50 per tonne on Tuesday September 17, its lowest since May 25, 2017, and remained little changed at $292.51 per tonne the foll...Read More

Ahead of Fastmarkets' Battery Materials Europe conference in Amsterdam, we hosted a free web seminar to discuss recent market moves in the battery and EV sector, and what to expect over the coming months. If you missed it, follow the link below to listen to the free recording. What is driving the battery raw materials markets? During the webinar, we discussed: Cobalt: metal, salts and interme...Read More

Growing alumina supply and a retreating Chinese aluminium futures price are weighing on the domestic Chinese alumina price and could cause it to drop further, sources told Fastmarkets at a seminar held by the Qianhai Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday September 18 in Shanghai. Market participants speaking to Fastmarkets on the sidelines of the event were mostly bearish on the Chinese alumina price i...Read More

The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange was slightly higher during morning trading on Thursday September 19, with price action nearing $1,800 per tonne despite low turnover, while the light metal's forward spreads on the exchange remained in a contango. Aluminium futures were trading in a narrow range over the morning period after reaching an intra-morning low of $1,783 per to...Read More

Domestic stainless steel prices in China rose over the past week amid rising production costs. Fastmarkets' price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic, ex-whs China in the country's major market of Wuxi was 15,400-15,800 yuan ($2,172-2,229) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday September 18, up 100 yuan per tonne from a week earlier. Ind...Read More

Export and import billet prices in Turkey have weakened over the past week, while the domestic price was unchanged, sources said on Thursday September 19. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet import, cfr main port Turkey was $360-365 per tonne, down from $370-375 per tonne last week. Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States have lowered their offers to Turkey to $365-38...Read More

Hong Kong show brings fewervisitors, but better-than-expected trading. Serious buyers attending. Fair reflectsspecific Chinese interest and shift to lower-color diamonds. Pockets of gooddemand, with shortages of nice (eye-clean) RapSpec A3+ SIs due to reducedmanufacturing. Some small-scale Indian cutters closing early for Diwali. DeBeers maintaining flexibility for next week's sight, allowing 20%...Read More

Fewer goods and buyersin the local market during the Hong Kong show. Dealers looking to fill specificorders, with very little inventory-buying. Volatile melee market seeing slight improvementin lower price ranges. Polished production still at reduced levels, with somesmall-scale manufacturers closing early for Diwali. Larger exporters preparinginventory as they anticipate US holiday orders. Roun...Read More

RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp. has recovered a 123-carat, type IIrough and a 375-carat, gem-quality stone from the high-value portion of its Karowemine in Botswana, it said Wednesday. Including the two diamonds, the company has unearthed 29diamonds over 100 carats, including eight weighing more than 200 carats. The123-carat diamond was from the run of mine ore at the EM/PK(S) portion of the...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelers of America (JA) has named Ed Bridge, chairman of Ben Bridge Jeweler, as the recipient of its 2020 GEM Award for LifetimeAchievement. The GEM Awards honor the outstanding achievements ofindividuals or companies whose work raises the visibility and status of finejewelry and watches. "Ed has undoubtedly increased the professionalism for thejewelry industry," JA president Da...Read More

RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports rose 1.5% year on year to CHF 1.52 billion ($1.53billion) in August amid increased growth in US demand ahead of the September 1tariff hikes. "In the US, growth continued to increase regularly, makingit the top export market," the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reportedlast week.  Shipments to the US climbed 15% to CHF 177.3 million ($178.4million),...Read More

RAPAPORT... A historic emerald given to Lady Mary Hood Mackenzie byMughal Emperor Akbar II in 1813 will go under the hammer at Bonhams, the auctionhouse said Tuesday. The Art Deco, Persian-engraved, octagonal-cut Colombianemerald brooch is set in a frame of black enamel and brilliant and single-cutdiamonds, mounted in platinum. The piece, believed to have been created around1925 by British je...Read More

Turkish long steel export prices have continued to weaken over the past week in line with the falling imported scrap values and limited demand for the material, sources said on Thursday September 19.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) export, fob main port Turkey, was $400-410 per tonne on an actual-weight basis on Thursday, down from last week's $410-415 per ton...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies is collaborating with China'sNational Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC) to advance diamond-gradingstandards in China. Sarine CEO DavidBlock and NGTC president ZhiBin Ye signed the agreement in Beijing Monday, with the intention of combining NGTC's extensive gemological research and diamond-testing expertisewith Sarine's artificial intelligence (AI) technology to i...Read More

Ed Bridge, Chairman Emeritus of Ben Bridge Jeweler, Inc, is the 2020 recipient of the GEM Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award has been made in honor of his dedication to Ben Bridge and the jewelry industry throughout his career. The award ceremony will take place at the annual Gem Awards. The Gem Awards honor the outstanding achievements of individuals or companies whose work raises the...Read More

Fastmarkets MB has corrected its weekly price assessment for steel billet exported from Turkey, which was published incorrectly on September 19 due to an error. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet export, fob main port Turkey was originally published at $370-390 per tonne. This has now been corrected to $370-380 per tonne. Fastmarkets MB's price book and database have been u...Read More

GemFind has announced the launch of an e-commerce version of DiamondLink. DiamondLink allows retailers to curate a list of diamonds suppliers on their website. The new iteration enables jewelers to sell diamonds from their vendors directly on their website.GemFind says that with this new version of DiamondLink, retailers can select the diamond qualities they want to offer. It also offers reports t...Read More

(IDEX Online) - CIBJO has released an overview of its Responsible Sourcing Blue Book. The Book defines a universally agreed-to set of recommended responsible sourcing principles that can be applied by all members of the jewelry industry. The report was prepared by the CIBJO Responsible Sourcing Commission, headed by Philip Olden.The report outlines a program initiated by the CIBJO' Respo...Read More

The Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises says State-owned diamond miner Alexkor is in trouble.The committee was on Wednesday briefed by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and Alexkor on progress made in addressing the miner’s governance challenges and financial performance.AdvertisementIn its questions, the committee expressed concern about the state in which the company finds i...Read More

RAPAPORT... Shares in Petra Diamonds slipped 7% in early trading Mondayafter the miner reported its loss had broadened due to a devaluation of itsfour deposits. The company reported a net loss of $258.1 million for theperiod ending June 30, as opposed to a loss of $203.1 million the year before.This was due to the combination of impairment charges - a reduction in the value of an asset- on it...Read More