Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed at the close of the morning trading session on Thursday December 26, with activity remaining limited ahead of year-end holidays."It is the holiday season and market activity is very thin because many people are on their vacation now," a base metals analyst in Shanghai told Fastmarkets.Participants have been winding down ahead of holida...Read More
Copper cathode premiums in China fell this week amid year-end destocking, a lack of significant spot demand and a persistently closed import arbitrage window between Shanghai and London.Fastmarkets assessed the copper grade A cathode premium, cif Shanghai at $42-55 per tonne on Tuesday December 24, down by $8 per tonne from $50-63 per tonne a week earlier. The latest assessment marks the lowest si...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transaction: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic, commercial-grade...Read More
Northern China's Puyang Iron & Steel (Puyang Steel) plans to add 1.37 million tonnes per year of iron-making capacity and 1.52 million tpy of crude steel capacity in December 2021, according to Hebei Provincial Industry & Technology Information Department. New facilities: one 1,580-cubic-meter blast furnace, one 140-tonne converterConstruction start date: March 2020Location: Handan city,...Read More
Good momentum as Mastercard reports holiday jewelry sales +1.8%, driven by +8.8% growth in e-commerce. General retail +3.4%. Mall traffic down but more people buying. Stores focused on creating unique customer experience. Tiffany & Co. holiday revenue up 1% to 3%, with strength in China and improvement in Europe and America. Polished trading slow as dealers close for Christmas-New Year. Diaman...Read More
Polished business slow. Fewer foreign buyers in the market. Some Chinese demand ahead of Lunar Festival. Local jewelers focused on gold products during wedding season. Rough sector seasonally quiet. Manufacturers cautiously raising polished production in anticipation of better orders in 1Q. RoundRead More
RAPAPORT... Jewelry sales in the US rose 1.8% during the holiday period, amid strong growth in e-commerce purchasing. Online sales of jewelry rose 9% during the two-month period, according to data from Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracked purchases made from November 1 through Christmas Eve. Retail sales for all divisions - excluding automobiles - rose 3.4% year on year. Total online buyin...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. noted a "momentum shift" in the Americas during the holidays, as growth in the region contributed to an overall increase in sales for the season.Company-wide revenue climbed by 1% to 3% year on year for the period from November 1 to December 24, the retailer reported Thursday. Sales in the Americas rose 2% to 4%, representing a turnaround from the decline Tiffany repo...Read More
RAPAPORT... HRD Antwerp has hired Ellen Joncheere as its CEO in the middle of a process to sell the company.Joncheere currently holds the same position at Fremach International, a supplier of car parts to the automotive industry. She will join HRD on January 20, succeeding interim CEO Michel Janssens, who will retire in mid-2020, a spokesperson for the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) said...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products. Latest transaction: rebarRebarEast China, domestic, grade III...Read More
RAPAPORT... The USdiamond trade continued to slow in October. Polished imports fell 38% to $1.45billion for the month, marking the steepest year-on-year drop since 2009 andthe seventh consecutive month of decline, according to Rapaport records. Polished exports dropped 35% to $1.07 billion, government data showed. US Trade Data for October 2019Read More
RAPAPORT... The past decade might be known for superheroes, Netflix and memes, but for Sotheby's it was all about record-breaking jewels, as worldwide sales for the divisiontotaled more than $4.7 billion. The auction house sold 40,353 items during the decade, including683 for more than $1 million and 41 topping $10 million, Sotheby's said lastweek. The 10 most valuable jewels ever sold at the...Read More
Two steel mills in northern China have sold 2.21 million tonnes per year of iron-making capacity and 1.52 million tpy of crude steel capacity to mills in the southern region, according to local government notices released earlier this week.Seller: Hebei Chengde Shengfeng SteelLocation: Chengde city, Hebei provinceCapacity sold: 1.48 million tpy of iron-making capacity, 1.52 million tpy of crude st...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alorsa and Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) have signed a number of agreements to finalize the creation of a joint venture for prospecting and exploration works for primary diamond deposits in the Republic of Zimbabwe.According to the agreements, Alrosa owns 70 percent of Alrosa (Zimbabwe) Limited JV, with state-owned ZCDC getting 30 percent. The Russian mining com...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co. have reported an increase of 1-3 percent (unaudited) in net sales for the period between November 1-December 24. The company said sales in the Chinese Mainland continue to drive overall sales growth, which saw a strong double-digit increase. However, this was offset by continuing sales declines in Hong Kong and, to a lesser degree, Japan, which has been affec...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, steel slab and bloom. Latest transaction: billetBillet China,...Read More
Export prices for Chinese plate rose over the past week after a mill in the northern region raised its offers.Fastmarkets' price assessment for January/February shipments of steel heavy plate export, fob China main port was $470-475 per tonne for the week ended Tuesday December 24, narrowing upward by $5 per tonne from $465-475 per tonne fob a week earlier.Most sources reported transactions being...Read More
Gold equities and related ETFs/stocks are leading equity market advances this morning. Nice breakouts above intermediate resistance by $GDX $GDXJ $XGD.CAWheaton Precious Metals $WPM $WPM.CA, a TSX 60 stock moved above $28.64 U.S. and $38.14 Cdn. extending an intermediate uptrend.First Majestic Silver $AG $FR.CA moved above $11.62 U.S. extending an intermediate uptrend.Another precious metals equit...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in China on Wednesday December 25.Key drivers Cobalt sulfate prices ticked up on Wednesday amid increased inquiries from consumers who need to restock ahead of a temporary suspension of logistics services, which will take place around mid-January, a week before the Chinese New Year holiday (January 24-30).Meanwhile, producers have broadly...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in China on Wednesday December 25Key drivers After declining for six weeks, Fastmarkets assessed the price of antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China as flat week on week at 36,500-37,000 yuan ($5,219-5,291) per tonne on Wednesday December 25.Many suppliers had kept their offer prices unchanged over the past week.Some consumers had re-entered the mark...Read More