Rio Tinto has unveiled the largest vivid pink diamond in the history of its Argyle pink diamonds tender, during a preview in Sydney.The 3.14 ct polished emerald cut diamond, known as The Argyle Alpha, is part of the line-up of 63 rare pink, red and violet diamonds in the 2018 Argyle pink diamonds tender. Following viewings in Sydney the collection will be showcased in Hong Kong and New York with b...Read More

China's domestic HRC prices gained on Thursday July 12 on concerns of a supply shortage after the output restriction policy in Tangshan, a steelmaking hub in northern China, was released to the market.Declining inventory in the domestic HRC market over the past week helped boost prices, sources said.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,260-4,280 yuan ($639-642) per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneNorthe...Read More

Former Dubai Diamond Exchange president Peter Meeus has been appointed chairperson of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses’ (WFDB’s) World Diamond Mark (WDM) programme.“I am delighted that Peter has agreed to take over as chairperson of the WDM, which was created by the WFDB in 2012. Peter has enormous experience in the diamond sector and is known throughout the global diamond...Read More

Molybdic oxide prices in Europe have added to gains made on Friday amid more buying interest so far this week after higher-priced sales of oxide in Asia affected market sentiment in the West.The move higher in European oxide has pulled up offer prices in the domestic ferro-molybdenum market, although there were fewer reported sales in alloys while market participants wait to see how far the oxide...Read More

Afarak shareholder and chief operating officer Danko Koncar has appealed a ?,?40 million ($46.8 million) conditional fine imposed by Finland's Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-SA) after failing to launch a takeover bid, the Helsinki-listed chrome producer has said. Koncar informed the company he has already appealed the decision, Afarak said on Tuesday July 10, adding that it was "not party to...Read More

Metal Bulletin is proposing to refine its existing coverage of the 62% Fe iron ore fines market to provide a clearer reflection of the mid-grade market segment, as distinct from other grade brackets.Metal Bulletin is proposing to refine its existing 62% Fe iron ore fines price (MBIOI-62) to provide a clearer reflection of the mid-grade market, removing direct influence from data pertaining to othe...Read More

Physical iron ore prices rose on Thursday July 12 amid gains in China's futures and steel markets.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $64.06 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.72 per tonneMetal Bulletin 62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines Index: $62.73 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.57 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $52.08 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.32 per tonneMetal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Ind...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, tender, 100,000 tonnes of...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices took another tumble on Thursday July 12 after sellers made concessions to liquidate the cargoes they had in hand. Two shipments of premium mid-vol hard coking coal were traded during the day at $189 per tonne cfr China, according to various sources. One of them is already en route to China while the other will be loaded around mid-July, they said. "This price is around...Read More

China's ferrous futures, apart from the hot-rolled coil contract, ended morning trading higher on Thursday July 12 following a steady upward trend since the start of the session.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange October rebar: 3,956 yuan ($584) per tonne, up 18 yuan per tonne October hot-rolled coil: 4,004 yuan per tonne, unchanged Dalian Commodity Exchange Septemb...Read More

Two companies have exited the London Metal Exchange warehousing business in the past month while others have significantly reduced their involvement, highlighting concerns over the growing unprofitability of the sector and the lack of on-exchange stock liquidity. 2018 has been particularly challenging due to a lack of available supply and rising operating costs, adding to stringent LME rules. ...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 15 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 225,000 versus 232,000 last week. Actual was 214,00. Consensus for the June Consumer Price Index was an increase of 0.2% versus a gain of 0.2% in May. Actual w...Read More

Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange jumped more than 2% during morning trading on Thursday July 12, accompanied by a slight uptick in copper prices, while the rest of the complex continues to waver against intensified US trade rhetoric. Pushing back over the $14,000 per tonne level, nickel's three-month price reached a high of $14,410 per tonne over the morning period, climbing 3.6% from We...Read More

Martin Vydra has joined Cobalt 27 as head of strategy, effective immediately. Vydra retired from Sherritt International, where he worked for 31 years, in April this year. Most recently, he held the role of senior vice president, commercial and technologies, which included overseeing nickel and cobalt sales. Between 2012 and 2017, Vydra was...Read More

Both Chinese cobalt tetroxide and sulfate spot prices edged down on Wednesday July 12 due to seasonal low consumption, with some refineries lowering their offer prices to secure sales despite high raw material costs. Metal Bulletin's China cobalt tetroxide spot price dropped to 390,000-420,000 yuan ($58,492-62,992) per tonne during the midweek session, down 2.4% from 400,000-430,000 yuan per...Read More

Independent UK steelmaker Sheffield Forgemasters will appoint David Bond chief executive officer on August 1, the company said on Thursday July 12.Bond joins Forgemasters on a secondment from his role as chief operating officer for defence contractor BAE Systems Australia, where he was responsible for the company's maritime, land and integrated systems businesses.Sheffield Forgemasters declined to...Read More

"What trade war?" asked an Op-Ed writer in Tuesday's Washington Post, triumphantly. "Investors on Monday continued shrugging off fears that President Trump’s escalation of trade hostilities will put a dent in share prices."We almost pity the poor fellow - all that egg he had scrape from his face.The Dow Jones tumbled 219 trade-warring points yesterday - and once again turned negative on the...Read More

It is a problem impacting everyone, including you.And it is hitting us right where it hurts - in the wallet.The issue is a massive shortage of truck drivers in the United States. American Trucking Associations believe that we need at least 50,000 additional truck drivers, and we need them today.1It isn’t hard to fathom how a shortage of truck drivers impacts all of us financially. Just take...Read More

East Asia's stainless steel import prices were relatively steady over the past week, with trading activity remaining low on soft regional demand, and offers staying unchanged despite declining nickel prices.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil was $2,210-2,300 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the week ended Wednesday July 11, narrowing up...Read More

Vietnam is maintaining most of its anti-dumping duties on stainless cold-rolled steel from China, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia until October 2019.Only one producer in Indonesia - PT Jindal Stainless Indonesia - will be subject to a lower tax of 6.64%, compared with 13.03% previously, following a review by Vietnam's Ministry of Industry & Trade, it said last week.Duties imposed on...Read More