Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More
The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Having found it easier to increase prices than their counterparts in Europe and the United States during the past few months, Asian stainless steelmakers now face a number of concerns.In the short term, Asian prices have moved down in recent weeks while those in Europe and the US are on the up. This is mostly a reflection of...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were stable day on day on Tuesday January 12 following an increase a day earlier, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?688.00 ($837.09) per tonne on Tuesday, unchanged day on day.On Monday, the index had jumped by ?,?20.50 per tonne day on day.The index...Read More
The three-month nickel contract was the biggest gainer on Tuesday January 12 with a 3% rise in a broad-based reversal of fortunes for base metals on the London Metals Exchange, due to expectations of further Covid-19 stimulus in the United States. Nickel's three-month price bounced back by 3.4% on Tuesday at 5pm to $17,668 per tonne, coming back to levels seen at the end of the first week of Janua...Read More
Extreme tin shortages in the United States have catapulted the domestic premiums to their highest levels since Fastmarkets began these assessments, with the in-warehouse Baltimore and ddp Midwest US premiums jumping by 32.17% and 44% respectively in the past two weeks.Desperate buyers anticipating shipping delays have paid whatever it takes to keep their operations going, Fastmarkets understands....Read More
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has directed the closure of mining operations on Tumbagaan Island in Languyan, in the province of Tawi-Tawi, to rehabilitate the area, the Philippine News Agency reported on Tuesday January 12."The island has, at this point, been mined out. And while rehabilitation efforts are underway, the President is issuing a directive to stop any and all mining in Tumbagaa...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price increased by over 3% during morning trading on Tuesday January 12, with the rest of the base metals' prices also rising in an episode of dip-buying following the price decline across the complex on Monday. Nickel's three-month price rose by 3.2% to $17,620 per tonne as of 9am on Tuesday, after a decline of 3.3% took its closing price to $17,086 pe...Read More
After further weakness in the base metals on Monday January 11, that saw the complex close down by an average of 1.5%, prices were up across the board on the London Metal Exchange this morning but those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange base metals prices were down across the board while they followed yesterday's performance on the LME. Asian-Pacific equities were mixed this morningGold prices were...Read More
Zambia-based blister copper producer Chambishi Copper Smelter (CCS) has agreed to supply the intermediate copper product to China's Jiangxi Copper at $145 per tonne cif China for 2021, Fastmarkets learned on Tuesday January 12. Last year, the contract between CCS and Jiangxi Copper - the biggest Chinese importer of blister copper - was settled at $128 per tonne cif China. The...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States extended their new year's rally, establishing a new 12 1/2-year high and derailing the prior idea that the first quarter will deliver pricing and volume relief to America's steel-consuming industries. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index was calculated at $55.72 per hundredweight ($1,114.40 per short ton) on Tuesday January 12, an increase of 2...Read More
Exporters of steel billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are facing stiff resistance from buyers reluctant accept their higher offer prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday January 12.Official offers for March shipment billet have been reported as high as $625 per tonne fob Black Sea.But bids from Turkey, a key export outlet for CIS billet, have been hear...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora has warned it is uncertain how the escalation in Covid-19 cases will impact its 2021 sales, as more stores close. Approximately 25% of the Danish jeweler's locations are currently on lockdown, as opposed to the 10% of brick-and-mortar shops that were closed at the end of the fourth quarter, the company said Monday.The jeweler expects revenue growth for the fourth quarter t...Read More
RAPAPORT... The largest rough-trading centers face a busy January as adaptations have enabled them to continue holding sales events during the pandemic. Antwerp and Dubai will host 14 rough tenders between them this month, after 2020 proved relatively strong despite the coronavirus outbreak. Technology has allowed sellers to offer goods remotely. At the same time, rough prices at tenders were...Read More
RAPAPORT... Erwan Rambourg is certain that luxury sales will increase in the coming decade as companies adapt to emerging trends and respond to societal forces. The industry analyst previews this new landscape in his recently released book Future Luxe: What's Ahead for the Business of Luxury - complete with "21 predictions for '21 and beyond." How has Covid-19 impacted the luxury industry?After a...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia went up over the past week with higher offers and bids, market sources said on Tuesday January 12.Buyers believed that offer prices were too high and asked for discounts, but sellers did not accept the lower bids. As a result, no deals were heard."Bookings are very slow in the UAE due to the heavy increase in prices," one...Read More
Steel rebar and billet prices in the United Arab Emirates rose again in the week to Tuesday January 12 because of higher offers and market indications, but most rebar producers are yet to announce new prices for February production, sources said. Demand for billet and rebar from end users was moderate to strong during the week, sources added. Domestic rebar Steel producers sold rebar at 2,259-2,29...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Chow Tai Fook sales soared in "business as usual" Mainland China, but fell in Hong Kong, which suffered a third wave of the pandemic in November and December.A rise of 26 per cent in retail sales value at its stores in mainland China was offset by a drop of 12 per cent in Hong Kong, Macua and other markets. Overall sales across all the chains 4,000 outlets was up 18 per cent.Growth...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Antwerp is hosting eight tenders this month, in spite of the ongoing pandemic and a renewed tightening of restrictions in many countries. That's on a par with 2020, when it hosted a total of almost 100 at various tender houses, selling over 10.5m carats.Coronavirus hit a peak in Antwerp last November, but infections are currently at relatively low levels. The city's...Read More
Export prices for steel slab from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased again during the week to Monday January 11 on sustained demand and bullish suppliers.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS at $685-700 per tonne on January 11, up from $675-680 per tonne a week...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond billionaire Beny Steinmetz allegedly paid $10m in bribes to secure rights to iron ore deposits, a Swiss court heard.The deal that his his company BSGR struck with Guinea, one of Africa's poorest countries, in 2008 was described as winning the "jackpot".He paid around $160m for the exploration and mining rights, then sold half of them to Vale, the Brazilian multinationa...Read More
There was little activity in the export market for long steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States in the week to Monday January 11 because suppliers are just starting to come back from public holidays. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $650-670 per tonne on Tuesday, flat week on week. Current offers for Russ...Read More