The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Prices across most ferro-alloy markets trended stable to lower in August as demand remained subdued in major markets, apart from China where steel output continues to rise at a rapid pace, supporting demand for ferro-alloys. As alloy makers seek to remedy supply/demand imbalan...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Numerous ore and alloy markets enjoyed upward pricing momentum in the first half 2020, with supply-side constraints supporting prices despite collapsing demand from steelmakers and other key end users. While supply side issues related to Covid-19 lockdowns have been resolved,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In previous reports, we noted that upside risks to our forecasts existed. These were based on Chinese steel production, and in turn alloy consumption, outperforming our expectations.Chinese crude steel production is rising each month in a year-on-year comparison, prompting our revised view that Chinese alloy consumption will...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore remains the most bullish commodity of the year, with prices fuelled by Chinese demand and supply disruptions in Brazil, along with bullish sentiment. But prices are expected to come down because Brazilian exports have begun to recover, and have reached their highest level since the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019. W...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the iron ore market, supply issues including heavy rains at the start of the year, followed by staffing problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, have affected exports from Brazil. This has helped Australia gain a larger market share, but since June, Brazilian export volumes have returned to levels last seen before the...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese blast furnace (BF) utilization rates have stagnated and iron ore port stock volumes are rising, reaching their highest levels since March, which suggests that iron ore supply is becoming excessive while demand is not growing. Unsurprisingly, prices dropped last week and we expect the trend to continue. The market has...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.We do not consider the average iron ore fines price for September so far above $125 per tonne cfr Qingdao to be sustainable. The bullishness is not likely to last in the long term as we expect Chinese demand growth to slow down. A key factor boosting Chinese steel demand so far has been the stimulus policies from the authori...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
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. A look at stainless steel price movements through August reveals the ongoing battle being faced by stainless steelmakers in Europe and the United States while they try to pass on rising costs to consumers. In these regions, prices on most grades of stainless steel are little changed from July, rising by around 2% at most -...Read More
The latest forecast from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we enter the summer season across the northern hemisphere, almost half a year has passed since the Covid-19 pandemic began to seriously affect Europe and the United States.One would not really be able to tell that such a dramatic event had occurred by looking at stainless steel prices, however, because they are more or less...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are relatively stable this month, showing little change since our previous tracker. Such stability masks growing issues for stainless steelmakers, however, who are increasingly unable to pass on rising costs to consumers and are, thus, facing cuts to their margins.In general, this is due to an excess of...Read More
The three-month price of tin on the London Metal Exchange was the laggard at the close of trading on Monday October 26, losing just under 2% of its price against the highest daily volume count since September 23, while selling pressure saw the LME copper price sink below nearby support levels over the afternoon.Tin's outright price on the LME closed at $18,050 per tonne on Monday, recovering from...Read More
Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil across Europe were fairly stable over the week to Friday October 23, but the mills were expected to increase their spot-market offer prices soon.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?496.67 ($588.80) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?0.84 per tonne week on week and by ?,?9.06 per tonne month on month...Read More
RAPAPORT... The week of September 14 was as momentous as they come for Yoram Dvash. The 56-year-old head of the Israel Diamond Exchange was elected president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), having served as its interim leader since April, while his office facilitated the biennial World Diamond Congress (WDC) taking place for the first time via Zoom.Meanwhile, the historic Abraha...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has extended its current sightholder contract by three months after the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the renewal process.The supply agreement, originally due to expire on December 31, will remain in place until March 31, 2021, a De Beers spokesperson told Rapaport News Monday. This means the contract will now cover the first three sights of next year, which are scheduled t...Read More
RAPAPORT... The quarterly Diamond Trends Webinar that took place on October 22 outlined the key developments the trade should look out for during the holiday season and 2021.Rapaport Senior Analyst Avi Krawitz provides context regarding how Covid-19 has impacted the market during the first 10 months of the year, along with an overview of polished prices and the supply-demand dynamic that determine...Read More
RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds plans to sell a portion of its inventory next month to assess the prices it can secure for its rough stones as the market begins to recover.The miner is holding 64,700 carats of rough from its Liqhobong mine in Lesotho, which has been on care and maintenance since April due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will separate those into at least two parcels and place them o...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Women's Jewelry Association (WJA) has awarded the 2020 Cindy Edelstein scholarship to California-based jewelry designer Olivia Shih.The $5,000 grant - named for the jewelry consultant and author, who died in 2016 - is given to emerging fine-jewelry designers or artisans, WJA said last week. It can be used to pursue jewelry-design, metalsmith, or business courses that focus on impro...Read More
RAPAPORT... Christie's will offer a brooch by Graff containing a 107.46-carat, fancy-yellow diamond at its Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction.The piece, which features the brilliant-cut stone surrounded by white diamonds, is estimated to fetch up to CHF 3.3 million ($3.6 million) at the November 10 sale, Christie's said last week.A pair of earrings, each containing a pear-shaped white diamond as we...Read More
Aurubis, Europe's largest copper producer, sees its multi-metal strategy as a competitive advantage against a backdrop of precarious market conditions, with executive chairman to the board Roland Harings highlighting the company's acquisition and integration of Belgian-Spanish recycler Metallo as a step change in optimizing production. Despite pandemic-related setbacks, the German-based producer o...Read More