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.Fastmarkets analysts were invited to present our outlook for the coking coal market at Coaltrans Asia, held online on November 23-25. One of the key topics at the event was the trade tensions between China and Australia, which overtook Mongolia to become the largest coking coal exporter to China this year...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 is ready to view.While a world leader in many areas, the United States is a relatively small player when it comes to stainless steel. It produces a small amount of material, both in absolute and relative terms (i.e. compared to the size of its population), while a large share of its industry is in the hands of bigger European companies. Never...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 are ready to view.Key ferro-alloy forecast highlights for the coming months:?EUR? A strong recovery in both bulk and noble alloys is expected in 2021 but the markets are unlikely to return to the levels seen before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have seen a quicker-than-expected recovery across various regions amid the economic fal...Read More

RAPAPORT... Stuller, one of the largest US jewelry wholesalers, was the victim of a cyberattack on Saturday morning, resulting in delays to orders at a critical point in the holiday season.Customers may experience "several circumstances that are non-Stuller-like" this week following the hack, including delayed shipments and intermittent phone interruptions, president Danny Clark said Monday i...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong slid in October, even as an upturn in the health situation eased the market slowdown.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts fell 27% year on year to HKD 2.88 billion ($370.9 million) for the month. While the drop was significant, it was less sharp than the declines seen in the past few months, Hong Kong's Cens...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has launched a representative outpost in the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), paving the way for a deeper trading relationship between the two markets.The DMCC, a state-funded trading hub that houses a diamond exchange, officially opened the office on Monday in a ceremony in Ramat Gan. The location will help Israeli businesses across all ind...Read More

Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe went up day on day on Tuesday December 1, due to a shortage of material, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?563.75 ($671.26) per tonne on Tuesday, up by ?,?2.60 per tonne from ?,?561.15 per tonne on November 30.The index was up by ?,?18.70 per tonne week o...Read More

RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, December 1, 2020, Las Vegas... Diamond market sentiment improved in November amid rising expectations for the holiday season. A recovery in China and robust sales during India's Diwali festival also lifted the mood. Polished prices are stable for 1-carat and larger goods. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat stones edged up 0.5% in November. RapNet Diamond Ind...Read More

RAPAPORT... Columbia Gem House will hold an auction of pieces by 25 designers to raise awareness of human exploitation across the gem and jewelry industry.The company launched an invitational design challenge among the designers to create jewelry using stones it provided as part of its Ethical in Action initiative. Columbia Gem House, which deals in fair trade and responsibly sourced colored gemst...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Customs officers in Hong Kong made their biggest diamond seizure for three years at a crossing point into mainland China.The driver of a truck destined for Shenzhen was found to have 160 gems worth $840,000 stuffed into a trouser pocket. Criminals try to smuggle diamonds from Hong Kong to factories across the border to avoid paying import taxes of up to 20 per cent.In this cas...Read More

Joel Adams has joined the copper team at Trafigura, Fastmarkets understands.Adams had worked at Glencore in Switzerland since 2010, most recently as a senior trader for refined...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Dubai's free trade zone yesterday opened an office at the Israel Diamond Exchange, in a landmark move to promote commerce and cooperation.Officials from the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC) and the Dubai Diamond Exchange flew in on the first regularly scheduled flight from the UAE to Israel.It follows the US-brokered Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between the coun...Read More

Goldman Sachs has predicted that copper's remarkable price surge is set to continue next year and could break records because of resurgent demand and capped supplies.Analysts led by Nicholas Snowdon project a 12-month price target of $9,500 per tonne next year, up from a $7,500 per tonne projection previously, with a 2021 average price forecast of $8,625 per tonne."This current price strength is n...Read More