The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore prices have shot up as market participants have judged the supply risks from Covid-19 higher at this point in time when there is already a tight seaborne market. Despite the efforts to ramp up, Vale is struggling to catch up with its pre-dam disaster export volumes and its slow recovery has only been hit further by...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron oreSentiment in the iron ore market continues to be dominated by concerns about supply disruptions in Brazil. Prices spiked above $100 per tonne after reports that there had been a recent surge of Covid-19 cases at Vale's three mines in Itabira. A...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are on the increase in June. As far as this market is concerned, it appears as though the Covid-19 pandemic has had little impact so far, with prices on the most common grades of stainless steel just 2-4% lower than they were at the turn of the year in most markets.Even in Asia, a region often talked ab...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices have fared relatively well over the past couple of months in the face of the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.In grade-304 material, the most common grade of stainless steel, prices were down by about 5-7% since the turn of the year - not bad, when compared with the falls in prices of other assets so f...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Having first hit Asia during early 2020, the Covid-19 viral outbreak is now having an even bigger impact on European countries and the US. Widespread lockdown measures have been put in place on people and industry, and economic activity has slowed markedly.For now, stainless steel markets in Europe and the US are yet to show...Read More

The new issue of the Seamless OCTG & Linepipe Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers analysis of seamless OCTG and linepipe across international markets:Covid-19 underscores pipe outlookUnsurprisingly, the concern in the seamless pipe markets across the regions is the effect of the spread of Covid-19 on public health and econo...Read More

Tin premiums in the United States and Europe were subject to pressure in the two weeks to Wednesday July 1, with a wide backwardation in the metal's forward curve on the London Metal Exchange limiting business while a narrowing arbitrage window to import tin into China supported current levels. Covid-19 resurgence hinders US marketRenewed spot interest fails to stop falling Rotterdam premiumStrong...Read More

RAPAPORT... Indian trade bodies have recommended continued limits on rough-diamond imports in July, with a fresh weeklong shutdown of the Surat cutting sector adding to concerns about the market.The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and four other organizations have called for the industry to avoid shipping rough into the country between July 10 and 31. They are giving comp...Read More

RAPAPORT... Christie's brought in more than $4 million at its latest digital sale, with a 29-carat diamond earning the highest online price ever for a jewel.The emerald-cut, 28.86-carat, D-color, VVS1-clarity, type IIa diamond ring garnered $2.1 million, beating its $2 million high estimate at the Jewels Online sale, Christie's said Tuesday. The piece received offers as soon as the sale start...Read More

Industry associations up and down the steel and metals supply chain applauded the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade pact going into effect on Wednesday July 1.The update to the North American Free Trade Agreement - which previously governed trade between the three nations - should increase demand while also assuring that essential cross-border supply chains remain intact, the Ame...Read More

RAPAPORT... Pandemic or not, Chow Tai Fook has no intention of slowing its expansion into China, with plans to open approximately 450 stores on the mainland during the current fiscal year, managing director Kent Wong told Rapaport News. A vast majority of those new locations will be in tier-4 and tier-5 cities, which have population sizes of around 200,000 to 300,000, and are growing at a fas...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa has resumed operations at its International underground mine, a week  after a dozen workers tested positive for COVID-19.The mine (pictured), close to the town of Mirny, in the subarctic Russian republic of Sakha, yields some of the world's highest diamond grades, and produced 2.2 million carats in 2019.All staff have now been tested. Those awaiting results have be...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A 28.86-carat type IIa D-color diamond has sold for $2.1m, a world record high price for an online-only auction.Christie's say the near-flawless, VVS1-clarity emerald-cut stone (pictured) just exceeded a high estimate of $2m, attracting 31 bids during the two-week sale, which ended yesterday.The diamond's estimate in the Jewels Online sale was $1m to $2m."The sale of this...Read More

(IDEX Online) - India's biggest show for the jewelry trade has been postponed from August to January 2021 because of COVID-19.The India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) Premiere typically attracts 40,000 visitors and over 1,300 exhibitors.Organizers GJEPC (Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council) are hoping lockdowns and travel restrictions will be over by then.The show, which had been...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Polished diamond prices showed very little movement in June, significantly less than May. There was a scattering of modest increases and decreases among sporadic colors and clarities, but not enough to draw firm conclusions about where the market is heading. Rounds showed marginally more activity than fancies and overall movement was up rather than down, but only jus...Read More

Zinc concentrate treatment charges rose from an 18-month low in June 2020, with market shorts facing less of a rush to cover positions on the spot market.Fastmarkets' price assessment for zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China, was $160-180 per tonne on Friday June 26, up from $155-170 per tonne at the end of May.Spot supply of concentrates remained limited to just a few mines, predominantly in Austr...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price was slightly higher at the close on Wednesday July 1, with high turnover and strong demand from Asia keeping price action firmly above nearby support levels, while lead futures lagged behind over the day. LME copper's outright price closed at $6,061 per tonne on Wednesday, climbing from an intraday low of $5,995 per tonne, while daily turnover bre...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday June 24.Please click...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Capped by oversupplyA lack of a meaningful supply adjustment to the Covid-19 demand hit is keeping the aluminium physical market oversupplied and weighing on prices, limiting the success of more buoyant macro and technical forces on prices. Our premium forecasts are under review in light of threats from the U...Read More

European producers of hot-rolled coil have achieved a transaction price increase supported by the lack of import offers and a degree of demand improvement, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1.The definitive decision in the EU's safeguard measures review on June 30 will also support domestic prices, market sources said. The European Commission has decided to replace yearly country-specific...Read More