Aluminium's futures price reached yet another year-to-date high on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday April 14, while tin returned above the $26,000 per tonne mark and copper bounced up by 2% on a day when most metal prices were again boosted by a lower US dollar.Aluminium's price peaked at $2,329 per tonne during trading on Wednesday, and closed up by 1.3% at $2,323.50 per tonne, from Tuesday...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price reached a new year-to-date high on Wednesday April 14 morning, while the rest of the complex was trending higher on support from a lower US dollar index.LME aluminium's price reached $2,322 per tonne around 9:30am on higher volumes, trading over 4,500 lots by that time, that surpassed copper, which was trading around 3,800 lots. This is th...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed this morning, Wednesday April 14, and broader markets were pleased US consumer prices did not shock to the upside, but markets are likely to remain wary in case corporate earnings do not live up to high expectations.Tuesday's US consumer price index (CPI) reading climbed by 0.6% in March, slightly higher than...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? There is no end in sight to the shortfall in flat steel supply that has characterized US markets in early 2021, and we expect record-high US pricing for hot-rolled coil to persist through the second quarter of 2021 and into the second half of the year. We are fo...Read More

RAPAPORT... India's gem and jewelry industry has obtained an exemption from the strict Covid-19 measures that have gone into effect in Mumbai and the surrounding region.The government of Maharashtra state announced new rules on Tuesday, restricting gatherings and activities and allowing only essential services to operate. These include the export and import of all commodities, enabling the di...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelry and watch sales at LVMH rose in the first quarter, buoyed by the inclusion of Tiffany & Co. for the first time.Revenue for the category surged 138% year on year to EUR 1.88 billion ($2.24 billion) for the three months ending March 31, the company said Tuesday. The quarter is the first to incorporate sales from Tiffany, which the French luxury conglomerate purchased in Janua...Read More

RAPAPORT... Three rings featuring diamonds with fancy-vivid color stole the show at the Christie's Magnificent Jewels auction, selling for more than $8 million combined.The trio of jewels, called the Perfect Palette, achieved a total of $8.4 million at the New York sale, Christie's said Tuesday. A 2.17-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink diamond ring brought in $3.5 million, beating its $2.5 million...Read More

Domestic prices for steel wire rod in Southern Europe were largely unchanged over the past week, although producers were reported to be mulling an increase for May, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday April 14.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was ?,?660-670 ($787-798) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged since March 31.The assessm...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The GIA has won a trademark infringement suit against another grading lab -  AIG Belgium - over its use of a "look-alike logo".A Belgian court said it would impose a fine of up to $600,000 for any future use of the offending seal design or of the standalone letters AIG.It referred to AIG's "attempt to sail on the success of GIA's marks".Online visitors to AIG Belgium...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Antwerp's first-quarter exports of rough were up by almost 40 per cent by value as markets continued their recovery from the depths of the Covid pandemic.Total sales were almost $2.6bn - up just over 14 per cent by weight to 25.8m carats - according to new figures from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC).The combined value of traded rough diamonds - imports plus exports -...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A man has admitted hiring a killer to shoot his father, a well-known jeweler in Texas, USA and has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.Nicolas Patrick Shaughnessy, 22, entered a guilty plea to a capital murder charge, following the death of his father Ted in March 2018.He reportedly hoped to profit from $2m in life insurance - to which he was sole beneficiary  - as well as bu...Read More

Aluminium's futures price reached yet another year-to-date high on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday April 14, while tin returned above the $26,000 per tonne mark and copper bounced up by 2% on a day when most metal prices were again boosted by a lower US dollar.Aluminium's price peaked at $2,329 per tonne during trading on Wednesday, and closed up by 1.3% at $2,323.50 per tonne, from Tuesday...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday April 14. Please click...Read More

The copper industry is keeping a close eye on labor negotiations at Chile's mines this year, at a time of increased prices, sociopolitical uncertainty and delayed concentrates shipments. The table below provides a summary of the labor union negotiations...Read More

Chile's copper miners face the biggest set of labor negotiations in years, but with prices expected to maintain current highs, how high is the risk to output disruptions? Fastmarkets investigates.More than 40 labor negotiations are due to take place this year at mines in Chile, the world's leading copper producer, against a backdrop of almost decade-high metal prices and elections set to be hotly...Read More

The falling London Metal Exchange zinc price boosted spot demand for zinc ingot in both Europe and the United States in the week to Tuesday April 13, while lead premiums in Southeast Asia were up on recovering demand. The LME three-month zinc price fell to $2,758 per tonne on Monday at the close, renewing interest for spot demand.  Zinc demand remains strong in the US despite automotive outpu...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationWhile the AIM-listed miner has seen no marked increase in cases at its Kounrad operation in Kazakhstan, CAML said there had been "a larger number of cases at Sasa and in the nearby towns, coincidingRead More

Copper cathode premiums have taken a dive in the main market in China, where buyers are able to pick up units at low levels that were last traded in late November 2020, sources told Fastmarkets.Shanghai premiums drop to four-month lowSoutheast Asia copper premiums stableUnited States' copper premiums unmovedChina's copper import premiums collapse on sustained arbitrage lossPremiums for imported gr...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationThe company said the latest results were from drilling targeting extensions of the volcanic-hosted massive sulphide associated mineralisation at the La Romana discovery, about 15km west of First Quantum Minerals' Las Cruces copper mine.A highlight intercept of 23m at 1.06% copper-equivalent from 27m also incl...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationYellow metal production is forecast to grow 154% from 125,000 ounces in 2020 to 318,000oz in 2024 due to production increases at Hudbay's Snow Lake operation in Manitoba, Canada, where the company'sRead More