The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This year has come with several unexpected events which increased the bullish case for iron ore prices, while the Chinese government's spending on infrastructure is likely to boost iron ore demand and add upside support to prices. But supply disruptions and a demand surge which caused price spikes are now easing. We do not e...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' teamof analysts are ready to view.Chinese crude steel production outperformed our expectations with its recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. Crude steel output was up by 2.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2020 to 503 million tonnes, and we have revised upward what was initially a more bearish forecast for this year. We now estimate that product...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively lower at the close of trading on Thursday July 30, with LME nickel's 1.3% price dip leading the complex-wide decline, while a tightening of copper's forward curve led to thin volumes and a negative close on the day.Weighing equally heavily on the base-metals complex, the US economy shrank by 32.9% over the second quarter...Read More
ED&F Man's Ed Meir clinched the top spot on the base metals predictions leaderboard for the second quarter of 2020 with 98.87% accuracy while ING's Wenyu Yao took the top spot for precious metals predictions over the period with a 98.75% accuracy rating.For steel raw materials, Casper Burgering of ABN Amro topped the leaderboard with a 90.89% accuracy score. Click on the image below to download th...Read More
Sentiment weak as trading centers reinforce Covid-19 restrictions. Supply shortages supporting polished prices as cutters refrain from rough purchases. Manufacturing profit margins better than pre-pandemic, resulting from select rough buying that aligns with polished demand. Focus on online trading. D, IF investment demand improving. Miners building rough inventory as sales slump. De Beers 1H reve...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale is expecting copper prices to remain at high levels through the remainder of 2020, because it sees strong signs of demand resilience amid expectations of reduced supply, especially from South America, the company's top executives said on Thursday July 30."We are firm believers in the copper price uptrend," chief executive officer Eduardo Bartolomeo told analysts and investors...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong's retail market took a turn for the worse this month amid the coronavirus's resurgence, reversing a slight improvement in June, the government cautioned Thursday.The municipality has entered a third wave of infections, prompting authorities to shut parts of the economy this week in an effort to contain the outbreak. "With inbound tourism remaining at a standstill and loc...Read More
RAPAPORT... Revenue at Gem Diamonds fell in the first half of the year amid a temporary shutdown of its mine and weak demand due to the coronavirus.Sales of rough diamonds from the Let??eng mine in Lesotho dropped 22% to $74 million by value, and also fell 22% by volume to 43,384 carats in the six months ending June 30, the miner reported Thursday. The average price inched up slightly to $1,7...Read More
RAPAPORT... A necklace featuring a 115.83-carat diamond was the top seller at Christie's in New York on Wednesday, bringing in $6.3 million at the live Magnificent Jewels auction.The pear brilliant-cut, F-color, VVS1-clarity diamond hangs from a chain of 31 pear brilliant and pear modified brilliant-cut diamonds ranging from 0.97 to 5.50 carats. The price achieved was within estimates. Total...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers suffered heavy losses in the first half of the year due to Covid-19, and cautioned that substantial challenges would remain for the diamond market.The diamond miner fell into the red for the six months ending June 30, with an underlying loss of $214 million compared to a profit of $187 million a year earlier. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (E...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Jewelers are invited to submit creative design concepts on the theme of "Collision and Fusion" in the IGI's 2020 JEWEL Jewelry Design Contest.The first prize is $1,140 cash and a scholarship to coursework at one of IGI's International Schools of Gemology, and there are two second prizes. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers aim to help young designers con...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The French luxury conglomerate LVMH says it still plans to buy Tiffany & Co, despite a plunge in profits because of COVID-19.First-half operating profits for LVMH Mo?? <
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa is to auction 2,300 carats of special-size rough diamonds online.The Russian state-owned miner is increasingly trying alternatives to physical sales, as COVID-19 continues to depress markets and restrict travel.Its total rough and polished sales for June totaled just $31.3m, down from $222.4m for the same month last year.Alrosa said it was offering buyers unprecedented flexi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Kering reported weak jewelry sales during the first half of 2020 as a slowdown at its Europe-focused brands outweighed stronger figures in Asia.The group's Boucheron and Pomellato brands suffered from their exposure to the Western European market during Covid-19, Kering reported Monday. However, sales at Qeelin grew for the six months as demand recovered in mainland China when the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Weak rough demand and a devaluation of assets pushed Rio Tinto's diamond division further into the red in the first half of the year, the miner reported Wednesday.The unit recorded a net loss of $40 million for the six months ending June 30, compared with a loss of $5 million a year ago. Diamond sales fell 48% to $141 million for the period."The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly...Read More
The declining quality of global zinc concentrate has left Noranda Income Fund's (NIF) residue handling section at capacity despite ongoing work to optimize its electrolytic processing facility in Quebec, Canada, the company said.Two belt filters will be added to the handling section as part of a recently announced expansion project. They are expected to help improve production capacity and overall...Read More
RAPAPORT... LVMH, which owns Bulgari and Chaumet, saw sales of watches and jewelry slump in the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus reduced tourist spending and affected demand from wholesale customers.The category endured the worst performance of the luxury group's major product types, with revenues falling 38% year on year to EUR 1.32 billion ($1.55 billion), LVMH reported Monday. The di...Read More
A summary of Brazilian mining company Vale's financial results for the second quarter of 2020, as stated in its earnings report released on Wednesday July 29.In briefFerrous division: Iron ore fines' realized price - after adjustments on both a cfr and fob basis - was $88.90 per tonne in the second quarter, down by 6% from $94.60 per tonne a year before. Pellet's realized price was $129.40 per ton...Read More
Nickel is expected to go into shortage in the coming years because current market prices are below the incentive levels needed to spur the development of new projects, according to Canadian producer Sherritt International.But before the market reaches this stage, the consenus is that the commodity will face a surplus, given the current substantial increase in nickel pig iron output, the company sa...Read More
Brazil's largest flat-rolled steel producer by capacity, Usiminas, is looking to correct the current domestic price discount to imports in the short term, commercial vice-president Miguel Homes said on Thursday July 30.Even after steelmakers raised prices by around 10% earlier in July, Homes said, local products remained at a 10% discount to imports. But he did not provide any additional informati...Read More