Turkish steel scrap import prices have so far held firm despite a sharp drop in China's steel and scrap markets this week.Soaring billet and rebar prices in Asia were factors in allowing Turkish import scrap prices to rise earlier this month, but despite a large downturn in many Asian ferrous markets this week - including China and Taiwan - Turkish scrap prices have so far been undeterred. Turkey...Read More

An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Michael Greenfield in...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday May 20 that are worth another look.The iron ore market price has broken several records in 2021, with sky high prices for various iron-ore brands emerging even before the half-year mark - such as the iron ore 62% Fe index surpassing $200 per...Read More

Japan's third-quarter aluminium quarterly benchmark looks likely to cross another six-year high after offers were heard at $180-190 per tonne earlier this week, primarily supported by the open Chinese arbitrage window.The arbitrage window to ship aluminium to China has been widening since it opened on April 29, with Chinese importers standing to gain a profit of $63.59 per tonne on May 20 for ever...Read More

Production cuts recently announced by world-leading silicon supplier Ferroglobe as part of it restructuring plan have triggered supply concerns among some market participants, with consumers increasingly eyeing China to meet demand needs."The supply in Europe going to be very tight," an industry source told Fastmarkets. "With all the production cuts, good levels of demand and lack of new projects...Read More

The battery-grade lithium hydroxide price in the seaborne Asian market has been mostly at parity with its peer in the domestic Chinese market during May, with the former closely tracking the latter amid overall tight spot availability in the region. Fastmarkets' price assessment of the lithium hydroxide monohydrate 56.5% LiOH.H2O min, battery grade, spot price cif China, Japan & Korea edged h...Read More

"The Perth Mint completely refutes any claim that it is running a "fractional reserve" bullion storage program..."(by Half Dollar) Numbers.There's this funny thing about numbers, you know, and anybody who has ever seen first hand that "war is racket" understands this.That said, for some reason, everybody puts faith in the numbers.America has over 8,000 tons of gold?Check.Sovereign mint balance she...Read More

London Metal Exchange base metals prices sold off in end-of-week trading on Friday May 21, with copper, nickel and aluminium closing at their lowest levels since April. Three-month copper futures closed at $9,881.50 per tonne at 5pm, down $166.50 (1.7%) against yesterday's close. Importantly, the red metal finished the week below the symbolic $10,000 per tonne, coming as the physical market for re...Read More

Deliverable stocks for most base metals - bar lead - in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouse fell in the week to Friday May 21, with tin recording the highest decrease in percentage terms. Tin stocks totaled 6,024 tonnes this week, down by 943 tonnes (13.5%) from 6,967 tonnes a week before. The largest outflow was from 830 Huangpu warehouse in Guangdong province, where volumes were down...Read More

Iron ore prices plunged on Friday May 21 amid thin liquidity on both the seaborne front and at the Chinese ports, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $200.72 per tonne, down $11.13 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $203.06 per tonne, down $11.01 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $172.75 per tonne, down $8.06 per tonne65% Fe Brazil...Read More

Diamond market seasonally slow. US and China retail recovery driving demand. Multi-channel offerings stimulating growth as consumers return to stores. Polished inventory declining due to India supply constraints. Shortages supporting prices. Rough market stable after smaller De Beers May sight valued at $380M. Alrosa 1Q revenue +44% to $1.2B, profit up nearly eightfold to $326M. Hong Kong 1Q polis...Read More

RAPAPORT... GGTL Laboratories has identified a necklace containing 50 large synthetic rubies, which a client submitted after being told the stones were natural.The buyer sent the piece to the Liechtenstein-based lab with a request to identify the country of origin, as well as any treatments to the stones, GGTL said last week.The rubies appeared to be of high quality, with a deep, saturated color,...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelry was one of the top-selling categories at Macy's during the first fiscal quarter amid an influx of new, younger customers seeking luxury products."We had very strong results with new customers," Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette said Wednesday in an earnings call transcribed by Seeking Alpha. "Fragrances, women's shoes, big ticket, fine jewelry [and] men's clothing are all kind of on-ram...Read More

RAPAPORT... An 8.21-carat diamond ring was the top seller at the Bonhams New York Jewels sale, garnering $500,313, nearly double its high estimate.The piece, set with an oval-shaped modified brilliant-cut, D-color, VS1-clarity diamond, was designed in 1910. It was the star of the May 19 auction, which brought in a total of $3.7 million, Bonhams said Wednesday."[The ring] was the final lot in today...Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in Europe, the United States and China on Friday May 21.China The ferro-silicon market turned bullish amid booming demand from the steel sector, with China gradually shifting from iron ore to steel scrap steelmaking under its strict environmental protection measures and in a bid to reduce carbon emissions. Ferro-silicon is used as a warming agent in the...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) has teamed up with Chow Tai Fook to promote mined stones in China, marking the trade organization's first collaboration with a retailer."Chow Tai Fook is a leading enterprise in China's jewelry industry, with massive influence," David Kellie, CEO of the NDC, said Thursday. "By joining hands with Chow Tai Fook in the China market, we hope to ignite...Read More

(IDEX Online) - India's overall exports of polished diamonds totaled $2.25bn in April, up slightly on $2.16bn in March, according to new figures from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).The industry appeared to hold firm despite the devastating surge in Covid infections and deaths throughout the month.The seven-day average number of daily deaths was 350 at the start of Apr...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Chow Tai Fook and the Natural Diamond Council (NDC) are to work together to promote mined diamonds in China.It's the first time the NDC has announced a partnership with a retailer. It describes it as "a multi-year partnership (that) provides for a significant investment in marketing, advertising, visual merchandising and sales professional education."Chow Tai Fook, based in Ho...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Thieves smashed their way into a jeweler's store from an adjoining bakery, drilled into the safe and made off with a $200,000 haul.Staff arrived on Monday morning to find a gaping hole in the wall at Torquay Jewellers, in Torquay, a seaside resort in south-west England. Nothing appeared to have been taken in the weekend raid, until they realized the triple-skinned safe, c...Read More

Prices for shredded steel scrap into India and Pakistan continued to rise in the week to Friday May 21, despite a souring of market sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets.IndiaFastmarkets calculated its steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $517.88 per tonne on Friday, up from$510.55 per tonne one week earlier.One deal was heard at $515 per tonne this week, compared with a...Read More