The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.August 2020 has seen the prices of most steel products move up in tandem around the world, in contrast to recent months when steel prices have moved in different directions depending on the market.This dynamic has been seen in most coated steel markets as well, with the prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG), pre-painted...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US market at risk of slidingPrices for pipe products were at a floor in the United States in mid-August, and have been broadly stable at that level since the start of the second quarter, but they are at risk of declining further in the coming months.Drilling rig counts have yet to find a floor and have fallen below most esti...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US domestic prices for hot-rolled coil moved down in line with our expectations, averaging $461 per ton in July versus our forecast price of $460 per ton. Although domestic HRC prices slipped to less than $450 per ton in late July/early August, we maintain the view th...Read More

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.In the year 2020 to date in late August, the Fastmarkets 62% Fe iron ore benchmark has powered along and reached six-year highs, supported by Chinese demand, and despite the global economic uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Iron ore demand has weakened almost everywhere except in China, where it has continued to...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.There has been an increasing bullishness in Chinese steel market sentiment recently, with rising post-Covid-19 optimism about the country's economy for the second half of 2020, especially after the government announced an infrastructure spending boost. Although we believe that high prices are justified, they remain far from...Read More

The price of hollow steel sections in the Northern European domestic market went up this week because of the current price surge in raw materials, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 2.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?550-570 ($658-681) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?540-565 per tonne one week earlier.The...Read More

The price of steel H-beams in the European domestic market has been largely stable over the past week following modest increases in the previous seven days, with further gains depending on demand in the weeks ahead, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 2.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?535-565 ($640-675) per tonne on Wedn...Read More

RAPAPORT... The International Gemological Institute (IGI) recently graded a 10.06-carat, fancy-vivid-pink lab-grown diamond that had previously been submitted as a fancy-intense yellow.The stone, which IGI had already fully assessed and graded in its original state, was returned in July for a second round, the lab said Tuesday. IGI found that the lab-grown diamond's color had been shifted using a...Read More

RAPAPORT... Antwerp-based diamond manufacturer HB has hired Boaz Lev as operations director and one of its managing partners.Lev spent 12 years at Malca-Amit, where he was the managing director of its Belgium division, helping to introduce several of the logistics company's services for the diamond trade.HB, which diamantaire Oded Mansori established, gained prominence this year after partnering w...Read More

The spread between copper scrap and refined copper continued to widen in August amid the copper price rally and minimal buying interest from the Chinese due to logistics and customs clearance worries in the coming months.Fastmarkets assessed the price of copper scrap No 2 copper (birch/cliff) imported into China 94-96% LME/Comex discount, cif China basis at 32-36 cents per lb on Friday August 28,...Read More

Traders who recently left copper merchants Werco are setting up a base metals unit at Vanomet in Zug, Switzerland, Fastmarkets understands. Theresa Nepote, Simon Zahno and Marcel Lustenberger, who made up the bulk of Werco's Swiss trading team, left the company in July. The unit, which is...Read More

A western aluminium producer has concluded a deal for delivery throughout the fourth quarter to main Japanese ports (MJP) at a premium of $88 per tonne on a cif basis, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 2. The sale is the first from a producer this quarter and comes after several trader sales were reported. Sources close to the matter also confirmed on Wednesday that a tra...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Sales of jewelry and other luxury goods in Hong Kong fell by more than half in July, according to new figures.It was the worst affected sector of all, with a year-on-year decline of 53.7 per cent to $328m.Sales were hit by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a two-week quarantine requirement for tourists from mainland China, and continuing anti-government protests.Figures for the fir...Read More

(IDEX Online) -  Gem Diamonds has recovered another large Type II white diamond at its Letseng mine, in Lesotho.News of the 223-carat stone comes just days after the London-based miner announced a 442-carat diamond, valued at $18m.Letseng is the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world and has yielded 60-plus white gem quality diamonds over 100 carats since it was acquire...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has unearthed a high-quality, 233-carat, type II diamond from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho, the company said TuesdayThe discovery is the fifth rough stone over 100 carats that Let??eng has yielded this year, according to Rapaport records. It follows that of a 442-carat, type II diamond that was recovered on August 23, the company said Tuesday. That stone is one of the larg...Read More

Domestic Chinese copper cathode premiums dropped sharply in the week to Tuesday September 1 to their lowest level in six months, while a climbing outright metal price and tight forward spreads kept premiums in Europe and the United States unchanged. Demand falters in China amid oversupply  European cathode availability high; market quiet  Rio Tinto's Kennecott mine closure keeps US marke...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Industry veteran Kim E. Pelletier has been appointed as CEO of Get Diamonds, the new diamond trading platform launched by World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB).She has worked in the past for De Beers, Polygon, Hearts On Fire, John Hardy, Stephen Dweck, Michael Aram and, most recently, for De Beers Sightholder IGC NV. "I am both thrilled, and humbled, to be offered this ex...Read More

The Chinese spot nickel pig iron (NPI) price rose to its highest level of this year on Friday August 28, supported by decent demand, high costs and a rising London Metal Exchange nickel price. Fastmarkets assessed the nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China price at 1,130-1,150 yuan ($165-168) per nickel unit on Friday, the highest so far this year and a level last see...Read More

Chinese premiums of nickel plate remained weak, but prices of nickel pig iron (NPI), nickel ore and nickel sulfate all refreshed the highest level hit this year while premiums in the United States were unmoved amid a holiday trading hiatus, Fastmarkets heard.Chinese prices of NPI, nickel ore and nickel sulfate all up, while nickel plate premiums unchanged. US premiums static due to holidaysStronge...Read More