It makes you wonder if this scheme is close to the end of the road...Dave Kranzler with Chris Marcus via Arcadia EconomicsDave Kranzler: Is there a global silver shortageWith the US Mint admitting that there's actually a "global silver shortage," it makes you wonder if this scheme is close to the end of the road. Dave Kranzler joins me to discuss silver supply and the interesting comments from the...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Global welded pipe prices surged in May as strong demand and still-insufficient supply lifted flat steel prices.The biggest jumps were seen in China, which was hit by the unexpected announcement of the elimination of export rebates on welded pipes in April. Chinese seaborne prices reached $1,570 per tonne fob for longitudina...Read More

Russia's largest steelmaker, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), will start producing hot-briquetted iron (HBI) and increase its iron ore and pellet output by 2027-2028, the company told Fastmarkets.NLMK will construct a new metals and mining facility at its Stoilensky mining and beneficiation plant, it said.The start of the open-pit mine expansion is planned for 2022 with construction due to be most active...Read More

Turkish steel producers extended their silence in the deep-sea scrap import markets amid weakening demand for finished long steel products, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 3.The most recent deep-sea trade was concluded at the end of last week, when a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $503 per tonne and shredded scrap at $513 per tonne cfr.S...Read More

Prices for copper scrap in the United States steadied this week amid slack buying demand; many consumers have already filled their immediate quotas and are now looking at volumes for August delivery, according to sources."There are those looking for narrower discounts due to the down trade with Comex. It appears wishful thinking," one trader said. "We find consumers have covered all of their requi...Read More

Supply shortages driving uptrend in prices. 1 ct. RAPI +0.8% in May. Inventory declining; number of 0.30 to 0.50 ct., RapSpec A3+ stones on RapNet -23% since April 1. Large US and Chinese retailers stimulating demand. Scarcities and rising prices making it hard for dealers to replenish polished goods. Major suppliers with inventory and efficient online systems are selling at strong premiums compar...Read More

RAPAPORT... The US has approved plans for fresh tariffs on a range of foreign goods, including jewelry, but has delayed the implementation to allow negotiations to continue, the government announced Tuesday.The new duties of up to 25% came in response to digital services taxes in Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK that - according to the US - discriminated against American e-comm...Read More

RAPAPORT... Grib Diamonds has signed up for Sarine Technologies' provenance program, enabling the Antwerp-based trader to provide source verification for the rough it offers.Grib, which sells rough from AGD Diamonds' Grib mine in Russia, will use the traceability information to complement the Sarine technology it already offers customers, the Israel-based equipment provider said Wednesday. Th...Read More

RAPAPORT... Midway through 2021, retailers were beginning to plot a path back to normalcy. More than a year has passed since the initial shutdowns, and in the interim, store owners have had plenty of time to reassess and reorganize. Self-purchasing and online shopping have both increased, and custom work continues to be strong, jewelers say. Now, businesses are looking forward to an optimistic sum...Read More

RAPAPORT... The New York office of the International Gemological Institute (IGI) is aiming to be the first carbon-neutral gemological laboratory by 2022."Our environment is an interdependent system where everyone has a role to play, and I am proud of the institute for stepping up and enacting real change," IGI North America president Avi Levy said Wednesday. "While we are pioneering the practice i...Read More

Production of copper and zinc in Peru fell in April, although output for January-April 2021 is still above 2020 levels, according to the latest data from the country's Ministry of Energy & Mines (Minem).Copper production in Peru was 173,151 tonnes in April, a 5.3% decrease from 182,756 tonnes in March, Minem data shows.Production during January-April 2021 was up 10% from the same period in 2020 to...Read More

RAPAPORT... The trade group that supports India's domestic jewelry industry has asked the government and the central bank for urgent help amid the "major financial stress" resulting from the Covid-19 crisis.Companies in the sector have been forced to close and have lost out on revenue during the country's latest coronavirus wave, the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) stressed...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Antwerp-based Baunat has become one of the first diamond jewelry companies to accept payment by cryptocurrency.Customers can now pay for their purchases online using Bitcoin, Ethereum and others.Steven Boelens, the firm's executive director, said: "Baunat has always been an early adopter when it comes to technology and in today's economic climate it's easy to see the...Read More

The world's second-largest copper mine, currently in expansion, will send 40% of its copper concentrate output in Phase 1 to a domestic smelter in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with negotiations to sell their copper output still underway, sources said.Kamoa Copper, operating out of Kamoa Kakula mine, signed a ten-year agreement with Lualaba copper smelter (LCS), of China Nonferrous Metal...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Price Index was up 1.37 per cent in May, an increase almost double that of April (0.73 per cent). The rise was pretty steady day on day, with the Index averaging 124.970 across the month and closing at 125.900.The Index is currently the highest it's been since November 2018. It has been climbing, albeit with some volatility, sinc...Read More

BHP, the majority owner and operator of Minera Escondida in Chile, will have to spend $93 million as part of an environmental plan drawn up to resolve a legal dispute last year, the country's First Environmental Court said on Wednesday June 2.The Chilean State brought a law suit against BHP in April 2020 over environmental damage related to its excessive extraction of water at the Salar de Punta N...Read More

(IDEX Online) - India's diamond exports are set to exceed $20bn this financial year - an increase of 20 per cent.That's according to an analysis of 70 diamantaires rated by CRISIL, the Mumbai-based Crisil ratings agency.In recent months pent-up demand and stimuli buoyed demand for diamonds and jewelry in the US and China, it says, which account for 75 percent of India's polished dia...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally weaker on Thursday June 3 morning, although nickel bucked the trend on both exchanges.Brent crude oil continues to rally, reaching $71.71 on Thursday morning.China's Caixin services purchasing manager's index eases to 55.1 in May, from 56.3 in April.Base metalsLME three-month base metals prices were genera...Read More

Zinc and tin were down the most at the 9am open on June 3, while all base metals fell on the London Metal Exchange in reaction to the rising dollar and in anticipation of market-setting news for the future direction of trade.Zinc's three-month price, which was one of three to rise on the LME on Wednesday, but was down 1% to $3,050.50 per tonne on Thursday morning. On Wednesday it had register...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have returned above $81 per hundredweight ($1,620 per short ton), with buyers reporting that some consumers have started to push back against high prices for steel, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $81.23 per cwt ($1,624.60 per ton) on Thursday June 3, up by 0.74% from $80.63 per cwt t...Read More