The latest forecast from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we enter the summer season across the northern hemisphere, almost half a year has passed since the Covid-19 pandemic began to seriously affect Europe and the United States.One would not really be able to tell that such a dramatic event had occurred by looking at stainless steel prices, however, because they are more or less...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are relatively stable this month, showing little change since our previous tracker. Such stability masks growing issues for stainless steelmakers, however, who are increasingly unable to pass on rising costs to consumers and are, thus, facing cuts to their margins.In general, this is due to an excess of...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are on the increase in June. As far as this market is concerned, it appears as though the Covid-19 pandemic has had little impact so far, with prices on the most common grades of stainless steel just 2-4% lower than they were at the turn of the year in most markets.Even in Asia, a region often talked ab...Read More

Producers of seaborne manganese ore, both 38% and 44% grades, successfully raised their offer prices on a cif Tianjin basis over the week ended Friday September 4, with support from the rise in value of the Chinese yuan, and from rising port and alloy prices, and despite underlying concerns about ore oversupply.Fastmarkets' manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, was $4.22 per dry metric tonne u...Read More

The latest data for the global manganese ore market for the week ended September 7, 2020.Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Monday September 7, with low turnover across the Asian trading session prompting sideways trading, while an ongoing drawdown in LME copper stocks kept the red metal's underlying price elevated. Copper's three-month price on the LME was recently trading at $6,743.50 per tonne on Monday morning, climbing...Read More

China's nickel sulfate price rose to the year's new high in the week to Friday September 4, with low supply supporting the market level despite LME nickel's plunge on Thursday, sources said. Fastmarkets assessed the nickel sulfate min 21%, max 22.5%, cobalt 10ppm max, exw China price at 27,000-28,000 yuan ($3,953-4,099) per tonne on Friday, a new annual high, up by 2,500-3,000 yuan per tonne or by...Read More

London Metal Exchange base metals prices were mixed this morning, Monday September 7, as were pre-market major western equity index futures, while metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer and Asian-Pacific equities were mixed too. A better-than-expected US employment report on Friday led to a strong close for the base metals at the end of last week, but a weaker tone in equity ma...Read More

Barring those for copper and tin, deliverable base metals stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses all declined in the week to Friday September 4.Lead declined the most in percentage terms, with a drop of 5.3% or 1,453 tonnes to 26,127 tonnes. This comes after the heavy metal's stocks fell by 15% in the previous week.The largest outflow of lead this...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa is expanding its use of X-ray technology in an effort to recover rarer and larger rough diamonds before the sorting system crumbles them into pieces.The Russian company is trialing upgraded equipment at its Udachny mine in Yakutia so it can identify type IIa stones measuring 6 millimeters or more, a spokesperson told Rapaport News last month. The previous technology only pi...Read More

RAPAPORT... Getting customers to shop post-lockdown has been difficult given the financial constraints many face, and the fear of catching Covid-19 while out has only added to that challenge. While customers prefer shopping in physical stores, they will only visit retailers they believe provide adequate safety measures, according to a De Beers survey of 500 Americans in June. However, for clients...Read More

RAPAPORT... The founders of Singapore-based retailer SK Jewellery want to buy out the company and take it private, aiming to gain greater control of its operations.OroGreen Investment, which is held by SK's founders - non-executive chairman Lim Yong Guan, CEO Lim Yong Sheng and executive chairman Lim Liang Eng - will also delist the jeweler from the Singapore stock exchange. The three currently ow...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Diamond exporters in India are reportedly looking to new markets in the Far East as tensions rise in the country's Himalayan border dispute with China.Trade links have becoming increasingly strained since 20 Indian soldiers were killed in fighting in June, the deadliest clash there between the two nations in almost half a century.Matters were made worse last week when the Chin...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Australian miner Lucapa has reported another record month of carat recoveries at its Lulo alluvial mine in Angola.Gravel deposits in the MB06 leziria area yielded 3,852 carats in August, including 52 specials, beating the company's record in July of 3,462 carats.  The largest diamond recovered from the area is a 61-carat white D-colour Type IIa."This is the second consecu...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Signet appears to be bouncing back, with an unprecedented $270m of e-commerce sales making up, in part, for the enforced closure of stores during lockdown.The jeweler saw virtual sales up 72.1 per cent in the second fiscal quarter, compared with same period in 2019, as it served more than 300,000 customers via online consultations.James Allen, Signet's e-commerce brand, was th...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelry was one of the top-selling categories at Macy's during the second fiscal quarter, even as overall sales declined at the department-store chain.Group revenue dropped 36% to $3.56 billion in the three months ending August 1, while comparable-store sales - at owned and licensed shops open for at least a year - fell 35%, the retailer reported Wednesday. However, sales rose at its "...Read More

Flat steel suppliers to Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow are insisting on higher prices in September on rising exports while buyers doubt the scale of increase the market can actually accept, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday September 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled sheet, domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia was at 41,000-43,000 roubles ($544-570) per ton...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to weaken on Monday September 7 despite an announcement by local authorities in Tangshan - the country's steelmaking hub - that inspections would be carried out to check compliance with production restrictions to curb air pollution.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,010-4,040 yuan ($586-591) yuan per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonneSeveral Sha...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices moved up on Monday September 7 on a gradual strengthening of end-user demand. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,690-3,720 yuan ($539-544) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneTemperatures have fallen to milder ranges in most parts of China, which lengthen working hours for the construction sector. A trader in eastern China said his customers raised their procurement ra...Read More

Vietnamese buyers remained in the market for imported hot-rolled coil in the week to Monday September 7 due to a supply shortage, with many sellers hiking or withholding offers on expectations of a continued price uptrend in the near term.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC import, cfr Vietnam, which mainly looks at 2-3mm rerolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products, was $530...Read More