Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 8 that are worth another look.Japanese blast furnace (BF)-based steel mills have been using more scrap in their basic oxygen furnaces in recent weeks due to a rise in steel production and high costs for iron ore, market participants told...Read More
(Updates prices)LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Copper fell on Tuesday as stockmarkets and oil prices dived and the dollar strengthened, butprices remained near two-year highs as London Metal Exchange(LME) inventories hit 15-year lows and speculators bet on afurther rally.Benchmark copper on the LME was down 1.8% at$6,670.50 a tonne at 1600 GMT.The metal reached $6,830 on Sept. 1 - up more than 50% fro...Read More
Fastmarkets is extending the consultation period for discontinuation of four steel-sector price assessments in Argentina following a long period of low liquidity and an inactive spot market.The prices proposed for discontinuation are as follows:- MB-STE-0003 Steel hot-rolled coil, monthly assessment, domestic, exw Argentina, $ per tonne- MB-STE-0001 Steel cold-rolled coil, monthly assessment, dome...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico rose during the week ended Friday September 4, with most steelmakers announcing widespread increases in buying prices amid steady demand and a positive trend in markets in the United States.Price gains were reported across all grades both in the region near northern Monterrey city and in the central Bajio region, although the amount of the increases va...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases with support from firm demand for long steel products in the country, sources said on Tuesday September 8.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $302 per tonne, shredded at $307 per tonne and bonus at $312 per tonne cfr late on September 7.The cargo breakdown was not yet fixed by t...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 8 that are worth another look.Japanese blast furnace (BF)-based steel mills have been using more scrap in their basic oxygen furnaces in recent weeks due to a rise in steel production and high costs for iron ore, market participants told...Read More
Japanese blast furnace(BF)-based steel mills have been using more scrap in their basic oxygen furnaces in recent weeks due to a rise in steel production and high costs for iron ore, market participants told Fastmarkets.BFs in the country cut steel production drastically in the first half of 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic battering demand in the automotive and manufacturing sector.The index for J...Read More
China's coking coal import quotas have changed the dynamics of the seaborne market, making the trading of the steelmaking raw material more risky, time-consuming and expensive for traders.What was typically a month-long process for a vessel carrying Australian coking coal to deliver to China has stretched to at least four months after import quotas became scarcer and port restrictions became tight...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices trended lower at the close on Tuesday September 8 with concern over macro-economic headwinds inspiring a sell-off across the complex.While macroeconomic developments - including promises of increased infrastructure spending and hopes of a trade deal between China and the United States - have supported recent price increases, some...Read More
A $21 level test remains a possibility, but $50 to $60 seems entirely plausible next year. Silver has been performing better than gold recently, and...Kevin Wadsworth interviewed on Palisade RadioTom welcomes back market weather forecaster and technical analyst wizard Kevin Wadsworth.Kevin discusses the technical patterns and how they usually tell you where things are heading. Sometimes the eviden...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices changed marginally on Tuesday September 8, while there was one transaction in the fob market during the day while the cfr market was muted, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $110.47 per tonne, up $0.42 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $115.60 per tonne, down $0.28 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $86.76...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices performed in line with our expectations in August, with US domestic HRC prices finding a floor in July as forecast before they rose in August. US HRC prices averaged $522 per tonne in August, which compares with our forecast price of $518 per tonne. Based on an improving demand outlook and ris...Read More
RAPAPORT... The price cuts that took effect in the rough-diamond market last month surprised some, but made perfect sense given the trends in polished trading and the recent earnings reports from De Beers and Alrosa.The September issue of the Rapaport Research Report, which was published Monday, outlines the main considerations that led De Beers and Alrosa to reduce rough prices in August. As majo...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers plans to have James Allen e-commerce displays in 80 of its Jared locations this holiday season following a successful trial of the store-in-store concept. "Given positive sales results and strong traffic gains, we plan to expand this new format to over 80 locations, or one-third of our jewelry fleet, prior to holiday," Signet CEO Gina Drosos said Thursday in an ear...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered two large, high-quality diamonds from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho, the company said this week.A 162-carat white diamond was unearthed on September 7, while a 143-carat, type II stone was discovered on September 5, constituting the 10th and 11th stones over 100 carats found at Let??eng this year. The company has now recovered four of that magnitude in le...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe were expected to continue to rise, supported by long lead times and reduced output from EU mills as well as a lack of import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 8.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?467.95 ($553.32) per tonne on Tuesday, up by ?,?0.56 per tonne day on day...Read More
RAPAPORT... Getting customers to shop post-lockdown has been difficult given financial constraints, 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 to feel truly...Read More
(IDEX Online) - BlueRock Diamonds raised over $1.25m in a private sale of rough from its Kareevlei mine, in South Africa.The British miner says the price it achieved - an average of $330 per carat for 3,805 carats - was higher than the $290 it achieved in a similar sale in June of this year, despite the ongoing pandemic.Executive chairman Mike Houston said: "Our diamonds remain attractive to buyer...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) - The Irish tycoon who revived his nation's whiskey industry is seeking additional funds for diamond explorations in Botswana and South Africa.John Teeling's Botswana Diamonds is already drilling the "very promising" M8 kimberlite at Marsfontein, Limpopo, South Africa.Last year it reported finding diamonds come from residual unprocessed stockpiles around the mine and from d...Read More