The three-month copper price was the standout underperformer during morning trading on Thursday September 10, after a complex-wide sell-off emerged during the Asian trading session, while LME nickel futures continued to correct firmly below the $15,000-per-tonne threshold. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $6,637 per tonne, down by more than 1.7% from Wednesday's closing pric...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: SHFE tailwind for LME pricesAs we are entering the traditional strong demand season, we expect Chinese aluminium demand to show further recovery, and we expect demand from existing end-user sectors, new infrastructure projects and the export sector to show some increases. As a result, we believe that S...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view, including an upgrade to our aluminium price forecasts.Aluminium: Price forecasts raisedWe correctly expected the macro reflationary theme to raise the prices for all base metals but, with it being the base metal with by far the weakest fundamentals, we had expected the price of aluminium to underperform relative...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

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. A look at stainless steel price movements through August reveals the ongoing battle being faced by stainless steelmakers in Europe and the United States while they try to pass on rising costs to consumers. In these regions, prices on most grades of stainless steel are little changed from July, rising by around 2% at most -...Read More

The Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have increased with strengthening demand over the past week amid rising imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday September 10.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was $455-465 per tonne on Thursday, up from $440-450 per tonne of last week.Turkish steel mills increased their reba...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ended Wednesday September 9.Key drivers Manganese flake price continued to gain strength, with constant increases since August 21 following higher offers from China. These offers from producers were supported by strong domestic demand and by the rise in value of the yuan against the dollar, which meant that buyer...Read More

Business improving ahead of holiday season. Retailers preparing inventories amid steady US and Far East demand for 0.30 to 2 ct. goods in all colors and clarities. Shortages supporting prices. Dealers struggling to fill orders due to low manufacturing and high shipping costs. Polished production rises to 60% of capacity as governments ease Covid-19 restrictions. Cutters' profit margins up followin...Read More

Several major copper scrap buyers stayed out of the market in the week to Wednesday September 9, which lead to increased discounts for some grades in the United States"The spreads are wide as many mills are not buying currently," a scrap trader said, adding that some ingot makers are also undergoing planned outages."The big buyers are out, even the Chinese have backed off a bit from buying scrap,"...Read More

RAPAPORT... LVMH plans to countersue Tiffany & Co. after the companies' $16 billion marriage turned sour, accusing the US jeweler of management errors during the coronavirus."[Tiffany's] first-half results and its perspectives for 2020 are very disappointing, and significantly inferior to those of comparable brands of the LVMH group during this period," LVMH said Thursday. "LVMH will be t...Read More

RAPAPORT... The pandemic forced the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to pause operations at many of its laboratories, but didn't stop the organization pushing ahead with crucial projects that could transform diamond grading.The institute announced a collaboration with IBM on automated grading that could streamline the processing of high-volume goods. It began giving specific color and c...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa's sales rose 19% year on year to $216.7 million in August as the miner reduced rough prices to spur demand amid an improvement in the diamond market.The month saw the company's first revenue increase since February, as manufacturers sought rough goods to fill shortages ahead of the holidays. It was also the highest sales value since the start of the coronavirus crisis.Rough sale...Read More

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has received allegations of human-rights abuses at its Williamson mine in Tanzania, including claims of killings and on-site violence.Security guards at Williamson shot or seriously beat people at the mine, causing deaths and serious injuries, UK law firm Leigh Day claimed Wednesday. Most of the alleged abuses were the acts of private contractors that Petra had depl...Read More

The placement of two major operations on care and maintenance has removed around 15% of this year's forecast production of nickel used in lithium-ion batteries from the market and demonstrates how tight the market can become, the president of Giga Metals Corp said. Martin Vydra said that the Goro and Ambatovy operations, located in New Caledonia and Madagascar respectively, represent around 71,000...Read More

UNI Diamonds and IDEX, along with other data driven companies, come together to create the first fully-transparent price guide for the natural polished diamond industryThe Diamond Price Guide, secured by QEDIT's Privacy-Enhancing Technology, will be continuously updated, using real-time inventory data from industry manufacturers and wholesalersTEL AVIV: SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 - UNI Diamonds,...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Fugitive diamond billionaire Nirav Modi would be a suicide risk if he were extradited to India, his lawyer told a British court.He would also be unlikely to get a fair trial on charges of defrauding the Punjab National Bank out of $1.85bn because his case has become so "politicized".Modi, 49, (pictured) was India's most wanted man until he was arrested in London in March 2019,...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will offer a D-flawless diamond over 100 carats in Hong Kong next month, taking the unusual step of selling the stone without setting a reserve price.The oval-shaped, 102.39-carat, type IIa stone is one of only eight white diamonds of that quality over 100 carats ever to appear at auction, Sotheby's said Thursday. Global manufacturer Diacore cut and polished the diamond over...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa reported its best monthly sales figures since February, with a $216.7m total for rough and polished.Between April and July monthly sales averaged just over $30m.The recovery has been sparked by increased demand, especially in the US and China, and the company's offer to buyers of greater flexibility during the coronavirus pandemic.The Russian state-owned miner said last...Read More

RAPAPORT... August saw Belgium's first increase in polished-diamond exports for 16 months, after a long period of inactivity led to a buildup in demand."There's definitely demand and shortages in certain categories. People are buying again," Karen Rentmeesters, senior communications manager at the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), told Rapaport News Tuesday.Polished shipments out of the co...Read More