Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 27 that are worth another look.Brazilian iron ore producer Vale expected to see higher premiums for iron ore pellet in the third quarter of this year, after steep increases were applied in both the first and second...Read More

Ferrous prices in Asia are rising at a steady pace and look likely to surpass 2008's high levels as early as next month, industry sources told Fastmarkets this week.Coking coal and cokeSupply tightness in both the domestic and import markets for high-quality, low-sulfur hard coking coal should continue to support prices in May, sources said.Since the start of April, domestic supply shortages have...Read More

Chinese steel mills are likely to import more pig iron, hot-briquetted iron (HBI) and steel scrap to feed basic oxygen furnaces in 2021 due to the stringent restrictions imposed on blast furnaces in China, market participants told Fastmarkets recently.The China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) is actively advocating more cuts to the country's pig iron production to achieve this year's goal of reduc...Read More

"The usual suspects don't want us to write this article."by Keith Weiner of Monetary-MetalsKeith wrote about the silver squeeze narrative originally here, then here, and again here. This article is his latest commentary. Some recent videos about the silver market are generating more buzz than we have seen in a while. They make several points, but the main one is that there is a global shortage...Read More

Chinese importers have been competing for the best-quality copper scrap, citing concerns over future rises in the procurement cost of raw materials while the price rally continues, Fastmarkets has learnt.Suppliers of top-grade copper scrap in the Asia-Pacific region were selling candy and berry at thin discounts to the price of refined copper, as traded on the London Metal Exchange over the past m...Read More

The price of nickel on the London Metal Exchange was some $40 per tonne short of the $17,000 per tonne mark at the close of trading on Tuesday April 27, while most other base metals' prices also finished higher day on day, boosted by a recent rise for copper.Nickel's three-month price was up by 1.8% to $16,963 per tonne on Tuesday, after rising by roughly $300 per tonne each day since last Thursda...Read More

Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao, rose to a new record high on Tuesday April 27 with iron ore prices all going up further. The 62% Fe index has been above the previous high of $183.59 per tonne, set in January 2011, since April 20.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $195.31 per tonne, up by $1.73 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $196.35 pe...Read More

RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds observed positive pricing in its third fiscal quarter as the company depleted its rough stockpiles amid the continued closure of the Liqhobong mine in Lesotho.The miner sold the second of two inventory batches that it had been offering to customers as a test of the market's recovery. Some 19,942 carats of mainly smaller, run-of-mine goods fetched $900,000 at an avera...Read More

The price of nickel on the London Metal Exchange was some $40 per tonne short of the $17,000 per tonne mark at the close of trading on Tuesday April 27, while most other base metals' prices also finished higher day on day, boosted by a recent rise for copper.Nickel's three-month price was up by 1.8% to $16,963 per tonne on Tuesday, after rising by roughly $300 per tonne each day since last Thursda...Read More

RAPAPORT... Vivrelle, a club that provides its members with a shared closet of luxury goods, has raised $26 million to finance its multipronged expansion plans.The Series-A venture-capital funding will help enlarge the company's product offering, amplify marketing initiatives, and scale up operations, Vivrelle said in a statement on Monday.The club, established in 2018 by newlyweds Blake and...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Diamond Club West Coast (DCWC), an affiliate of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), has reelected Moshe Salem as its president.Kalpesh Jhaveri and Antranig Ayvazian have been voted in as vice presidents of the Los Angeles-based trade group, which was founded in 1946 and has a membership of about 275 merchants. The DCWC selected Rahul Parikh as treasurer and Vatche...Read More

Fastmarkets' daily indices for domestic hot-rolled coil inched further up on Tuesday April 27 due to the continuing shortage in Europe combined with strong demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?973.33 ($1,176.99) per tonne on April 27, up by ?,?2.08 per tonne from ?,?971.25 per tonne on Monday.The in...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Istanbul Jewelry Show (IJS) has been postponed for a fourth time because of the coronavirus pandemic.It was originally scheduled to take place in March 2020, but has now been re-arranged for March 2022.Organizers said in a statement that the safety and success of their colleagues, partners, customers, and exhibitors was their top priority, and the reason they had again postpone...Read More

(IDEX Online) - An unrivalled collection of 19 pieces by the German jewelers Hemmerle fetched $1.4m, almost double the pre-sale estimate, at Sotheby's New York.The single most expensive lot was a pair of copper and diamond ear studs (see pic), featuring two old European-cut diamonds of 8.81carats and 8.80 carats. They sold for $201,600, surpassing their $100,000 to $150,000 estimate.The piece...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has unveiled a task force to help benchmark the progress of its members in the implementation of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).The group, which includes 26 industry leaders together with representatives of nongovernmental organizations, trade bodies and academia, will establish a platform to coordinate the joint...Read More

Due to a reviewer error, the publication of Fastmarkets' aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US was delayed on Tuesday April 27.Specifications for the affected price are as follows:MB-AL-0020 Aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US, US cents/lbQuality: London Metal Exchange specification P1020A or 99.7% minimum Al purity (silicon 0.10% max, iron 0.20% max, zinc 0.03%, gallium 0.04%, vanadium 0....Read More

A summary of Brazilian miner Vale's results for the first quarter of 2021, as stated in its earnings report published on Monday April 26.In brief Vale's realized price for iron ore - considering transactions in both a fob and a cfr basis - increased on rising indices and higher-quality premiums, but was offset by marking prices at lower levels for the quarter and a larger amount of sales on a fob...Read More

A summary of Swedish metals producer Boliden's financial and production results for the first quarter of 2021, as released on Tuesday April 27.In brief Boliden's total operating profit for the first quarter of 2021 was 2,779 million Swedish krona ($331.5 million), down from 3,077 million krona in the last quarter of 2020. In a year-on-year comparison, however, operating profits increased by 1...Read More

Prices for hot-rolled coil in the United States attained a new all-time high for a third consecutive day after market participants said that domestic mills were expected to increase offer prices for what little spot material they will ship in June. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $72.83 per hundredweight ($1,456.60 per short ton) on Tuesday April 27, a...Read More

Politicians in the UK have launched an inquiry into Liberty Steel and the broader steel industry, Fastmarkets has learnt.The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, a cross-party group of Members of Parliament (MPs), opened the inquiry on Tuesday April 27.The development came with Liberty Steel's owner, GFG Alliance, still under financial pressure due...Read More