The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR?  Impressive advances in ore and alloy prices persisted in March, with most markets posting significant price gains. Strengthening demand from steelmakers along with supply shortages and depleted inventories in numerous markets, as well as freight and transportation...Read More

Domestic prices for European heavy steel plate increased again in the week to Wednesday April 7, supported by higher slab costs and lower supply for spot buyers, sources told Fastmarkets.Steelmakers have also been targeting further price increases, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe was ?,?740-760 ($879-903) per tonne on April 7,...Read More

Polished trading slower after robust 1Q. Concerns about high Covid-19 infections in Europe and India. Bharat Diamond Bourse sharply restricts activity. Surat manufacturing and exports continue. US jewelers optimistic as consumer confidence grows in March. Vaccine rollout and $1,400 stimulus checks fueling retail spending. Rough market cooling. Cutters anticipate rise in polished inventory as GIA r...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has identified a fancy-color diamond containing rare lines of blue, positing that the stone was originally brown before it underwent treatment.The round brilliant, 1.50-carat, fancy-intense-green-yellow diamond contained blue "graining," an unusual phenomenon, according to researchers from the GIA in Carlsbad, California. While fancy-colo...Read More

The uptrend in Europe's hot-rolled coil market continued on Thursday April 8, with prices supported by a persistent lack of material, while ArcelorMittal has increased offer prices again, Fastmarkets heard. Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?895 ($1,065.41) per tonne on April 8, up by ?,?1 per tonne from ?,?894 per tonne on Wednesday Ap...Read More

RAPAPORT... Revenue at Titan Company increased in the fourth fiscal quarter as consumer sentiment continued to improve following the wedding season.Jewelry sales rose 70% year on year for the three months ending March 31, as consumers took advantage of lower gold prices to purchase wedding jewelry for events that had been deferred. Titan also benefited from a favorable base comparison with the sam...Read More

RAPAPORT... Diamond-grading laboratories and other industry services are allowed to operate during Mumbai's Covid-19 lockdown, according to a clarification by India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).The state government of Maharashtra has exempted manufacturing and related support activities from the restrictions it imposed this week, the GJEPC said in a statement Wednesd...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Lucara has announced a two-year extension to its deal with HB Antwerp to market the large rough stones (+10.8-cts) that represent 70 per cent of its revenue.The Canadian miner reached an initial agreement last July to sell the stones from its Karowe mine, Botswana, to the Belgian manufacturer based on the estimated polished outcome.Any adjustments are made later, based on the actua...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Israel's diamond trade is showing clear signs of recovery, with steep year-on-year rises for imports and exports in the first quarter of 2021.Net imports of rough diamonds were up 75.6 per cent to ?, ?476m, said the Ministry of Economy. And net exports of rough diamonds increased by 66.3 per cent to $389.8mIsrael was largely unaffected by the global pandemic during the corresp...Read More

A summary of the financial performance of Brazilian aluminium producer Companhia Brasileira de Alum?-nio (CBA) for the full-year of 2020, parent company Votorantim's earnings report, released on Thursday April 8, said.In brief Total aluminium sales volume growth was largely due to the downstream segment after the acquisition of a former Arconic sheet and foil unit in the Brazilian northeastern sta...Read More

Brazilian exports of alumina were up by 40.01% year on year in March, after the two main producers, Alunorte and Alumar, increased their shipments, data from the country's economy ministry, published on Wednesday April 7, show.Exports totaled 886,640 tonnes in March, rising from 633,254 tonnes the year before. Canada was the main destination during the month, with 294,139 tonnes arriving, while No...Read More

Canada-headquartered zinc producer Trevali Mining signed a 15-year power supply agreement with Emerging Markets Energy Services (Emesco) for its Rosh Pinah mine in Namibia, the company said on Wednesday April 7.The deal is part of the miner's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25% from 2018 until 2025. This particular agreement, according to the company, will contribute with a 6%...Read More

The build-up in expected times to deliver aluminium material out of London Metal Exchange warehouses in Port Klang has created a gap in warrant premiums for the metal unseen since Fastmarkets started covering the market in January 2017.Queue times at some warehouses are reported to be at three months, at least, in some Port Klang warehouses, with other traders telling Fastmarkets that the next ava...Read More

Nickel continued to reach its highest prices in a month while the rest of base metals on the London Metal Exchange were marginally higher on Thursday April 8, with the prospect of more economic stimulus and supportive fiscal measures in the United States boding well for equity markets and metal futures. Nickel's three-month price reached an intraday high of $16,800 per tonne during early trading o...Read More

China's domestic stainless steel prices widened downward during the week ended Wednesday April 7 on selling pressure, though nickel prices increased.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended the official trading session on Wednesday at $16,731 per tonne, up by $581 per tonne from $16,150 per tonne a week earlier.The most-traded June nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures...Read More

The European Union's second-quarter quota for steel imports opened just one week ago, and some long steel suppliers have already used a large portion of their allocations, with sources expecting long steel volumes to be absorbed very quickly, thus depriving European customers of diverse supply options,Fastmarkets understands.Russia Russian mills have already consumed about 80-90% of both thei...Read More

Export billet prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to increase on Thursday April 8 on support from growing offers from some major suppliers amid rising scrap costs as well as a supportive Chinese market.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was $428.42 per tonne, down by $0.43 per tonne day on day and up by $11....Read More

The European Commission (EC) will terminate the anti-subsidy investigation into hot-rolled coil (HRC) from Turkey without imposing duties, according to a letter sent from the EC to the interested parties on April 7 and seen by Fastmarkets.This decision, however, will come into force only after the Official Journal of the European Union is published, Fastmarkets understands.In February 2021, t...Read More

Market participants in Egypt continued to wait for the easing of construction regulations, leaving rebar prices unchanged since 2020, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday, April 8.Demand for rebar in the country has remained weak since the imposition of a construction ban in May 2020 and has stayed that way despite a slight relaxation of the rules in September 2020.The Egyptian government is expec...Read More

ArcelorMittal Europe has again increased its official offer prices for all steel coil products across Europe, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 8.New offers for hot-rolled coil were heard at ?,?920 ($1,093) per tonne ex-works, up by ?,?20 ($23.75) per tonne from ?,?900 per tonne ex-works. This increase followed three price hikes in March.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled c...Read More