The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In previous reports, we noted that upside risks to our forecasts existed. These were based on Chinese steel production, and in turn alloy consumption, outperforming our expectations.Chinese crude steel production is rising each month in a year-on-year comparison, prompting our revised view that Chinese alloy consumption will...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The Covid-19 pandemic and the associated impacts on steel production, mining and manufacturing activity, end-use consumption, and trade and transportation continue to dominate ferro-alloy markets. US steel mills are operating at around 50% of capacity, with similarly low operating rates evident in Europe as well. Chinese ste...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the year 2020 to date in late August, the Fastmarkets 62% Fe iron ore benchmark has powered along and reached six-year highs, supported by Chinese demand, and despite the global economic uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Iron ore demand has weakened almost everywhere except in China, where it has continued to...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.There has been an increasing bullishness in Chinese steel market sentiment recently, with rising post-Covid-19 optimism about the country's economy for the second half of 2020, especially after the government announced an infrastructure spending boost. Although we believe that high prices are justified, they remain far from...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Heavy rains in China, which can negatively affect iron ore supplies and pig iron production, and bolster demand for scrap, continued in July 2020. Although this was more an upside risk to our bearish base case one month ago, Chinese scrap prices remained strong. The firm prices gained support from the rains and from a more g...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This year has come with several unexpected events which increased the bullish case for iron ore prices, while the Chinese government's spending on infrastructure is likely to boost iron ore demand and add upside support to prices. But supply disruptions and a demand surge which caused price spikes are now easing. We do not e...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 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