Trading activity in the export wire rod and rebar market in the Commonwealth of Independent States remained sluggish in the week to Monday April 27 due to the effects of lower oil prices and the global Covid-19 pandemic.Wire rod offers were largely unchanged over the week, varying within the range of $390-420 per tonne fob Black Sea depending on the supplier and destination.Ukraine-origin material...Read More

Successful trading in recent weeks spurred some CIS steel slab producers to increase their offer prices for foreign customers in late April.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $325-340 per tonne on Monday April 27, widening upward by $10 per tonne.Ukraine-origin slab was available in Italy and Turkey within the range of $360-365 per tonne cfr, which...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Christie's sold over $1.3m of jewelry at its latest online auction, with no sign of bidding being dampened by coronavirus.The auction house said the number of unique visitors online had nearly doubled, compared with a similar sale a year ago, and almost 40 per cent of sales were to new customers. Four fifths lots sold above their high estimates.The 12-day sale attracted bidder...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A jewelry consultant sold a $16,000 engagement ring while working from home during the coronavirus lockdown. Shenae Comer, a Kay employee from Washington state, spent 90 minutes on the phone with the buyer and was able to discuss details and show him detailed pictures online, before arranging to have it shipped to his home. She's been working from home as part of the company&#...Read More

IDEX has a million diamonds online, more than any other trading portal, according to independent comparisons by the Diamond World website.It emerges as "front-runner" and is singled out for its transparency and objectivity.It also boasts by far the highest number of registered sellers, currently around 2,000.IDEX outperforms five other portals in these key metrics, in a side-by-side analysis...Read More

Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe moved down day on day due to limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets in Monday April 27.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?441.00 ($477.12) per tonne on Monday, down by ?,?2.13 per tonne from ?,?443.13 per tonne on Friday April 24.Official offers were heard at ?,?440-460 per tonne e...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe largest decline was seen at its biggest operation, Los Bronces in Chile, which fell 25% to 68,700t from 91,700t due to prolonged and record drought conditions. This saw plant throughput fall 42% due to low water availability which was partially offset by planned higher grades of 1% compared with 0.8% a year ago.This was compens...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices dropped sharply at the start of the week on news of a fresh Baltic Sea cargo deal, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 27.A steel producer in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 26,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $242 per tonne and 4,000 tonnes of bonus at $252 per tonne cfr.This compares with previous Baltic Sea deals done at $255-256...Read More

Spain has extended its lockdown for the third time to combat the spread of Covid-19, which means the local steel industry will continue running at reduced rates, sources told Fastmarkets on April 27.On Friday April 24, Spain's Council of Ministers agreed to extend the country's lockdown to midnight May 10 to fight the pandemic, discarding the original end date of April 26.The Spanish steel in...Read More

Turkish domestic scrap prices have increased over the past week amid limited supply, especially in the Marmara region, sources said on Monday April 27.At least two steel mills in the Marmara region have increased their buy prices for auto bundle scrap by 70-80 lira ($10-12) per tonne over the past week to be able to secure more material.Long and flat steel mill ??olakoglu increased its buy price f...Read More

Seaborne hard coking coal prices plummeted on Monday April 27, as transaction prices reflected a weak market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $115.53 per tonne, down $3.89 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $121.06 per tonne, down $5.53 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $102.01 per tonne, down $6 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $109.44 per tonne, dow...Read More

Most seaborne iron ore prices showed marginal falls on Monday April 27, with cargoes available on the market but only high-quality Brazil fines seeing a rise in prices.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.48 per tonne, down by $0.87 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $85.50 per tonne, down by $0.59 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $72.47 p...Read More

Metals prices were for the most part stronger this morning, Monday April 27, as were Asian-Pacific equity indices, while gold prices were slightly weaker and US treasury yields were firmer - all suggesting a broad risk-on mood.Market participants seem to be focused on and optimistic about the plans for the gradual reopening of economies while countries get a handle on the Covid-19 pandemic. * Pre-...Read More

Ferrous scrap imports to Vietnam rose by 64.8% year on year over the first three months of 2020, statistics from the country's customs bureau show.Total scrap imports reached 1.39 million tonnes in January-March 2020, up from 843,666 tonnes in the corresponding period of last year.Scrap imports from Japan saw the largest rise of any major seller to the country, soaring by 110.3% over the period to...Read More

China's ferrous scrap prices moved higher in the week to Friday April 24 due to restocking by mills and lower supply in the market, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap heavy scrap domestic, delivered mill China, was 2,330-2,490 yuan ($329-352) per tonne including value-added on Friday, up by 130 yuan per tonne from 2,200-2,360 a week earlier.Steel mills received...Read More

The price of steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow was unchanged week on week, while buying remained slow due to the Covid-19 restrictions, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 27.The demand from the key rebar end-use...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures advanced 29 points in pre-opening trade. Facebook added $4.23 to $194.38 after Stifel Nicolaus increased its target price from $200 to $230. MasterCard gained $3.84 to $262.60 after Wedbush raised its target price from $250 to $300.Visa advanced $1.68 to $169.00 after Wedbush increased its target price from $170 to $200. Ameri...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange ring dealer Marex Spectron's results for the first quarter of 2020 and the year ending December 31, 2019.In brief:Marex announced a strong start to 2020 due to high levels of volatility in commodities market, achieving unaudited net revenues of $142.2 million in the first quarter of this year - up 41% from the same period last year. Marex said it has also continu...Read More

China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices gained some strength on Monday April 27 despite losses in the futures market. Some optimism has also emerged among exporters with buyers in Pakistan starting to buy from China again.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,300-3,310 yuan ($466-467) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,240 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneTrading activ...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices were unchanged on Monday April 27 amid steady demand, although the futures market experienced a decline. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,420-3,450 yuan ($483-487) per tonne, unchanged Buyers raised their procurement rates during the day to stock up ahead of the May 1-5 Labor Day break in the country.The steady demand kept sellers from lowering prices despite...Read More