Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.The global crude landscape is being upended by surging US crude oil production flowing into international markets.The North America Crude Markets Service provides context and crude oil analysis of the entire US crude value chain - fro...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Ernie Blom has won the first stage of a legal battle against the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), from which he stepped down as president last month. A court has threatened the WFDB with a $27m fine if it complies with a request to suspend him as a bourse member.Mr Blom challenged the right of the WFDB to have him banned from one of its member bourses, the Dubai Dia...Read More

FREETOWN – Sierra Leone is weathering a dramatic crunch in mining revenue as COVID-19 restrictions hurt companies’ ability to export gold and diamonds and access essential supplies.Revenue from mining dropped from $2.24 million in April 2019 to just $0.33 million in April 2020 - an 85% decline year on year, according to mines ministry figures seen by Reuters.AdvertisementMini...Read More

Daye Nonferrous has maintained its mission to construct a brand new copper smelting facility despite the uncertain outlook for commodity demand and price volatility, Fastmarkets understands.The Hubei-based company officially started the construction of a 400,000 tonne-per-year 'double flash' copper smelter on Tuesday May 12.A ceremony was held on the day, joined by representatives of its parent co...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Sale of rough diamonds from the Kareevlei mine in South Africa are to be moved to Antwerp, where owners BlueRock hope to attract more buyers.They'll be branded as Kareevlei Diamonds and marketed by diamond brokerage and consultancy firm Bonas-Couzyn, with pre-sales finance provided by Delgatto Diamond Finance Fund, the largest non-bank lender to the diamond industry.AIM-listed...Read More

(IDEX Online) - ORGANIZERS are to drop the name Baselworld from any reincarnation of the troubled watch and jewelry show.The event dates back to 1917, when it was part of the Schweizer Mustermesse Basel (model fair). In 1983 it adopted the style Basel 83, and in 2003 it became Baselworld.But after a couple of extremely difficult months MCH Group, parent company of Baselworld, says it will drop the...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices were pinned down on Thursday May 14 morning, largely due to continued risk-off sentiment related to the coronavirus outbreak, while a fresh 60,050-tonne inflow pressured the LME copper price. LMe copper's underlying price was recently at $5,186 per tonne, sliding from an intra-morning high of $5,235.50 per tonne, while turnover was moderate...Read More

With some clusters of Covid-19 infections emerging after the lifting of lockdowns, there is less hope that a 'V'-shaped rebound is sustainable and as a result markets were on a back foot this morning, Thursday May 14, especially broader markets, while the base metals were consolidating.Asian-Pacific and pre-market major western equity indices were weaker this morning.Chinese finance minister Liu K...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have continued to hold in a range of $24-25 per hundredweight ($480-500 per short ton) while mills seek to hold the line on finished steel prices in the face of higher input costs.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil price, fob mill US was calculated $24.28 per cwt ($485.60 per ton) on Thursday May 14, down by 0.5% from $24.39 per cwt on Wednesd...Read More

Aim-listed diamond miner BlueRock Diamonds, which operates the Kareevlei mine in Kimberley, has embarked on a new selling strategy and will, from June, ship diamonds to be sold on the Antwerp market, which the miner says attracts significantly more buyers than the local South African diamond market.The company had been reviewing its sales strategy prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the aim of ga...Read More

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine's major long steel producer, has decommissioned the first section of its blooming plant as a part of a strategy for sustainable development, the company said on Thursday May 14.The equipment had been in operation since 1958, and its launch was followed a few years later by the second section being installed. Combined, the two sections had capacity for 8 million to...Read More

With domestic flat-rolled steel mills holding firmly to higher prices, some market participants said that foreign suppliers could return to the US market.Domestic sheet mills announced price increases of $50-60 per short ton on April 30 and May 1, right around the time when US hot-rolled coil prices crashed below $22 per hundredweight ($440 per ton). As a result of those increases, Fastmarket...Read More

Italian steel producers were continuing to run at reduced capacities in the week to Thursday May 14 despite the easing of the country's Covid-19-pandemic lockdown, with stainless steelmaker Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) planning to suspend production later this month.Italian industry has been gradually resuming its operational activities since May 4, but most producers were still at reduced capacity...Read More

ArcelorMittal has postponed the temporarily idling of blast furnace (BF) No2 at its Fos-sur-Mer plant in France by about a month, market sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision has been taken because the steelmaker has orders to fulfil, trading sources said.ArcelorMittal's spokesperson confirmed that the plant continues to operateOriginally, the company had planned...Read More

The Turkish steel mills have continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes for June shipments at largely steady prices, sources said on Thursday May 14.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 8,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $250 per tonne, 13,000 tonnes of shredded at $255 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $260 per tonne cfr, late on May 13.Following the news of th...Read More

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy has announced a ban on exports of ferrous scrap for a period of four months starting on Friday May 15, 2020. The ban affects scrap under HS codes 720410, 720421, 720429, 720430, 720441, 720449 and 720450. The ministry did not give an official reason for implementing the export ban. But market participants in the UAE told Fastmarkets the decision was tak...Read More

Offer prices for bulk ferrous scrap cargoes to Bangladesh have increased over the past week after higher prices were paid elsewhere in Asia, but several buyers remained out of the market, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 14.After hectic activity in March and April, the Bangladeshi import market for bulk cargoes has cooled significantly so far in May, with high scrap inventories in the coun...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesAs Australian Rules football legend Ted Whitten would have put it, Mather has managed to "stick it right up ‘em" in a loan and streaming deal with royalty king Franco-Nevada Corp.Read More

With some clusters of Covid-19 infections emerging after the lifting of lockdowns, there is less hope that a ‘V’-shaped rebound is sustainable and as a result markets were on a back foot this morning, Thursday May 14, especially broader markets, while the base metals were consolidating.* Asian-Pacific and pre-market major western equity indices were weaker this morning.* Chinese finance...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices stayed above $90 per tonne on Thursday May 14, supported by improving production levels and decreasing steel inventories in China, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.17 per tonne, up $0.54 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.50 per tonne, up $0.14 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium,...Read More