The rising cost of coking coal has led to a sharp drop in demand for iron ore lump, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday August 23.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $136.71 per tonne, down $3.73 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $137.22 per tonne, down $3.93 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $106.64 per tonne, down $2.16 per tonne65% Fe Brazil...Read More

Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in China extended their gains on Monday August 23, buoyed by constrained production but subdued by rising inventories and persistent concerns over demand.DomesticSteel hot-rolled coil domestic, ex-whs Eastern China (Shanghai) was 5,660-5,700 yuan ($870-876) per tonne, up by 30-40 yuan per tonne from Friday August 20.The most-traded HRC contract on the Sha...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we approach the end of the first half of 2021, steel markets in Europe and the United States continue to heat up. This six-month period is largely unprecedented, with both steel prices and steelmakers' margins hitting a number of new record highs throughout.The rally is likely nearing its end, however, with global steel ou...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR?  US sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum persisting into June. Actual US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $1,553 per ton in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,540 per ton. Prices remain supported by strong underlying sup...Read More

The latest forecasts and analysis of the ferrous scrap and iron metallics market from the Fastmarkets research team are ready to be viewed.Stifled automotive output this year, driven by a supply shortage of semiconductor chips used in vehicles, has tightened prime scrap availability and widened the spreads between this grade of steelmaking raw material and obsolete scrap.While wide prime-over-obso...Read More

Stainless steel prices continue to register new highs around the end of the first half of 2021 and steelmakers continue to enjoy outsized margins.They have responded in recent months by increasing their output, which has now pushed above pre-pandemic levels and will eventually restore balance to the market.For now, though, supply gaps are still being filled and buyers find themselves competing aga...Read More

The domestic hot-rolled coil market in Europe remained quiet on Monday August 23, with buyers and mills split over the price trend for September, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?1,143.33 ($1,337.42) per tonne on August 23, up by ?,?0.83 per tonne from ?,?1,142.50 per tonne on Friday August 20.The i...Read More

Turkish domestic scrap prices have continued to weaken over the past week in line with falling imported scrap values, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday August 23.Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes with prices continuing to weaken throughout the week to August 23.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey was...Read More

Alumina prices climbed on Monday August 23 to their highest since February 1 last year, after trading sideways for most of this month.Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia, was assessed at $305.00 per tonne on Monday, up from $301.32 per tonne on August 20.A deal was reported at $305 per tonne on an fob Western Australia basis earlier on Monday. But market participants were focused on the poss...Read More

A summary of China's battery raw materials imports for July 2021, according to the latest Chinese customs data released on Friday August 20.In brief Imports of cobalt rose month on month despite unappealing import profits in June and July. A trader source told Fastmarkets that some cobalt arriving in a Chinese bonded warehouse in July was immediately exported again, meaning the actual amount circu...Read More

Nickel and lead posted price increases of almost 2% in morning trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday August 23, ahead of the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole summit which starts on Thursday.Three-month nickel traded at $18,805 per tonne at 9am, up from Friday's $18,463-per-tonne closing price. The metal lost 5.4% of its value last week, with the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19 denti...Read More

RAPAPORT... Store closures in Australia have deprived Michael Hill of "significant" revenues since late June and will likely dent profit, the jeweler cautioned this week.Group sales fell 2% year on year in the first seven weeks of fiscal 2022, which began on June 28, the company said Monday. This reflected the loss of 2,755 trading days during the period, and came despite rising sales in Cana...Read More

While nickel briquette started to become a viable alternative as a precursor of nickel sulfate for Chinese battery raw materials producers in early 2021, their enthusiasm for the product appears to have waned in recent weeks, resulting in a less active spot market.Previously, a sharp decrease in nickel briquette inventory levels at London Metal Exchange warehouses had Chinese market participants w...Read More

Nickel ore prices in China rose to new highs in the week to Friday August 20 amid increasing freight rates while the country's nickel pig iron (NPI) market held steady.Fastmarkets' latest assessment for laterite ore with 1.5% Ni content, cif China was $85-88 per tonne last Friday, up by $1-3 per tonne (2.4%) from $84-85 per tonne a week earlier.Fastmarkets' assessment for laterite ore with 1.8% Ni...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has sold its Ghaghoo mine in Botswana for $4 million, after trying to offload the asset for four years.Okwa Diamonds, a company owned by Vast Resources and Botswana Diamonds, has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the deposit, which has been on care and maintenance since March 2017, Gem Diamonds said Monday. Ghaghoo's gross assets were valued at $3.5 million as of...Read More

RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co.'s latest marketing campaign will star Beyonc?(C) Knowles-Carter and husband Jay-Z, as the luxury jeweler aims for a creative take on modern love.The About Love campaign features Beyonc?(C) wearing the 128.54-carat yellow Tiffany Diamond, the first time it's been worn in a campaign, the company said Monday. The celebrities will also showcase pieces from the Tiffany T c...Read More

RAPAPORT... Rough-diamond prices have fallen by up to 5% on the secondary market since last month's release of goods by Russia's state gem depository, according to estimates from Alrosa.The Gokhran auction on July 23 brought almost $140 million in inventory into the supply chain, easing the sector's shortages, the Russian miner's deputy CEO, Evgeny Agureev, told Rapaport News Thursday.Rough h...Read More

Tiffany & Co. said that singers Beyonc?? (C) and JAY-Z will star in its latest campaign celebrating modern love.   Tiffany's debut of "ABOUT LOVE" marks the latest evolution of the luxury jeweler's new creative direction. The campaign is the result of a close collaboration and a shared vision between both the singers and Tiffany & Co.   "Beyonc?? (C) and JAY-Z are the...Read More

Gem Diamonds Limited is selling Gem Diamonds Botswana Proprietary Limited (GDB) to Okwa Diamonds (Pty) Ltd. GDB's main asset is the Ghaghoo diamond mine in Botswana.   The mine has been on care and maintenance since March 2017, and is wholly owned by GDB. As of 31 December 2020, the gross assets of GDB were US$3.5 million and the loss attributable to GDB for the 12-month period ended 31...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States stood firmly above $96.50 per hundredweight ($1,930 per short ton) for a third consecutive business day, while sources remained split as to whether hot band prices are beginning to plateau.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.57 per cwt ($1,931.40 per ton) on Monday August 23, falling by 0.27% from $96.83 per...Read More