The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.US demand shrinksDemand projections call for a continued retreat in US electric-resistance welded (ERW) line pipe and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) consumption as drill rigs and the number of wells drilled per rig are cut. Project demand in the large-diameter line pipe market is also shrinking with deferred or canceled pro...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

Ferro-alloys prices have generally retreated over the past month, with demand concerns gaining in prominence.The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Ferro-alloy pricing trends have generally diverged ove the past month, depending on the security of the supply-side position of the market. With most supply concerns fading with the resumption of industrial activity i...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:While the ferro-alloy industry's initial response to the Covid-19 outbreak was marked by rising prices primarily in response to supply-side concerns, focus has now shifted somewhat. As Chinese activity slowly returns to more normal levels, for alloys with a strong Chinese prod...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore prices climbed further last week and we expect the elevated levels to remain into the next month. In particular, further upside will come from blast furnace (BF) capacity, which was reduced in Europe, Japan and the United States and has now come back online after restrictions started to be removed. With Covid-19 spr...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore prices have shot up as market participants have judged the supply risks from Covid-19 higher at this point in time when there is already a tight seaborne market. Despite the efforts to ramp up, Vale is struggling to catch up with its pre-dam disaster export volumes and its slow recovery has only been hit further by...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron oreSentiment in the iron ore market continues to be dominated by concerns about supply disruptions in Brazil. Prices spiked above $100 per tonne after reports that there had been a recent surge of Covid-19 cases at Vale's three mines in Itabira. A...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Ferrous scrap consumption rates of Chinese integrated mills appear to have declined this year on a per-tonne basis. This year has seen the ratio of pig iron to steel output tighten, leaving increasingly less room for scrap consumption. Over the first four months of 2020, the pig iron-to-steel ratio has been above the pr...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

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices have fared relatively well over the past couple of months in the face of the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.In grade-304 material, the most common grade of stainless steel, prices were down by about 5-7% since the turn of the year - not bad, when compared with the falls in prices of other assets so f...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Having first hit Asia during early 2020, the Covid-19 viral outbreak is now having an even bigger impact on European countries and the US. Widespread lockdown measures have been put in place on people and industry, and economic activity has slowed markedly.For now, stainless steel markets in Europe and the US are yet to show...Read More

The new issue of the Seamless OCTG & Linepipe Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers analysis of seamless OCTG and linepipe across international markets:Covid-19 underscores pipe outlookUnsurprisingly, the concern in the seamless pipe markets across the regions is the effect of the spread of Covid-19 on public health and econo...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) has called off this year's jewelry fairs, scheduled for August, after quarantine rules made the events inaccessible to overseas participants.The HKTDC initially postponed the Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show and the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show from March to August because of the coronavirus. On June 2,...Read More

RAPAPORT... The coronavirus pandemic has impacted every part of the diamond supply chain. As markets reopen with the virus still lingering, there is a consensus that a new normal has been established, even as it continues to evolve. The world is a different place than it was pre-pandemic, and the changes are likely to remain after things return to some version of normalcy, however long that takes....Read More

RAPAPORT... Mountain Province has reduced its production outlook for the year amid the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on operations.The miner now expects to produce between 6.3 million and 6.4 million carats in 2020 from the Gahcho Ku?(C) mine in Canada, compared to its earlier outlook of 6.75 million to 6.95 million carats, it said last week. That figure represents to...Read More

RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports continued to slow down in May, the second month of "quasi-paralysis" in the sector, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.Shipments slid 68% to CHF 655.6 million ($688.4 million) for the month, with all markets declining significantly. Orders from the US plummeted 79% to CHF 43.3 million ($45.5 million), while supply to Hong Kong dropped 69% to CHF...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa has reportedly lost at least five of its long-term buyers, as it maintains its price over volume strategy and forces customers to buy goods deferred from earlier sales.They've broken from their contracts because they can't make money in the COVID-19 climate, according to the Bloomberg news website.It says they include the diamond trading company Diaciore, owned by...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Three major diamond factories in Surat were ordered to close yesterday for at least 10 days, after a total of 22 of their employees tested positive for coronavirus.Municipal authorities fear packets of rough diamonds may have been the source of the infection and are urging owners to have them sanitized before they are given to the workers for polishing.The city's deputy health...Read More

(IDEX Online) - More than 1,000 jewels are to be auctioned by Christie's in a series of five live and four online sales as COVID-19 restrictions are eased.Highlights of the Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction include a twin-stone fancy vivid blue and D-color diamond ring (pictured), by the designer Reza ($8.4m to $12.6m).There are also two unmounted diamonds over 100 carats, a superb fancy inte...Read More

Rupert Resources on a Roll at IkkariSPONSOREDCardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Exore excels in Cote d'IvoireSPONSOREDexore resourcesThe measures aim to prevent the movement of people from other regions into the area and to reduce the overall number of workers and contract...Read More