The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Prices of stainless steel are generally set to reach highs for the year as 2020 comes to a close. For the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel, this upward trend is being driven above all by rising nickel prices, which themselves are hitting relatively high levels into the end of 2020.The price increases si...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While much commentary has been written about Asian economies performing far better than those elsewhere this year during the global Covid-19 pandemic, it is stainless steel markets in Europe and the United States that are ending the year in better shape than their Asian counterparts.We do not talk of demand levels or demand g...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While a world leader in many areas, the United States is a relatively small player when it comes to stainless steel. It produces a small amount of material, both in absolute and relative terms (i.e. compared to the size of its population), while a large share of its industry is in the hands of bigger European companies. Never...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Having found it easier to increase prices than their counterparts in Europe and the United States during the past few months, Asian stainless steelmakers now face a number of concerns.In the short term, Asian prices have moved down in recent weeks while those in Europe and the US are on the up. This is mostly a reflection of...Read More

RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. will offer a necklace featuring an 80-carat diamond, expected to be its most expensive piece ever, at the reopening of its New York Fifth Avenue flagship store next year.The oval-cut, D-color, internally flawless stone, which the jeweler sourced from Botswana and will set in-house in New York, is at the center of the piece, Tiffany said Tuesday. It is also the largest...Read More

RAPAPORT... Walter William Hanneman, a gemologist, author and instrument maker, died on December 12 at the age of 93, his family announced this week.Born in 1927 in Oak Park, Illinois, he entered the world of gems and minerals thanks to his father, Walter Mooney Hanneman, an avid lapidarist. The young Hanneman taught the subject to himself, later claiming to be the "world's foremost self-orda...Read More

The prices for steel hollow sections in Europe have remained unchanged over the past week, with many market participants still on their Christmas and New Year holidays, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 6.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?800-820 ($982-1,007) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous assessm...Read More

RAPAPORT... Revenue at Titan Company increased in the third fiscal quarter as consumers purchased wedding jewelry for events that had been deferred.Jewelry sales rose nearly 15% year on year for the three months ending December 31 amid positive consumer sentiment. Shoppers also displayed an eagerness to get out after six months of being restricted to their homes, the company reported Wednesday. "C...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales at Tiffany & Co. rose 2% during the holiday season as the US jeweler benefited from sharp growth in China and a surge in online demand.Revenue in the Asia-Pacific region jumped 20% year on year in November and December, outweighing a 5% decline in the Americas, the company reported Tuesday in a trading update. Global sales on a comparable basis - at stores open for at le...Read More

The prices of high- and low-carbon ferro-chrome in Europe rose on January 5 due to tight supply and stronger sentiment seeping into the European market from China. Fastmarkets' assessment of ferro-chrome high carbon 6-8.5% C, basis 65-70% Cr, max 1.5% Si, delivered Europe rose 2 cents (or 2.1%) to $0.92-1.07 per lb Cr from $0.90-$1.05 per lb Cr on December 29.Correspondingly, ferro-chrome high car...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Year-on-year diamond prices for December 2020 were exactly in line with those of the same month in 2019 - no change at all.  They were badly hit by the pandemic in March and April, when they were 4.8 per cent down, but have rising more or less steadily ever since and have now reached pre-Covid levels. The Index is now at the x-axis, with every likelihood that it will brea...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) is to host six tenders this month, three of them by first-time companies - I Henning, KOIN International and Choron/Bonas Group.The level of activity reflects "strong industry demand," it says, as the sector rebounds from a challenging 2020.In December Stargems hosted the largest ever rough diamond tender in the United Arab Emirates, at DDE.  A...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A decision on what should happen to the statue of De Beers founder Cecil Rhodes has been delayed by Oxford University.An independent Commission of Inquiry launched last year by Oriel College, was due to report its finding this month, but is said to be dealing with an unexpectedly high number of representations.The fate of the bronze statue - whether it should be removed and if so w...Read More

Copper and nickel hit multi-month and multi-week highs respectively on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday January 6, spurred by factors such as export delays in Peru, positive sentiment about electric vehicles and a weak US dollar. Three-month copper peaked at $8,169 per tonne, its highest since February 19, 2013, when it topped out at $8,153.50 per tonne. "Copper is the star base metal going...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday January 6.Please click...Read More

Key information from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Wednesday January 6. Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia is at its highest level since July 11, 2019 when it hit $309.17 per tonne and has surpassed the 2020 high of $305.46 per tonne reached on March 6. Key drivers  A fresh deal concluded today for 30,000 tonnes at $306 per tonne fob Australia, fo...Read More

Copper premiums surged in Shanghai after import gains over the past week, but remain stable in the United States and Europe. Arbitrage opportunities prompt higher Shanghai premiumsRotterdam market holds on steady supplies, LME price risesUS market remains stableBonded Shanghai copper premiums soar on arb opportunities   Fastmarkets' Shanghai copper premium hit a four-month high ...Read More

Zinc and lead premiums were stable across the United States, Europe and Asia in the first week of 2021 despite Korean zinc smelter Young Poong's closure due to environmental reasons and the tightening of US lead supply.Spot premiums for lead and zinc ingots remained stable in the United StatesLead ingots supply tightening in the USEuropean premiums stable with market still quiet due to January 6 p...Read More

Copper rose to a near eight-year high during morning trading on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday January 6 on news about an output delay from the Las Bambas mine in Peru and anticipation over the results of the Georgia run-off senate elections. Copper's three-month price climbed to $8,130 per tonne at 9am on Wednesday, a 1.6% increase from its Tuesday 5pm closing price of $8,002 per tonne. T...Read More

Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe were unchanged over the week to Wednesday January 6 due to the seasonal slowdown in market activity, sources have told Fastmarkets.Neither producers nor buyers have returned to the market from the Christmas and New Year holidays in the region.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was ?,?600-620 ($...Read More