The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.With nickel prices down by almost 20% over the space of around ten days during late February and early March, one might have been expecting us to be reporting sharply-lower prices of stainless steel, at least for the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel.This is not the case, at least in Europe and the Unite...Read More

Diamond market quieter as Belgium and Israel trades take vacation. Sentiment positive and prices firm. Dealers seeking opportunities and gaining confidence to buy at higher price levels. US retail recovery driving demand. Polished inventory rising following high-volume 1H rough purchases. RapNet listings exceed 1.5 million diamonds for first time since March 2020. Supply shortages persist due to I...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa increased its rough-diamond prices by around an average of 7% at this week's contract sale, customers of the miner told Rapaport News.The hikes impacted the full range of Alrosa's goods, though they were steeper for sizes above 2 carats, with some categories up by more than 10%, the clients said. The miner also adjusted its assortments, making some boxes appear significantl...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa is not used to buying diamonds. As the largest producer of rough by volume, the Russian miner accounts for about one-quarter of global supply and is therefore second only to De Beers in setting the tone for the market. It was therefore somewhat unusual that Alrosa bought the majority of rough at an auction held by Russia's state gemrepository Gokhran in July. The company is usu...Read More

Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Europe held fairly firm on Thursday July 29 despite a higher number of competitive import offers, market sources told Fastmarkets.Demand in Northern Europe has been weak due to the seasonal summer-holiday slowdown across the EU.The number of offers from European mills has been limited anyway. Suppliers in Germany were reported to be holding back from making new o...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers went back into the black in the first half of the year as sales and production rebounded from the Covid-19 crisis.Underlying earnings at the diamond miner reached $267 million for the six months ending June 30, compared with a loss of $214 million a year earlier, parent company Anglo American reported Thursday. Revenue more than doubled to $2.9 billion versus $1.22 billio...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa bought stockpiles of diamonds from the Russian government in a highly unusual bid to replenish dwindling inventory, ahead its current contract sale.A special auction was held last week by Gokhran, the state repository of precious gems and metals. Alrosa bought 70 per cent of the diamonds offered for sale.The miner has been warning of "a long period of supply deficit" in the...Read More

The London Metal Exchange's base metals prices were robust at the close of trading on Thursday July 29, supported in part by a US Dollar Index that reached its lowest since June 29 and fundamental factors affecting the metals themselves.The dollar index bottomed at 91.87 on Thursday, having reached a year-to-date high of 93.19 on June 21, following the US Federal Reserve bank's renewed dovish stat...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds has recovered a 342.92-carat Type IIa white diamond from its Cullian mine, in South Africa.The UK-listed miner said it was of exceptional color and clarity.In March, it sold a smaller rough stone from the same mine - a 299.3-carat white gem, also Type IIa -  for $12.18m.It was bought by Stargems DMCC, Dubai-based arm of the Antwerp diamond supplier.Earlier this...Read More

Chinese importers have been buying double the copper scrap from overseas under the category of 'recyclable copper material', yet its growth in secondary copper production is relatively modest. The country's import volume of copper scrap (HS code: 7404) almost doubled in the first half of 2021 to 821,376 tonnes. It is up 90.8% year on year from a base number affected by outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020...Read More

Aluminium delivery from northern China through central China remains restricted due to flooding in Hennan, with a section of the Longhai Line railway under repair, sources told Fastmarkets."Aluminium ingot in Northern China cannot be delivered to the south because they cannot pass through the Longhai line. So local areas can only consume current stocks... [aluminium] stocks in [the] Wuxi warehouse...Read More

Former schoolteacher and union leader Pedro Castillo said it was not his intention to nationalize Peru's economy and pointed that the country needed a "new way of doing mining in its territory" in his inaugural speech as president on July 28. Castillo was elected Peru's new president after a contested second round of elections held in June. His left-wing party, Peru Libre, won 50.13% of valid vote...Read More

A summary of the first-half production results from Anglo American.In brief Anglo American attributed an overall increase in copper production by 5% to the continued strong performance at Collahuasi and planned improved water availability at Los Bronces in Chile. Copper production at Los Bronces increased by 9% to 163,200 tonnes due to higher water availability owing to water management...Read More

Lundin Mining's copper production was down during the first half of the year because planned lower grades at its Chapada mine reduced its output.The company's profit in the first half was up by 160% at $835.2 million, boosted by higher gold, copper and zinc prices.In brief: At 120,811 tonnes, copper production was down...Read More

A summary of nickel and zinc producer Terrafame's financial results for the first half of the year to June 2021.Net sales in the first half of 2021 were ?,?185 million ($219 million), an increase of 7.2% year on year.The company said its battery chemical plant had ramped up production in June and deliveries of product to consumers began in July."Our new...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have surged above $94 per hundredweight ($1,880 per short ton) for the first time, after zooming past $93 per cwt on Wednesday July 28, with market participants projecting that the rally will not come to an end until late this year at the earliest.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $94.03 per cwt ($1,880.60 per...Read More

A summary of ArcelorMittal's financial results for the April-June quarter of 2021, according to its financial results statement published on Thursday July 29.In brief"On the financial side, the second quarter has seen a continued strong recovery backdrop alongside a sustained lean inventory environment," chief executive officer Aditya Mittal said."This resulted in even healthier spreads in our cor...Read More

A summary of sales figures from Russian steelmaker and vanadium producer Evraz for the April-June quarter of 2021, according to the company's trading report published on Thursday July 29.In brief Total sales of steel products rose by 6.1% quarter on quarter to 3.24 million tonnes, driven by higher sales of finished products in Russia amid favorable market conditions. It was also supported by an in...Read More

Two of the biggest topics facing miners are electrification and automationSPONSOREDauto-mateZinc-lead discovery helps Zenith double market capSPONSOREDzenith mineralsHigh-grade Costerfield gold mine drives turnaroundSPONSOREDmandalay resourcesNZ heeds the call of Siren GoldSPONSOREDsiren goldThe company produced 63,457 tonnes of copper, 34,833t of zinc, 41,000 ounces of gold and 4,774t of nickel i...Read More

China exported 1.03 million tonnes of steel hot-rolled coil in June 2021, adding 168% to the figure of 381,984 tonnes a year earlier, according to data recently published by China's General Administration of Customs.Vietnam remained the principal buyer of Chinese HRC, taking 276,418 tonnes in June.Exports of other major steel products also showed sharp year-on-year increases in June, particularly...Read More