The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Short-term upside targets achievedLME aluminium's price recovery to $1,600 per tonne has been driven by macro forces acting on all metals, and amplified for aluminium by technical factors after prices became so oversold at the double-bottom lows in April and May. With a 4-million-tonne supply surplus this year, al...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Consolidation needed after technical gainsDespite structural oversupply, the London Metal Exchange aluminium price has enjoyed a technical rebound since the mid-May lows, which was in line with our short-term forecasts. But technical indicators now look overbought and the price must consolidate its recent gai...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Early signs of post-lockdown demand recoveryWith major economies outside China reopening after the easing of their Covid-19-related restrictions on movement and industrial activity, last week's jump in the number of cancelled aluminium warrants on the London Metal Exchange may be an early sign that the post-lockdo...Read More
The arguments in favor of silver as an investment asset are growing rapidly...by David Morgan of The Morgan ReportThe arguments in favor of silver as an investment asset are growing rapidly. Silver is the most under-valued hard asset in existence, with the highest potential for price appreciation on the globe.Watch this video on Strategic Silver Supply, then please share with your friends and fami...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.As we anticipated, rebar prices in Eastern China (ex-warehouse basis) rose in May, coming within 0.6% of our forecast. Strong demand at home meant that Chinese producers were largely absent from the export market, maintaining their offers near $450 per tonne, while import prices into Singapore were set near $400 per tonne cf...Read More
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 is ready to view.A couple of months into the global Covid-19 pandemic, the sell-off in steel markets appears to be abating.In parts of Asia, where the outbreak first occurred, steel prices - including those for coated steels - have rebounded since late April. The same is true of the US market as well. As we detail in our Americas analysis thi...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US flat product prices outperformed our expectations over the past month. In an attempt to lend the market confidence that sheet prices had reached a floor, US steel mills announced price increases of $50-60 per ton at the end of April. In the announcement, mills cited the expectation of higher scrap prices, tight domestic s...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
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 are ready to view.Lockdowns and restrictions of movement in several cities in Brazil have increased worries about the potential impact on iron ore export volumes. The situation has already had an impact on the market sentiment. These concerns, combined with strong demand from China, have boosted iron ore prices. The fall in shipments from Bra...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
RAPAPORT... JCK will hold a virtual version of its Las Vegas jewelry shows in an effort to help the industry reconnect following the cancellation of most trade events due to the coronavirus pandemic. The weeklong fair, scheduled for August 10 to 14, allows attendees to browse and buy merchandise from a variety of jewelry and watch exhibitors, JCK said last week.Industry professionals can also sche...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will offer four jewels with high estimates totaling more than $28 million at its upcoming live auctions in Geneva and Hong Kong.The Geneva Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale, originally scheduled for April, will take place on June 23. The auction will feature a step-cut, 3.01-carat, fancy-vivid-blue diamond carrying a presale value of $4.3 million to $6.3 million, the a...Read More
RAPAPORT... The coronavirus has forced retailers into new ways of doing business. In this webinar, Rapaport Editor in Chief Sonia Esther Soltani and Elle Hill, CEO of jewelry consultancy firm Hill & Co., discuss the steps jewelers must take in order to adapt.Watch the full interview below:Or listen as a podcast here:Images: Elle Hill, a still life from online retailer Gem Breakfast, and j...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamonds, pearls and other jewelry valued at $177m have been seized by Indian officials investigating fugitive billionaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi. Last week a court approved the confiscation of assets for the first time since the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act came in to force two years ago.A total of 108 packages allegedly despatched to Dubai by firms owned by...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Signet Jewelers will emerge from COVID-19 as a stronger company, said CEO Virginia Drosos, despite the planned closure of 400 stores and Q1 total operating losses of $291m. She told the CNBC business news channel the coronavirus pandemic was a "a temporary setback" and their strategies, including e-commerce, were working. "I see Signet emerging as a stronger team and company on the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - JCK, the biggest jewelry show in North America, is going online and Indian manufacturer Dharmanandan Diamonds has announced a virtual trade event - both in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. JCK announced in April that it was cancelling its Las Vegas show, which attracts over 30,000 of the world's most influential industry professionals, and its sister event Luxury. Inst...Read More