Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More
The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More
In 2019, 97-year-old John B. Goodenough receivedthe Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking work on developing lithium-ionbatteries His discovery more than 40 years ago led to amassive breakthrough, giving us the rechargeable batteries hidden insidedevices we use every day... From smartphones and computers to power tools andmedical equipment. But today, it’s led to a boom that’s signa...Read More
The strength of the economic recovery in China in 2020 defied the expectations of most market observers. According to estimates by Fastmarkets, apparent consumption in the country rose by 9% in 2020 compared with a 12% fall in the rest of the world.Crucially, this increase in supply was a response to a boom in steel demand in the East Asian nation. In the first quarter of 2020, demand (or real con...Read More
There has been quite a bit of chatter related to precious metals lately. The rally in Cryptos, particularly Bitcoin, and various other stocks have raised expectations that Gold and Silver have been overlooked as a true hedging instrument. As these rallies continue in various other stocks and sectors, Gold and Silver have continued to trade sideways over the past 6+ months – when and ho...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR?In a strong start to the year, January saw ore and alloy pricing gains across all markets priced by Fastmarkets - with the exception of Chinese silicon metal export prices, which retreated slightly last month after posting impressive gains in December 2020.The combination...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.We spoke in our previous tracker of stainless steel prices ending 2020 on a high. That trend has continued during early 2021 and, in fact, the upward rally in prices has increased its momentum.Compared with the monthly price increase of some 5% seen at the end of 2020, prices for grade-304 stainless steel in al...Read More
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
Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil substantially increased across Europe over the week to Friday March 12, driven by a material shortage and strong demand.In addition, most European steelmakers have been delaying their order deliveries, market sources said.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?793.00 ($947.48) per tonne on March 1...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. This month's key North American steel forecast highlights: US hot-rolled coil prices continued to move in line with our forecasts in February, although actual prices again modestly exceeded our forecasts. Domestic HRC prices averaged $1,194 per ton in February, exceeding our forecast price of $1,150 per ton for the month. U...Read More
The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) has certified primary aluminium smelter Albras under its Performance and Chain of Custody (CoC) standards, the organization announced on Monday March 15.Albras, located at Barcarena in northern Brazil, has capacity for production of 460,000 tonnes per year of aluminium. The smelter is owned 51% by Norsk Hydro and 49% by Nippon Amazon Aluminium Co (NAACO)....Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished-diamond exports fell 6% year on year to $527 million in February, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) reported last week. However, rough trading surged, with imports rising 28% to $877 million and exports increasing 20% to $862 million.Belgium Trade Data for February 2021 Read More
RAPAPORT... A Cartier diamond bracelet that took nearly 2,000 hours to create will go under the hammer at Sotheby's in Hong Kong next month.The piece, featuring a pear-shaped, 63.66-carat, D-color, internally flawless diamond surrounded by rows of rock crystal, will lead the April 20 Magnificent Jewels sale, Sotheby's said Monday. The Art Deco-style bracelet is estimated at $5.2 million to $8...Read More
Glencore has undergone a major restructuring of its leadership teams, with a number of senior departures and new roles for existing department heads.Kenny Ives, Tor Peterson and Nico Paraskevas will leave the company in the coming months, stepping down from their roles as head of nickel, head of coal and head of copper marketing respectively. The trio will stay on for a few months...Read More
Operations at Glencore's Murrin Murrin nickel and cobalt plant in Western Australia have been reduced after an equipment failure with an acid tank, a source with knowledge of the matter told Fastmarkets. "There was a minor operating incident in the acid plant at the end of last week. Operations are running, but at a lower level while the repairs are being carried out," the source said on Monday Ma...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's polished-diamond exports increased 27% year on year in February, reflecting momentum in the market after January's 9% rise. Rough imports were flat at $1.46 billion, according to recent data from the country's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).India Trade Data for February 2021 Read More
Volkswagen has placed a $14-billion battery cell supply order with battery maker Northvolt for the next 10 years, the Swedish company said on Monday March 15, making Northvolt the carmaker's "strategic lead supplier for premium battery cells for Volkswagen Group in Europe." The Swedish battery also said it will sell its share in joint venture Northvolt Zwei, one of the partnership's factories base...Read More
The publication of Fastmarkets' assessment of the aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, cif Thailand was delayed due to a reporter error.The premium is published every four weeks on a Friday and should have been published on March 12. It was instead published on Monday...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds saw an increase in revenue and profits in 2020, despite Covid forcing the closure of its Letseng mine, in Lesotho, between March and May.The London-based miner reported net profits for the year of $24.3m, up almost 130 per cent on $10.6m in 2019. Sales were up 4.2 per cent to $189.6m.Letseng mine, the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds has concluded the debt-for-equity restructuring which should secure its future.The UK-listed miner failed to attract a buyer for its three mines in South Africa as revenues plunged and it struggled to repay $650m of debts. The deal it has now struck reduces shareholders' stake in the company to just nine per cent.Its debts have been being replaced by $337m...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IGI labs are to start assembling the world's first diamond coins, which are to be traded as a commodity.Their task will be to inspect and authenticate over 50,000 natural diamonds, seal them into transparent coins, each of exactly the same value. The International Gemological Institute (IGI) is partnering with the US-based Diamond Standard, which launched a $25m IPO l...Read More