All Turkish flat steel prices increased in November 2020 with demand being strong throughout the month because of low stock levels, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday December 2.Turkish flat steel producers are now fully booked until late March, with trading sources reporting that the market was strong during November because of a global shortage in some flat steel products and strong demand in Asia,...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday December 2 that are worth another look.Liberty Steel Group's move to acquire the steel unit of German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp has moved to the due diligence phase, the UK-based steel company told Fastmarkets on December 2.The...Read More

The London Metal Exchange nickel price fell by 1.7% at the 5pm close on Wednesday December 2, leading a broad-based dip in the complex, although prices remain around recent highs supported by a lower dollar index. The three-month nickel price closed at $16,000 per tonne on Wednesday, compared with Tuesday's 5pm closing price of $16,278 per tonne. The lowest price for the stainless steel additive...Read More

Treatment charges (TCs) paid for zinc concentrates fell to a 27-month low in November, continuing their downtrend while the market reacted to news that production would be stopped at Vedanta's Gamsberg mine in South Africa.A collapsed pit at the Gamsberg mine on November 17 buried 10 miners, with at least one confirmed fatality. The mine, which produces around 250,000 tonnes per year of zinc in co...Read More

Iron ore prices surged on Wednesday December 2, supported by concerns over supply shortages in the first quarter of 2021, and some futures prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed at seven-year highs, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $136.29 per tonne, up $4.16 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $135.80 per tonne, up $3...Read More

A shortage of big silver bars? The thousand-ouncers?by Keith Weiner of Monetary-MetalsWe are hearing rumors this week of a shortage of the big silver bars, the thousand-ouncers.No, we don't refer to bullion banks saying this. Nor big dealers, who are happy to sell us as many of these as we can buy. Nor our peeps in high places (we don't claim to have any such peeps).We refer to the usual suspect...Read More

https://media.blubrry.com/silverdoctors/p/content.blubrry.com/silverdoctors/VermeulenDec2020-SD-Audio.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSSFrom trading down to a 21-handle on Monday morning to surging 10% higher this afternoon, it looks like the bottom is in! Chris says the charts are signaling...Chris Vermeulen of The Technical Traders intervi...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Key ferro-alloy forecast highlights for the coming months:?EUR? A strong recovery in both bulk and noble alloys is expected in 2021 but the markets are unlikely to return to the levels seen before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have seen a quicker-than-expected recovery across various regions amid the economic fal...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 European prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil increased over the week to Wednesday December 2, due to a combination of low availability, good demand and higher feedstock prices, sources told Fastmarkets during the week.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HDG, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?680-700 ($816-840) per tonne ex-works on December 2, up by ?,?20 per tonne from ?...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday December 2.Read More

RAPAPORT... Hong Kong customs officials seized 162 diamonds at a border with China last week, claiming the stones had been smuggled in a driver's trouser pocket.The goods had a market value of around HKD 6.4 million ($826,000), making it the largest diamond-smuggling case Hong Kong authorities had detected in the past three years, the Customs and Excise Department said in a statement Friday.O...Read More

RAPAPORT... The average spend over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend dropped 14% as consumers shied away from in-store shopping, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Analytics.Shoppers spent an average of $312 on holiday-related purchases between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, compared to $362 for the same period last year, the NRF said Tuesday. However, t...Read More

RAPAPORT... The World Diamond Museum, a virtual exhibition, has published its first book on the history of the precious stone as part of an effort to invigorate passion for diamonds.The 432-page work, Diamonds Across Time, contains chapters on famous and important stones, the history of diamonds in specific countries, and colored diamonds. It was compiled and edited by Usha Balakrishnan, the...Read More

RAPAPORT... US consumers shelled out a record $10.8 billion on e-commerce purchases on Cyber Monday, which broke last year's record to become the largest online shopping day in US history, according to Adobe Analytics.Digital sales for the day increased 15% year on year compared with the $9.4 billion spent in 2019, Adobe said Tuesday. While the total figure is higher than any previously achieved,...Read More

Chilean copper mine production fell by 0.7% in October 2020, compared with the corresponding month in 2019, due to lower supply from Escondida and Collahuasi, national copper commission Cochilco said on Wednesday December 2.Mines in Chile produced 486,400 tonnes of copper content during October, down year-on-year from 490,000 tonnes. But output increased month-on-month by 1.4% from 479,900 tonnes...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Sales of jewelry, timepieces and other valuable gifts remain depressed in Hong Kong, despite a Covid lull during October.It was one of the worst-hit retail sectors, according to the country's Census and Statistics Department reported today. Cosmetics, tobacco and alcohol fared even less well.Year-on-year sales for the month were down 27 per cent, showing little sign of improve...Read More

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is making a huge push to further develop its mining sector and will hold an auction of several blocks next year, according to a government official. The move is part of the country's Vision 2030 programme, which aims to drive economic diversification away from oil and gas, with the kingdom identifying mining as the third pillar for the Saudi Arabian economy. The go...Read More

The London Metal Exchange nickel price fell by 1.7% at the 5pm close on Wednesday December 2, leading a broad-based dip in the complex, although prices remain around recent highs supported by a lower dollar index. The three-month nickel price closed at $16,000 per tonne on Wednesday, compared with Tuesday's 5pm closing price of $16,278 per tonne. The lowest price for the stainless steel additive...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Struggling Petra Diamonds has completed the sale of its exploration vehicle Sekaka.It's been bought by rivals Botswana Diamonds, which will benefit from the high-grade KX36 kimberlite pipe 260km north-west of Gaborone, in the Kalahari, as well as a fit-for-purpose kimberlite processing plant and an extensive diamond exploration database.Botswana Diamonds believes the database...Read More