Silver wins, no matter who wins the election...by Jim Rickards via Daily ReckoningDo you have a flashlight, spare batteries and some duct tape stashed away for home emergencies like power outages or hurricanes? Of course you do. How about 100 ounces of silver coins? If not, you should.In an extreme social or infrastructure breakdown - where banks, ATMs and store scanners are offline - silver coins...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Approaching the end of the calendar year, steelmakers and consumers enter a busy period of contract negotiations for supply for 2021 or at least the first quarter or half year.With the sharp increases in spot market steel prices during recent months, steelmakers are understandably looking to take advantage and secure higher c...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Prices for most ferro-alloys maintained their upward momentum into October, solidifying previous gains and reflecting the improved demand from steelmakers, the rebuilding of depleted inventories, and the supply-side concerns following both planned and unplanned outages. Gains were noted for ferro-silicon, silicon metal, mang...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico remained stable in the country's northern region over the past week, but increased slightly in the the central Baj?-o region, because of low availability for certain grades, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday October 27.In Baj?-o, some scrap buyers applied price increases of around 100-200 pesos ($5-10) per tonne during the week ended on October 23, while other buyers did...Read More
South American lithium production is the backbone of the lithium supply chain and will continue to play an important role in the years ahead along with growing demand for lithium from the electric vehicles (EV) sector, panelists said during the Lithium Supply & Markets conference on Tuesday October 27. "The role of south America is to lead the way into changing the dialog around [the sustainabilit...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds' revenue jumped in the three months ending September 30 as rough prices grew and the company sold inventory it couldn't shift during the peak of the Covid-19 crisis.Sales rose 33% year on year to $82 million during the miner's first fiscal quarter, while sales volume increased 55% to 936,749 carats, the company reported Tuesday. Prices at its September tender were 21% hi...Read More
Teck Resources has shaved off 5,000 tonnes from its copper production guidance for the second half of 2020, mainly due to a decrease in mill throughput and lower copper grades from its Highland Valley copper mine in British Columbia, Canada, the company said on Monday October 26.Teck expects to produce 140,000-155,000 tonnes of copper in the second half of this year, compared with the previous est...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's federal parliament has approved a new law entitling diamond companies to open bank accounts even after suffering repeated rejections.The Basic Banking Law guarantees fundamental banking services to all Belgian companies, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) explained in a note to the industry last week. Following parliamentary approval last Thursday, the law will come into...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange lacked a clear direction at the close of trading on Tuesday October 27, with a weaker US dollar and a slew of positive data from the region failing to outweigh the uncertainty about the country's presidential election on November 3.Some analysts suggested that the market was merely "holding up" in the interim before the much-anticipated p...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rapaport's quarterly Diamond Trends Webinar outlined the key developments the trade should look out for during the holiday season and 2021.The webinar, presented last week by Rapaport Senior Analyst Avi Krawitz, provides context regarding how Covid-19 has impacted the market during the first 10 months of the year, along with an overview of polished prices and the supply-demand dyn...Read More
Aluminium producer Vedanta has named London-based trading house Concord Resources as its third European marketing agent, it said on Tuesday October 27.Concord will be responsible for the aluminium billet and primary foundry alloy markets in north and west Europe, which include the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and the Benelux region, a Vedanta spokesperson told Fast...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The deal for LVMH to buy Tiffany & Co may be off - but it's still been officially approved by regulators.The French luxury conglomerate pulled of its $16.2bn acquisition in a shock move in September that has left both sides locked in a bitter legal battle.But on Monday the European Commission said all the regulatory approvals to prevent a monopoly were in place.It�...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A Graff brooch featuring a brilliant-cut 107.46-carat fancy yellow diamond could fetch up to $3.6m as one of the key attractions at a live Christie's auction later this month.Another fancy yellow diamond, a rectangular step-cut gem weighing 28.88 carats and set in a ring, also has an estimate of up to $3.6m. And a exceptional pair red, white and blue colored diamond earrings c...Read More
Teck Resources is continuing to increase its workforce at the Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QB2) copper project in northern Chile and expects the project to be about 40% complete by the end of the year, the company said this week. The project, which has been delayed by up to six months after being suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, expects to see first production in the second half of 2022, d...Read More
The management board of Vale New Caledonia (VNC) has moved to acquire parent company Vale's Goro nickel and cobalt operations in the region with the aid of Swiss commodity firm Trafigura, Fastmarkets learned on Tuesday October 27. Under the terms of the current acquisition proposal, submitted to Vale on October 21 and led by VNC's current management, Trafigura would hold a 25% stake in the as...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices were upbeat during morning trading on Tuesday October 27, recovering from broad consolidation on Monday ahead of Chinese policy meetings scheduled this week, while LME copper futures struggled to breach nearby resistance despite steady volumes. LME copper's outright price was recently trading at $6,785.50 per tonne on Tuesday morning, declining...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia increased over the past week because of a hot-rolled col shortage, sources said on Tuesday October 27.Local demand for flat steel in India and China, the main exporters of flat steel to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, was strong so market participants made a limited quantity offers at high prices.UAEOffer prices for hot-rolled c...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were fairly stable day on day on Tuesday October 27, supported by reduced availability of the material in the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?498.33 ($589.12) per tonne on Tuesday, up by just ?,?0.41 per tonne day on day from ?,?497.92 per tonne...Read More
Trading activity in the export markets for flat steel from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was low, although suppliers have started to test the market with higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday October 26.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $475-495 per tonne on October 26, unchanged week on week."Th...Read More
The domestic United Arab Emirates rebar price kept decreasing this week while imported rebar prices were stable, sources said on Tuesday October 27.Domestic rebarThe country's biggest steel producer, Emirates Steel, continued to offer rebar at 1,936 dirhams ($527) per tonne ex-works for orders due to be produced in October, unchanged since September 15.Fellow steelmaker Conares Steel also continue...Read More