The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the biggest underperformer during morning trading on Thursday July 16, with the market facing risk-off pressure amid a recent oil spill from a large producer, while fresh stock withdrawals failed to stem a downward correction in the LME copper price. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $13,245 per tonne, down by m...Read More

RAPAPORT... A New York-based designer plans to establish a trade organization to help jewelers from the black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) community progress in the industry."We will begin with a focus on education through outreach to high-school students," Angely Martinez told Rapaport News Tuesday. "We will then implement programs such as funding and mentorship for emerging talen...Read More

Russian multi-metal miner Nornickel's newly-established environmental working group has begun work to tackle the significant fallout from a series of recent ecological disasters, the company said on Thursday July 16.The working group, which comprises independent members of Nornickel's board of directors, said that it intends to solve the serious environmental issues facing the company after suffer...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales in Chow Tai Fook's Hong Kong stores dropped sharply in the first fiscal quarter amid a decrease in tourism and weak consumer sentiment due to the coronavirus pandemic.Retail sales slid 69% in Hong Kong and Macau in the three months ending June 30, while same-store sales - at branches open for at least a year - plunged 76%, the jeweler reported Tuesday. That drop heavily outw...Read More

China's domestic stainless steel prices continued to rise over the past week on low inventory levels and high production costs. Meanwhile, export prices were flat amid sparse trading.A strong nickel market also supported stainless steel prices.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday July 15's official trading session at $13,555 per tonne, up by $90 per tonne fr...Read More

The Northern European domestic hot-rolled coil price was fairly stable day on day on Thursday July 16, while steelmakers continue to insist on price rises, sources told Fastmarkets. While sentiment in the market remains bullish, further price recovery is likely to be slowed by the seasonal weakening of trading activity during summer, sources said. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil inde...Read More

Egypt's Ministry of Finance has decided to exempt finished steel imports from the recently imposed 10% duty if they are to be used for "industrial purposes."The ministry reviewed its decision after a request from the Federation of Egyptian Industries' (FEI) on the new duties.On Monday July 13, the ministry announced that the 10% duty...Read More

The imported billet price increased in Egypt because of higher offers despite tepid demand in the week to Thursday July 16. CIS-origin billet was offered this week at $400-405 per tonne cfr while buyers believed $350 per tonne cfr may be a workable price for the material. CIS sellers did not accept the lower-priced bids. No deals were heard over the assessment period because...Read More

The price for steel billet in the Turkish market has been increasing over the past week, largely due to rising imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday July 16.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet import, cfr main port Turkey, was $380-390 per tonne on Thursday, up from the $370-375 per tonne of last week.Export prices for steel billet from the Commonwealth of Independent St...Read More

Turkish domestic long steel prices have increased over the past week in line with the recent upturn in imported scrap values, sources said on Thursday July 16. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey was 3,400-3,480 lira ($496-507) per tonne on Thursday, up from 3,350-3,400 lira per tonne of last week, including 18% VAT. Steel mills in the I...Read More

Sales of passenger cars in Europe fell by 22.34% year on year in June 2020, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline.New car sales in Europe totaled 949,722 vehicles in June 2020, down from 1,222,942 units sold in the corresponding month of 2019, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Thursday July 16."However,...Read More

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Turkish export prices for steel rebar and wire rod have increased over the past week due to rising costs for imported scrap, but the demand for finished materials was still weak, sources said on Thursday July 16.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was $415-420 per tonne on Thursday, up from last week's figure of $400-410 per tonne f...Read More

(Updates prices) By Peter Hobson LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose back towardstwo-year highs on Thursday after data showed a rise in Chinesefactory output, though the numbers also pointed to trouble aheadfor the world's biggest metals consumer. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME)was up 0.8% at $6,435 a tonne at 1601 GMT, near Monday's peak of$6,633.The metal used in p...Read More

Turkey's Tosyali Holding is set to start the process of reviving steelmaking in Cassinga in southwest Angola, Africa.The Angolan government approved Tosyali's investment in the Cassinga Integrated Iron & Steel project in 2019, the company said on Friday July 10.Operations...Read More

Home Builders ETF (XHB) moved above $46.60 extending an intermediate uptrend.Pre-opening Comments for Thursday July 16thU.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 22 points in pre-opening trade. Weakness was triggered partially by a 4.5% drop by the Shanghai Composite Index to 3,210.10.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news a...Read More

Seaborne premium coking coal prices fell further on Thursday July 16, largely due to China's strict import restrictions and with market participants split over the future direction of the steelmaking raw material, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT:  $109.22 per tonne, down $1.63 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $117.96 per ton...Read More

India imported 9.26 million tonnes of coking coal in the April-June quarter of 2020, according to local media reports. This was down by 28.3% from the corresponding period last year.In June alone, the country imported 2.84 million tonnes of coking coal, down by 10.7% month on month.Total imports of all kinds of coal came to 48.84...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices went down further on Thursday July 16 with few deals done in the seaborne market and persistent concerns of weak demand due to floods in southern China, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $112.30 per tonne, down $0.68 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $113.05 per tonne, down $1.06 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium,...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Prolonged flooding in China could limit the use of construction steel and drag down demand for steel rebar in the short term, which in turn could damp the demand for iron ore. So far, it has been reported that steel mills in the affected regions have continued to operate as normal. The floods have, however, caused a few days...Read More