Ferro-alloys prices have generally retreated over the past month, with demand concerns gaining in prominence.The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Ferro-alloy pricing trends have generally diverged ove the past month, depending on the security of the supply-side position of the market. With most supply concerns fading with the resumption of industrial activity i...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.There has been an increasing bullishness in Chinese steel market sentiment recently, with rising post-Covid-19 optimism about the country's economy for the second half of 2020, especially after the government announced an infrastructure spending boost. Although we believe that high prices are justified, they remain far from...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Heavy rains in China, which can negatively affect iron ore supplies and pig iron production, and bolster demand for scrap, continued in July 2020. Although this was more an upside risk to our bearish base case one month ago, Chinese scrap prices remained strong. The firm prices gained support from the rains and from a more g...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This year has come with several unexpected events which increased the bullish case for iron ore prices, while the Chinese government's spending on infrastructure is likely to boost iron ore demand and add upside support to prices. But supply disruptions and a demand surge which caused price spikes are now easing. We do not e...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' teamof analysts are ready to view.Chinese crude steel production outperformed our expectations with its recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. Crude steel output was up by 2.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2020 to 503 million tonnes, and we have revised upward what was initially a more bearish forecast for this year. We now estimate that product...Read More

The latest forecast from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we enter the summer season across the northern hemisphere, almost half a year has passed since the Covid-19 pandemic began to seriously affect Europe and the United States.One would not really be able to tell that such a dramatic event had occurred by looking at stainless steel prices, however, because they are more or less...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are relatively stable this month, showing little change since our previous tracker. Such stability masks growing issues for stainless steelmakers, however, who are increasingly unable to pass on rising costs to consumers and are, thus, facing cuts to their margins.In general, this is due to an excess of...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

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices have fared relatively well over the past couple of months in the face of the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.In grade-304 material, the most common grade of stainless steel, prices were down by about 5-7% since the turn of the year - not bad, when compared with the falls in prices of other assets so f...Read More

Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil across Europe increased further over the week to Friday August 21, supported by significant offer increase announced by some European mills.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?433.75 ($513.83) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?14.58 per tonne week on week and up by ?,?26.08 per tonne month on mont...Read More

The domestic price of hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe jumped day-on-day on Monday August 24, supported by the absence of competitive imports and reduced domestic output, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?443.75 ($523.40) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?10.00 per tonne from ?,?433.75 per tonne on August...Read More

RAPAPORT... The decline in Swiss watch exports eased slightly in July, as orders to the US stabilized and China continued its recovery.Total shipments fell 17% year on year to CHF 1.58 billion ($1.74 billion), the fifth consecutive monthly decline. The decrease was gentler than June's 35% drop, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported last week. "China posted [its] second consecutive mo...Read More

RAPAPORT... The first JCK Virtual show, which ran from August 11 to 14, was a chance to test a new exhibition model that, if successful, could help companies do business during the coronavirus era. The event was free for exhibitors who had committed to the 2021 show, as well as for buyers and industry professionals, so there was little downside in participating.The initial verdict, however, w...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has expanded its melee-screening capabilities, with the organization now able to test whether parcels of fancy-shaped diamonds contain lab-grown or treated stones.The melee-analysis service separates natural diamonds from synthetics, simulants and stones that are potentially treated using High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT). Since launc...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a 442-carat, type II diamond from the Let??eng mine in Lesotho, claiming the stone ranks among the largest gem-quality rough discovered this year. "The recovery of this remarkable 442-carat diamond, one of the world's largest gem-quality diamonds to be recovered this year, is further confirmation of the caliber of the Let??eng mine and its ability to consiste...Read More

RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. has postponed the unveiling of its new-look flagship store in New York due to the impact of Covid-19 on activity in the city. "Due to the temporary halt of all non-essential construction activity in New York City and certain related matters in response to Covid-19, [the company] expects this renovation to be completed in spring 2022," the jeweler explained in a Securi...Read More

US miner Nevada Copper has restarted milling operations at its underground copper project at Pumpkin Hollow, the company said on Monday August 24.Copper production at the project - located in Yerington, Nevada - was temporarily suspended due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the...Read More

London-based mining private-equity company Appian Capital Advisory has appointed Nelson Silva, a former director at Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras, to be its senior safety and social performance adviser, it said on Monday August 24.Silva will take the role of assisting with environmental, health, safety and community issues on Appian's mining portfolio, the company added.Appian operat...Read More

(IDEX Online) - India's domestic jewelry sales are expected to bounce, thanks to a post-lockdown wedding rush and the Hindu festival of Diwali, in November.The world's biggest miners, De Beers and Alrosa, both say they're optimistic about increased demand driving up consumption in the second half of 2020.De Beers told The Economic Times in India that it had executed 80 per cent of i...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Antwerp's exports of both rough and polished diamonds were down over 50 per cent by dollar value in the first half of 2020.Imports were also severely dented by the coronavirus pandemic, according to new figures released by the Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC).However exports have been recovering steadily since hitting rock bottom in April.Rough exports from January to...Read More