We are on the horns of a dilemma, caught between the Scylla and Charybdis, a rock and a hard place, the devil and the deep blue sea, the anvil and the hammer. The walls are closing in. We're in a tight spot.All those metaphors (I could list more but will spare you) fit the present economic situation (some are now calling the omni-crisis) and I think will also describe the 2020s.Thanks to forces...Read More

Workers at Tata Steel IJmuiden in the Netherlands will continue industrial action after negotiations with the company's management fell through, the trade union FNV Metaal said on Sunday June 14.A strike on the night shift started on Sunday June 14 at 22:00 local time and affected pickling, cold rolling, an annealing furnace, continuous annealing lines 11 & 12 and tinning lines."The entire pr...Read More

Saudi Arabia General Customs Authority has postponed its planned increase in duties on steel imports, it said on Thursday June 11. Import duties on several steel products were scheduled to increase on June 10, Saudi Arabian market sources told Fastmarkets on May 29. The customs authority now says the...Read More

China's crude steel, hot metal and finished steel output all rose to historical highs in May, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday June 15.These exceeded the previous highs set in May 2019.May outputCrude steel: 92.27 million tonnes, up by 4.2% from a year earlier, up by 8.5% from April Hot metal: 77.32 million tonnes, up 2.4% year on year, up b...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 15 that are worth another look.Jaguar-Land Rover will cut up to 1,100 employees in the UK, while posting a pre-tax loss amid the coronavirus pandemic, it announced on June 15 in its financial results.Latin American steelmakers were operating at 42% capacity in April after at least seven blast furnaces were halted to balance sup...Read More

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a ?,?125 million ($140 million) loan to Belgium-based global material technologies and recycling group Umicore to partially finance the construction of a battery cathode material manufacturing facility in Poland.The EIB loan will cover approximately half of the project costs in the initial phase, with cathode materials produced supplying battery manuf...Read More

Workers at Tata Steel IJmuiden in the Netherlands will continue industrial action after negotiations with the company's management fell through, the trade union FNV Metaal said on Sunday June 14.A strike on the night shift started on Sunday June 14 at 22:00 local time and affected pickling, cold rolling, an annealing furnace, continuous annealing lines 11 & 12 and tinning lines."The entire pr...Read More

Saudi Arabia General Customs Authority has postponed its planned increase in duties on steel imports, it said on Thursday June 11. Import duties on several steel products were scheduled to increase on June 10, Saudi Arabian market sources told Fastmarkets on May 29. The customs authority now says the...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 15 that are worth another look.Jaguar-Land Rover will cut up to 1,100 employees in the UK, while posting a pre-tax loss amid the coronavirus pandemic, it announced on June 15 in its financial results.Latin American steelmakers were operating at 42% capacity in April after at least seven blast furnaces were halted to balance sup...Read More

Exporters of hot-rolled coil in Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States have been redirecting volumes to Asia from their traditional markets such as Europe.Steel demand and prices in Asia, notably China, started to recover in April after a slump in consumption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This revival happened earlier than in the other regions, where sellers in both Turkey and the CI...Read More

To nobody's surprise, silver's finally got its meaningful "pullback", but it's not likely to last long or cut very deep...I'd like to speak to a few things that, of course, are my own personal experiences, but perhaps will shine some light on why the so-called "V"-shaped recovery is not only a myth, but a bold-faced lie.Gasoline/Consumption/Consumer SpendingI have now officially used half of a tan...Read More

Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices increased on Monday June 15, with market participants from China active in the spot market. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $108.47 per tonne, up $1.11 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $117.58 per tonne, up $1.06 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $89.32 per tonne, down $0.10 per tonneHard coking coal...Read More

Base metals price on the London Metal Exchange were lower during morning trading on Monday June 15, pressured lower by weaker-than-expected industrial data out of China, while a fresh inflow of 16,175 tonnes was an added headwind for copper futures prices. Weighing on prices across the complex was economic data out of China released this morning , which showed industrial production year on year fo...Read More

Equity markets started to show some weakness last week, although dips were being bought, but this morning, Monday June 15, the mood seems to have become more concerned about the rise in second waves of Covid-19 in many countries and the socio-economic implications of these. Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were weaker, as were most on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Asian-Pacific equ...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) has recommenced business following a restructure of its trading floor to comply with health and safety guidelines.The bourse, located in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), plans to resume all normal trading activities, including tenders, it said Monday. DDE has posted social-distancing signs, erected plastic shields between trading stations...Read More

RAPAPORT... Arunkumar R. Mehta, a prominent leader of India's diamond industry, passed away on June 14, 2020. He was 80 years old.Shri Mehta worked in the diamond trade for more than 60 years and is counted among the founding fathers of the industry in India. He cofounded B. Arunkumar & Co. in Mumbai in 1960, which eventually became Rosy Blue, a prominent diamond manufacturing company. "I...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has elected Colin Shah to succeed Pramod Agrawal as chairman.Shah, the organization's former vice chairman, will serve a two-year term from 2020 to 2022, the GJEPC said last week. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the elections were held via an online voting process from March 20 to 26. Meanwhile, Vipul Shah, the CEO of jewelry re...Read More

Dharmanandan Diamonds (DDPL) is to hold what it describes as "the first ever virtual trade show", in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Diamond Prev?? (C), a private exhibition for customers on 22 June, will feature remote product inspection, one to one interaction and seminar sessions with keynote speakers addressing the current state of the diamond trade. "In these unprecedented times, we keep...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Dubai Diamond Exchange, which boasts the world's largest trading floor, is re-opening after COVID-19 restrictions were eased. It says it is ready to host tenders and other activities, with strict social distancing measures. The exchange closed during the lockdown imposed after the country's first two deaths were confirmed on 20 March. Dubai has built up a $25bn-a-year...Read More

(IDEX Online) - India's diamond trade will close tomorrow (16 June) for a day of mourning after the death of industry stalwart and pioneer Arun R Mehta. Arunbhai. He was 80.   From humble origins in a small town in Gujarat, he founded what became Rosy Blue, the biggest diamond manufacturing unit in the world.   He moved to Mumbai as a young man and recalled buying his first diamond...Read More