Northern European mills have been offering and trading hot-rolled coil at lower prices in a bid to attract more orders, despite an anticipated price increase, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday November 25.Northern EuropeAlthough Northern European mills have been speculating about a rise in HRC offers of about ?,?30 per tonne, targeting ?,?450 ($496) per tonne ex-works, they have been offering and...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai in the week ended Friday November 22. Europe Key drivers  Prices for both grades of silicon continued to gain support with producers still reluctant to make any concessions on their offer prices in a bid to extend the rally until the end of the year.  Even though during the market was less active last week than in the previous two...Read More

Zinc stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses recorded the largest drop in percentage terms in the week ended Friday November 22.Deliverable SHFE zinc stocks declined by 7,411 tonnes - or 13% - week on week to 49,710 tonnes on Friday, with warehouses operated by Ningbo Nine Dragons wharf in Zhejiang registering...Read More

The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange consolidated during morning trading on Monday November 25, while a fresh inflow of 50,950 tonnes did little to move the metal's stagnant price.Aluminium's outright price was recently seen at $1,738 per tonne, a dollar shy of Friday's closing price of $1,739 per tonne, while just over 1,500 lots were exchanged as of 9:05am London time.&nb...Read More

Another wave of optimism regarding United States-China trade talks has boosted broader markets and weakened havens, but the base metals have not taken much notice.Asian equities stronger led by a 1.3% rise in the Hang Seng.Base metalsThree-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed this morning, Monday November 25. Nickel was the main mover with a 0.7% fall to $14,540 per ton...Read More

Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up during the morning trading session on Monday November 25, with fresh hopes for a trade deal between China and the United States and firm US manufacturing data supporting the complex.Continuing positive trade vibes between the world's two largest economies continued to support risk sentiment this morning. "Base metal prices pushed h...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday November 25 that are worth another look.Brazilian rebar suppliers ArcelorMittal and Gerdau have announced a price hike of up to 12% for January orders, Fastmarkets understands.Seaborne manganese ore prices for both grades rose by more than 1% in the week ended Friday November 22 after sentiment improved in response to r...Read More

The steel plate market in the United States held at a two-year low last week despite domestic mills' efforts to raise prices earlier in the month.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US, was at $30 per hundredweight ($600 per short ton) on Friday November 22, unchanged for a second consecutive week and the lowest level recorded since early No...Read More

Export prices for hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil, and heavy plate from the Commonwealth of Independent States have continued to increase over the past week, in line with increasing raw material prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel HRC, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $395-405 per tonne on Monday November 25, compared with $390-405 per tonne fob a week ago.Russi...Read More

RAPAPORT... Burglars stole more than $1 billion in jewelry, diamonds andgemstones from the historic Green Vault museum in Germany on Monday morning, according to media reports. The thieves gained access to the Dresden museum by twistingback iron grill bars on a ground-floor window, after a nearby fire at a powerdistributor likely disabled the museum's alarm system, German news outlets said. The G...Read More

RAPAPORT... Hong Kong-based jeweler Tse Sui Luen (TSL) raised concerns about theimpact of the Hong Kong protests on its business, as weak consumer sentimentdented sales. "The weak local consumer sentiment as a result of citywideprotests has made it challenging for retailers to operate," the company saidlast week. "The situation was exacerbated by the significant drop in visitorarrivals, parti...Read More

RAPAPORT... Stargems sold nearly $50 million worth of rough diamonds ata record-breaking tender in Dubai this month. A total of 577,000 carats of high-quality rough from acrossAfrica went on sale at the Dubai Diamond Exchange's Almas Towers, withmore than 500,000 of those originating from the Sacim mine in the DemocraticRepublic of Congo. More than 200 international buyers attended the sale,o...Read More

Brazilian rebar suppliers ArcelorMittal and Gerdau have announced a price hike of up to 12% for January orders, Fastmarkets understands. Steelmakers have been trying to increase the price of rebar in the country since September, with Gerdau pushing for a 7% rise in that month. But the market only started to recover in October and the hike was lower than suppliers expected. Fastmarkets' most recent...Read More

RAPAPORT... LVMH Mo?<Read More

Steel producers in the Middle East asked for more protectionism against cheap imports in 2019 and this trend is expected to continue in 2020.GCCThe Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries started a safeguard investigation on several steel products in October this year. The investigation covers the period from January 2014 to June 2019 and focuses on hot-rolled flat products, rebar, wire rod, sec...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in Asia continued to gain last week, but some buyers in Vietnam have started to delay making further purchases amid expectations that the market could start to pull back.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel HRC import, cfr Vietnam, which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold into Vietnam, was $450-460 per tonne cfr Vietnam&...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Larry Spicer, a security expert, has joined the leadership team of Jewelers Mutual. Spicer, who has held leadership positions at Aurora Healthcare, Home Depot, and Kohl's, has assumed the role of vice president of Loss Prevention and Risk Management Services. Most recently Spicer was the director, Public Safety at Aurora Healthcare in Milwaukee where he was responsible fo...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Ending weeks of speculation, French luxury group LVMH Mo?? <Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices gained on Monday November 25, with trading robust amid low inventory.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,720-3,730 yuan ($528-530) per tonne, up 30-50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,670 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneTrading across the nation has been robust, with inventory remaining low, several sources said."End users are being forced to re...Read More

(IDEX Online) - It may be too early for retailers to celebrate a strong end to the year, but with total U.S. jewelry and watch sales up for the third month in a row, it's a good sign that 2019 will end much better than it started. Sales of fine jewelry and fine watches increased by 6 percent in the U.S. market in September compared to September 2018, as the graph below illustrates. Follo...Read More