The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices performed in line with our expectations in August, with US domestic HRC prices finding a floor in July as forecast before they rose in August. US HRC prices averaged $522 per tonne in August, which compares with our forecast price of $518 per tonne. Based on an improving demand outlook and ris...Read More

RAPAPORT... The price cuts that took effect in the rough-diamond market last month surprised some, but made perfect sense given the trends in polished trading and the recent earnings reports from De Beers and Alrosa.The September issue of the Rapaport Research Report, which was published Monday, outlines the main considerations that led De Beers and Alrosa to reduce rough prices in August. As majo...Read More

RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers plans to have James Allen e-commerce displays in 80 of its Jared locations this holiday season following a successful trial of the store-in-store concept. "Given positive sales results and strong traffic gains, we plan to expand this new format to over 80 locations, or one-third of our jewelry fleet, prior to holiday," Signet CEO Gina Drosos said Thursday in an ear...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered two large, high-quality diamonds from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho, the company said this week.A 162-carat white diamond was unearthed on September 7, while a 143-carat, type II stone was discovered on September 5, constituting the 10th and 11th stones over 100 carats found at Let??eng this year. The company has now recovered four of that magnitude in le...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe were expected to continue to rise, supported by long lead times and reduced output from EU mills as well as a lack of import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 8.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?467.95 ($553.32) per tonne on Tuesday, up by ?,?0.56 per tonne day on day...Read More

RAPAPORT... Getting customers to shop post-lockdown has been difficult given financial constraints, and the fear of catching Covid-19 while out has only added to that challenge. While customers prefer shopping in physical stores, they will only visit retailers they believe provide adequate safety measures, according to a De Beers survey of 500 Americans in June. However, for clients to feel truly...Read More

(IDEX Online) - BlueRock Diamonds raised over $1.25m in a private sale of rough from its Kareevlei mine, in South Africa.The British miner says the price it achieved - an average of $330 per carat for 3,805 carats - was higher than the $290 it achieved in a similar sale in June of this year, despite the ongoing pandemic.Executive chairman Mike Houston said: "Our diamonds remain attractive to buyer...Read More

RAPAPORT... The founders of Singapore-based retailer SK Jewellery want to buy out the company and take it private, aiming to gain greater control of its operations.OroGreen Investment, which is held by SK's founders - non-executive chairman Lim Yong Guan, CEO Lim Yong Sheng and executive chairman Lim Liang Eng - will also delist the jeweler from the Singapore stock exchange. The three currently ow...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Irish tycoon who revived his nation's whiskey industry is seeking additional funds for diamond explorations in Botswana and South Africa.John Teeling's Botswana Diamonds is already drilling the "very promising" M8 kimberlite at Marsfontein, Limpopo, South Africa.Last year it reported finding diamonds come from residual unprocessed stockpiles around the mine and from d...Read More

London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices trended lower at the close on Tuesday September 8 with concern over macro-economic headwinds inspiring a sell-off across the complex.While macroeconomic developments - including promises of increased infrastructure spending and hopes of a trade deal between China and the United States - have supported recent price increases, some...Read More

A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday September 8.Please click...Read More

Physical base metals trader Oddo BHF Metals joined the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) as a general supporter member on Tuesday September 8.The move came while market participants throughout the supply chain sought to increase their presence in the low-carbon aluminium sector, which has taken off in the past six months.ASI is a global non-profit standards-setting and certification organizat...Read More

Raffmetal - Europe's largest secondary aluminium producer - has been awarded the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) 'Performance Standard' certification for its refining operations in Casto, Italy, the company told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 8.Raffmetal's accreditation is the latest in a slew awarded in 2020, including primary aluminium producers Alvance Aluminium and Impol, while other...Read More

From cars to air-conditioning units, copper intensive sectors are showing signs of an unexpected boom in China, prompting calls that the metal's price could rise further into next year amid shrinking supply stocks, Fastmarkets understands.Hitting $6,380 per tonne last week, the London Metal Exchange's three-month copper price has surged past pre-pandemic levels to its highest since June 2018, desp...Read More

Vale Canada - subsidiary of Brazilian multi-metal miner Vale - and Australian zinc producer New Century Resources have failed to reach an agreement in the latter's 95% acquisition of Vale New Caledonia (VNC), the former announced on Tuesday September 8.The announcement brings the exclusivity period under which the prospective sale was being negotiated between the two entities to an end after negot...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month zinc price lagged in morning trading on Tuesday September 8, tumbling by some 2% despite a widening in its forward curve, while fresh concerns of US-Sino trade tensions and rising coronavirus cases pushed the complex lower. Total global coronavirus cases are now at more than 27 million, with total deaths now at 887,526, World Health Organisation (WHO) data sho...Read More

Prices for carbon steel plate in the United States held steady week on week while mills increased asking prices in the aftermath of their late-August round of increase notifications. There was no consensus over mills' near-term ability to collect their announced plate price increases in full during a period of exceptionally weak demand for the item. A jump in scrap input costs eventually may tip t...Read More

CIS-based producers of steel wire rod and rebar have continued to raise their offer prices for foreign customers, with support from rising raw materials costs and finished long steel prices in competitors' markets, particularly Turkey, as well as a supportive domestic market in Russia.Demand in the major outlets has not, however, been strong enough to drive full acceptance of the new round of pric...Read More

The price of steel rebar imported to the United Arab Emirates increased this week because of high production costs, market sources said on Tuesday September 8.Domestic rebarSince August 17, producers in the UAE have been offering rebar at 1,800-1,830 dirhams ($490-498) per tonne ex-works for September production, with deals heard over the past week at 1,730...Read More

Some flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia moved up again this week, although demand was moderate, sources told Fastmarkets over the week to Tuesday September 8.Some deals for flat steel imports were heard done at higher levels over the assessment week, which sources said were primarily for restocking purposes, Fastmarkets heard.UAEOffer prices for hot-rolled coil (...Read More