The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange continued its decline at the close of trading on Monday March 30, settling at its lowest level since April 2016, while a steady uptick in lead saw its outright price close at a two-week high. Aluminium's underlying price on the LME closed at $1,530.50 per tonne on Monday afternoon, its lowest level in just under four years, while turnove...Read More
Spot availability of copper scrap is now being limited by a plummeting commodity price in March because suppliers have refused to destock at the price level."At this discounted price level, some copper scrap suppliers could suffer losses. The price of scrap cannot even cover the processing costs so suppliers have become reluctant to sell," a source with a major copper refinery in China said. High-...Read More
Zinc concentrate treatment charges (TCs) are dropping in China with smelters and traders scrambling to cover shortfalls in supply feed left by shuttered mines.Countries across South America have brought in stringent lockdown measures to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus with top exporters Peru (2 million tonnes - 2019) and Bolivia (1.1 million tonnes - 2019) among the most restrictive to bus...Read More
The Chinese alumina price dropped sharply on Thursday March 26 on shrinking demand from aluminium smelters, several of whom put part of their capacity on maintenance to avoid further losses. Fastmarkets' alumina metallurgical grade, ddp China price fell to 2,380-2,420 yuan ($335-341) per tonne on Thursday, from 2,450-2,550 yuan per tonne a week earlier and a year-to-date high of 2,620-2,540 y...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Monday March 30, with price action falling by around 1.6% after more than 24,000 tonnes of metal was delivered back to LME-registered warehouses across Asia.Aluminium's underlying price on the LME was recently seen at $1,528.50 per tonne, down by $17 per tonne from Friday's closing price of $1,545.50 p...Read More
Markets were looking quite mixed this morning, Monday March 30, with most Asian-Pacific equity indices down, the pre-market Dow Jones Industrial Average up by 0.2%, oil prices down by around 5% and the base metals prices mixed.Base metals face numerous cross currents with demand expected to recover in China but fall further in the world ex-China, while the Covid-19 virus and lower prices lead to s...Read More
While hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have remained largely steady day on day, sources anticipated a scrap- and demand-driven downturn in spot pricing as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $27.15 per hundredweight ($543 per short ton) on Monday March 30, up by 0.3% from $27.08 per cwt on Friday Marc...Read More
Gerdau has halted price increase attempts in Brazil amid market weakness because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report by local investment bank Ita?? BBA from Sunday March 29.The company mainly produces long steel in the country, although it also makes some hot-rolled coil and heavy plate at its Ouro Branco mill in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais.Domestic prices are currently at...Read More
Swedish steelmaker SSAB plans temporary worker layoffs at its operations in Finland, and consequently a reduction in output, in response to the downturn in the flat steel market resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said on Monday March 30.SSAB has initiated negotiations with its employees on the proposed layoffs at its Finnish assets, the company said. The decision followed a drastic...Read More
RAPAPORT... S&P Global Ratings has lowered Botswana's credit rating, citing weaker diamond revenues because of the current global recession.The credit agency downgraded the country's long-term sovereign credit rating to "BBB+" from "A-," indicating it saw a higher risk level for investors. An upgrade is unlikely in the next two years."Botswana's weakening fiscal and external balance sheet...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's garnered $739,375 from its Jewels Online sale, beating its high estimate of $671,600 for the auction."In this unprecedented moment, collectors were determined to compete for beautiful jewels in Wednesday's sale, which earned our best sell-through rate to date for any online jewelry auction," Kendall Reed, Sotheby's head of online jewels, said last week.Some 97% of the it...Read More
ArcelorMittal has resumed operations at its long steel manufacturing sites in Luxembourg, where it stopped operations about a week ago because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said on Monday March 30."After days of suspended activity, ArcelorMittal decided to resume production at the Belval, Differdange and Rodange sites on Monday," the company said.It had been reported to have started closur...Read More
RAPAPORT... LVMH expects its revenue for the first quarter to drop as the coronavirus outbreak has led to the closure of many of its stores."The measures taken by public authorities to combat the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in the closure of production sites and stores in several countries, which will have an impact on the group's results," the luxury group said last week. The company - t...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) will implement a support package for its trade members amid the coronavirus pandemic, including discounts and fee waivers."In these uncertain times, we have a duty to share the responsibility and support the UAE [United Arab Emirates] government in its response to ensure our national economy remains resilient in the current circumstances,"...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has called off this week's sight in Botswana, citing restrictions resulting from measures to contain the coronavirus.Lockdowns in Botswana, South Africa and India are prohibiting sightholders from traveling and preventing the shipment of merchandise to clients' international operations, De Beers said in a statement Monday. The company is letting sightholders defer 100% of...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The increase in the overall sale of jewelry and watches at all US outlets slowed slightly in January, compared to the same month in 2018. There was a like-for-like rise of 4.1 per cent, so the trend remains positive, but the figure for the previous month, December 2019 was 4.7 per cent. January was the seventh successive month of sales increases, following six months of negat...Read More
RAPAPORT... A number of trade groups have joined together in an effort to support small jewelry businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The Jeweler Support Network, created by the American Gem Society (AGS) and the Diamond Producers Association (DPA), among others, aims to provide assistance to independent and family-owned companies, the DPA said last week."The COVID-19 outbreak has created not...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium has introduced emergency financial concessions to help companies survive the current downturn, offering businesses extra time to repay loans and meet tax obligations.The government and banks have agreed to postpone repayments of existing credit lines until September 30, according to a document the Antwerp World Diamond Centre distributed Friday. The state will also guarant...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.India is under a three-week lockdown from 25 March, to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. Wood Mackenzie analysts discuss what this means for the power, coal, gas and LNG, and oil products sectors.Impact on power and coal...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rough prices slumped at Petra Diamonds' March tenders in South Africa and Antwerp as the severe slowdown in the market virtually wiped out demand.Goods from Petra's South Africa mines sold for 24% less than in February on a like-for-like basis, the company reported Friday. As a result, it chose to sell only 75% of the available volume - or 50% by value - and export the rest to Ant...Read More