LONDON – As coronavirus cripples the Chinese economy, hardly anyone there is buying diamonds.Diamond sales in China have collapsed since the outbreak of the virus as shoppers stay home. De Beers, the biggest diamond miner, said sales fell by more than a third last week, from its first sale of the year in January.Advertisement“There’s been a full shutdown in China and other parts...Read More

The export pig iron market in Brazil moved higher during the week to Friday March 6 on tight availability because suppliers are fully booked for April.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, was $320-325 per tonne on Friday, up by $5 per tonne from $315-320 per tonne a week earlier."Suppliers from the south have had less pig iron available with April shi...Read More

The pig iron market in the United States has gone up further than was expected in the past seven days, driven by a booking from Russia, sources told Fastmarkets during the week ended Friday March 6.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $360-363 per tonne on Friday, up from $347-350 per tonne the week before.A booking of Russia-origin pig iron was done in t...Read More

Cardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Exore excels in Cote d'IvoireSPONSOREDexore resourcesMICROMINE STRENGTHENS DATA MANAGEMENT SOLUTION WITH Geobank 2020SPONSOREDmicromineThe company posted a full-year loss attributable to shareholders of US$230.4 million, including a $105...Read More

The price of ferrous scrap imported into India trended downward this week, with a combination of factors dampening sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 6.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $302.54 per tonne on Friday, down from $305.66 per tonne one week ago.Deals for shredded were heard at $302 and $305 per tonne from UK and...Read More

The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the UK was steady in the week ended Friday March 6, marking four weeks of stability but ahead of an uncertain outcome in negotiations for monthly deliveries to British steelmakers from domestic suppliers this month, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter...Read More

The Turkish steel producers finished this week having made no deep-sea scrap bookings, but were expected to return to the market next week, sources said on Friday March 6.There have been no new bookings during March so far. The latest cargo was sold on February 24, and put the price of Baltic Sea- and US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) around $280 per tonne cfr.Suppliers, especially those in the US, contin...Read More

Without fresh major stimulus announcements, markets have turned risk-off again this morning, Friday March 6. Market participants had been expecting the People’s Bank of China to announce some further stimulus after the United States Federal Reserve’s emergency 50-basis-point rate cut on Tuesday, but nothing has been forthcoming. The spread and impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)...Read More

The export price for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States rose again in the week to Thursday March 5, on new sales.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $329-340 per tonne on Thursday, up from $320-327 per tonne a week earlier.The key driver of the market level was a pig iron sale from Russia to the United States...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices dropped on Friday March 6 with traders becoming risk-averse ahead of the weekend, with concerns over the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus and its effect on the global economy overwhelming what market participants described as "not bad to healthy" physical demand for iron ore.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.19 per tonne, down by $2.38 per tonne...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices weakened on Friday March 6 amid a muted market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $158.41 per tonne, down $1.23 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $170.55 per tonne, down $3.68 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $141.51 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $152.50 per tonne, down $2.50...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was little moved during morning trading on Friday March 6, keeping firmly below $5,700 per tonne despite a fresh cancellation of more than 2,000 tonnes in LME-registered warehouses in Busan. Copper's outright price was recently seen at $5,647.50 per tonne, while turnover was high at more than 8,000 lots exchanged as of 9:45am London time. L...Read More

U.S. equity index futures moved lower again. S&P 500 futures dropped 87 points in response to increasing coronavirus concerns.Index futures recovered slightly following release of U.S. economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for February Non-farm Payrolls was a drop to 175,000 from an upwardly revised 273,000 in January. Actual was 273,000 Consensus for the February Unemployment Rate was a sli...Read More

Without fresh major stimulus announcements, markets have turned risk-off again this morning, Friday March 6. Market participants had been expecting the People's Bank of China to announce some further stimulus after the United States Federal Reserve's emergency 50-basis-point rate cut on Tuesday, but nothing has been forthcoming. The spread and impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) across Ita...Read More

With the exception of that for lead, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down during the morning trading session on Friday March 6 amid a persistent risk-off mood among investors.Risk appetite remains suppressed by news that the novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) continues to spread around the world, with nearly 100,000 people infected globally. This renewed pessimism overshadowed...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons behind the latest price moves. Read More

An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday March 6. China  The UG2 chrome ore price hit its lowest level since April 2016 in its third consecutive week of decline.  Spot Chinese ferro-chrome prices steady due to the market awaiting March tender prices from...Read More

China produced 29.4 million tonnes of crude stainless steel in 2019, a 10.1% year-on-year increase, according to data released by the China Stainless Steel Council earlier this week.China's apparent stainless steel consumption in 2019 amounted to 24.05 million tonnes, up by 9.2% - or about 2.03 million tonnes - from 2018.CSSC's breakdown of 2019's output according to grade as well as the country's...Read More

The Asian ferrous scrap spot market has softened amid an ample supply of Japanese cargoes in the region, which allowed buyers to purchase both these and United States-origin shipments at lower prices.Numerous buyers are expecting Japanese scrap to remain the most competitive in Asia in the near term, especially with Shindachi scrap - a Japanese grade of busheling - being offered at levels similar...Read More