The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In previous reports, we noted that upside risks to our forecasts existed. These were based on Chinese steel production, and in turn alloy consumption, outperforming our expectations.Chinese crude steel production is rising each month in a year-on-year comparison, prompting our revised view that Chinese alloy consumption will...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The Covid-19 pandemic and the associated impacts on steel production, mining and manufacturing activity, end-use consumption, and trade and transportation continue to dominate ferro-alloy markets. US steel mills are operating at around 50% of capacity, with similarly low operating rates evident in Europe as well. Chinese ste...Read More
Ferro-alloys prices have generally retreated over the past month, with demand concerns gaining in prominence.The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Ferro-alloy pricing trends have generally diverged ove the past month, depending on the security of the supply-side position of the market. With most supply concerns fading with the resumption of industrial activity i...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.There has been an increasing bullishness in Chinese steel market sentiment recently, with rising post-Covid-19 optimism about the country's economy for the second half of 2020, especially after the government announced an infrastructure spending boost. Although we believe that high prices are justified, they remain far from...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Heavy rains in China, which can negatively affect iron ore supplies and pig iron production, and bolster demand for scrap, continued in July 2020. Although this was more an upside risk to our bearish base case one month ago, Chinese scrap prices remained strong. The firm prices gained support from the rains and from a more g...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This year has come with several unexpected events which increased the bullish case for iron ore prices, while the Chinese government's spending on infrastructure is likely to boost iron ore demand and add upside support to prices. But supply disruptions and a demand surge which caused price spikes are now easing. We do not e...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' teamof analysts are ready to view.Chinese crude steel production outperformed our expectations with its recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. Crude steel output was up by 2.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2020 to 503 million tonnes, and we have revised upward what was initially a more bearish forecast for this year. We now estimate that product...Read More
The latest forecast from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we enter the summer season across the northern hemisphere, almost half a year has passed since the Covid-19 pandemic began to seriously affect Europe and the United States.One would not really be able to tell that such a dramatic event had occurred by looking at stainless steel prices, however, because they are more or less...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are relatively stable this month, showing little change since our previous tracker. Such stability masks growing issues for stainless steelmakers, however, who are increasingly unable to pass on rising costs to consumers and are, thus, facing cuts to their margins.In general, this is due to an excess of...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are on the increase in June. As far as this market is concerned, it appears as though the Covid-19 pandemic has had little impact so far, with prices on the most common grades of stainless steel just 2-4% lower than they were at the turn of the year in most markets.Even in Asia, a region often talked ab...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices have fared relatively well over the past couple of months in the face of the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.In grade-304 material, the most common grade of stainless steel, prices were down by about 5-7% since the turn of the year - not bad, when compared with the falls in prices of other assets so f...Read More
The apparent reaffirming of a phase one trade deal between the United States and China continued to drive an increase in London Metal Exchange three-month prices during the afternoon on Tuesday August 25, with LME base metals futures universally closing up at the 5pm kerb. The LME base metals complex has become prone to following macroeconomic developments, and today was no exception, with the lat...Read More
Exporters of steel slab from the Commonwealth of Independent States mostly kept their offer prices stable in the week to Tuesday August 25, although some made attempts to achieve a slight increase because of reduced availability.Customers, however, adopted a wait-and-see attitude while waiting for more clarity to emerge in the scrap and finished flat steel products sectors."The market is a little...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's polished-diamond exports fell in July but at a gentler pace than in earlier months as the US, Europe and China returned to more normal business levels. Polished shipments out of the country dropped 39% after heavier slumps in April to June, when demand dried up across major markets. India Trade Data for July 2020Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will offer $1 million in scholarship funds in 2021 to aspiring students and those looking to advance their careers, it said Monday.Students and professionals interested in gemology and jewelry-manufacturing arts programs, distance-education courses and lab classes can apply for funding. The scholarships cover classes at the GIA's campuses arou...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers Jewellers has appointed C?(C)line Assimon as CEO, succeeding Fran??ois Delage, who will step down after 10 years in the role.Assimon, who was most recently CEO of Swiss luxury jeweler De Grisogono, also held executive positions at jewelry brand Piaget and in the jewelry division of Louis Vuitton. She has extensive experience in marketing, sales and merchandising of high-end je...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Organizers of Britain's biggest trade show, International Jewellery London, have announced they will not hold a 2021 edition because of COVID-19, having already canceled this year's event.The 2020 show was due to have taken place at Alexandra Palace, London, on 9 June.Reed Exhibitions says cancelling IJL 2021 was an "even more difficult decision" than pulling the plug on...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers is understood to be discounting rough stones at last, as the pandemic shows no sign of ending.Sight holders can expect to see price reductions of as much as 10 per cent on diamonds over a carat.Sales have ground to a virtual halt, down 95 per cent from ?, ?1.2bn in Q2 2019 to $56m for the same period this year.De Beers, the world's top producer by value, is hopin...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The GIA is offering $1m in scholarships to help students embark on careers in the gem and jewelry industry.It has awarded more than $14m in scholarships since 2010, helping more than 3,000 students study on-campus and through distance education programs."To meet the challenges of the pandemic, we are adapting to provide education that positions students for success within the gem a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has warned staff in Botswana of possible job losses when the country's Covid-related state of emergency (SoE) lapses at the end of October.The SoE, introduced in April, prevents employers from laying off workers.Botswana, the world's top diamond-producing country by value, saw Q2 sales fall by almost two-thirds because of coronavirus. It relies on diamonds...Read More