Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday March 13 that are worth another look.Brazilian miner Vale has said it may have to implement contingency measures or eventually suspend operations due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic around the world.Most mill-grade aluminium scrap prices fell in the United States this past week, encouraged by weake...Read More
If global financial markets had been operating under a pervading sense of uncertainty due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), they now appear to be veering on panic.Oil prices have suffered their biggest one-day collapse since the 1991 Gulf War following Saudi Arabia's declaration of a price war on Russia through a shock move to hike oil production. S&P Dow Jones Indices was forced...Read More
The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is set to accelerate what the trade wars started: the diversification of global supply chains. Both events have demonstrated just how interconnected the global economy is and have provided a wake-up call to businesses worldwide that it might be time to reduce their reliance on China as the workshop of the world. Of course, that's easier said than done. China is th...Read More
Trade disputes and geopolitical uncertainties had already made the prospects for global economic growth uncertain. A coronavirus has now added to the challenges facing financial markets.The epicenter of the virus is Wuhan, an important commercial hub in China that is home to 11.9 million people, including the country's largest student population. It is also a manufacturing hub, with around 500 fac...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.Near-term global demand is softening, and there is a period of significant mine supply on the horizon. Prices will decline as a result, and this will put mining company margins under pressure. But there is a need for new c...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.Over 650 GW of new onshore and 130 GW of new offshore wind capacity will be installed between 2018 and 2028. This will consume in excess of 5.5Mt of copper, according to a recent analysis by Wood Mackenzie.Henry Salisbury, Wood Macken...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.The U.S has increased tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods to 25%, from 10%, impacting a number of metals. Commentary below comes from the Wood Mackenzie metals team:Copper By Wood Mackenzie Senior Consultant, Yanting Zhou"Previous...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.The most important driver of the zinc market in 2020 will be the performance of the world’s zinc smelting industry, according to Wood Mackenzie.The easing of trade tensions between the US and China, the struggling manufacturing...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.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.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.Visit the store to purchase these latest reports: Coronavirus to further depress global LNG marketsRise in Covid-19 leads to fall in China's refinery runsCoronavirus pushes China’s copper demand into negative growthThe impa...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.On Friday 15th February 2019, Vale announced there was a fire affecting a conveyor belt system at its distribution centre in Malaysia. Vale anticipate this will result in a 10 to 15 day halt in operations and note that a planned 10 da...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.What does tight oil have in common with Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet's Google stocks (known as FAANG stocks)? Answer: tight oil is arguably the upstream equivalent of these tech sector leaders. It's the hot investment...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) will introduce a certification project for Guinea's artisanal miners that will identify their rough diamonds as conflict-free.The AWDC has based the program on the Maendeleo Diamond Standards (MDS) that Canadian trade organization Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) implemented among Sierra Leone's small-scale miners in April. AWDC worked w...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa is allowing clients to defer up to 60% of their rough-diamond allocations at this month's contract sale, claiming the concession will help buyers handle the current market difficulties."Amid such market uncertainty, it wouldn't be right to keep our customers tied to their original contracts," Evgeny Agureev, the Russian miner's deputy CEO, said in a statement Thursday. "We...Read More
RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds' shareholders have approved its delisting from public trading, as it seeks to reduce costs amid weak market conditions.The company, which operates the Liqhobong mine in Lesotho, will remain on AIM - the London Stock Exchange's submarket for smaller companies - until close of business on March 25, and will officially delist the following day, it said last week. I...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has appointed Sriram Natarajan as managing director of its India lab, to succeed Nirupa Bhatt.Natarajan, who joined the GIA in 2017 as vice president of laboratory operations, will report to GIA India's board of directors. He will assume the position on June 15, once Bhatt transitions to her new role as a consultant on GIA's Diamond Origin Rep...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gemological Science International (GSI) has launched a new grading report for synthetic diamonds that states whether a stone has been through post-growth treatment, claiming to be the first major laboratory to offer this.The LGX Complete certificate will specify whether the stone was created using High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD), GSI said l...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.The coronavirus is casting a shadow across commodity markets. It has undermined China’s economic sentiment, putting the country's growth outlook at risk. The full scale and impact of the outbreak remain to be seen, but it is cer...Read More
RAPAPORT... All diamond trading halls in Belgium and Israel are closing until further notice as the countries attempt to stem the spread of the coronavirus.Antwerp's four bourses will shut their trading floors from Monday, the Antwerpsche Diamantkring, the city's rough-diamond exchange, said in an email to members Friday. The rough and polished trading halls of the Israel Diamond Exchange (ID...Read More