Brazilian slab export prices narrowed upward in the week to Friday May 1, with producers trying to push offers higher amid lower global slab supply.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil, moved up by $10 on the low end to $330-345 per tonne, from $320-345 per tonne a week earlier.Offers from Brazil to Asia were reported within the range of $330-335 per tonne fob...Read More
RAPAPORT... Antwerp's four diamond-trading halls will reopen next week as Belgium gradually relaxes its restrictions on movement and social interaction.The government permitted diamond companies to restart operations on Monday, though many employees will work from home. The country had been on lockdown since mid-March as the nation attempted to limit the spread of the coronavirus, with Antwer...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has hired Vincent Sinisi as senior vice president of investor relations, replacing Randi Abada, the company said Monday.Sinisi has over 15 years of experience as a retail analyst, most recently as executive director of equity research for Morgan Stanley. In his new role, he will be responsible for communicating Signet's strategic growth plans to the investment community...Read More
RAPAPORT... India has resumed manufacturing and exports of gems and jewelry, as the country starts to ease its restrictions following five weeks of lockdown.Eight production units in Surat, the country's diamond-cutting hub, have begun operations at the city's Special Economic Zone, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) reported Thursday. Ten shipments of diamonds were expo...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's achieved $3.3 million at its online Fine Jewels auction, driven by proceeds from its sold-out collection of Graff pieces.The total beat the company's high estimate of $2.8 million for the sale, the auction house said last week. The 18 pieces of Graff jewelry brought in a combined $1.3 million, far surpassing their combined estimate of $730,000. The highest-selling lot wa...Read More
The latest ferro-tungsten and ammonium paratungstate (APT) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe, the US and China, with blue tungsten oxide (BTO) and yellow tungsten oxide (YTO) deals taken into consideration.To view the latest price assessments, please follow the links below:China- APT 88.5% WO3 min, fob main ports China, $/mtu WO3Europe- APT 88.5% WO3 min Europe, cif Rotterdam an...Read More
RAPAPORT... A subsidiary of Rio Tinto has voiced concern over the continuity of the Diavik mine after its joint-venture partner in the project was granted protection from creditors. The insolvency order obtained in late April by Dominion Diamond Mines threatens the future of the Diavik deposit as it exempts the 40% shareholder from paying for its upkeep, according to a court filing by Diavik...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Diamond Price Index crept up slightly, by 0.7 per cent in April, a possible indication that the market is showing the first signs of recovery. In March, prices slid 1.6 per cent as the COVID-19 pandemic began to bite. February also saw slow sales, with prices down 1.27 per cent. Throughout April the Index rose slowly but steadily day by day in a virtual strai...Read More
Diversified mining company Rio Tinto is investing $10-million in a variety of grassroots projects across Canada and the US to support local community efforts to fight Covid-19.The group’s investment is targeted at practical solutions like funding the food banks or counselling and support services that are helping frontline response workers and the communities around its operations, says...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices regained some strength on Monday July 22 after local authorities in Tangshan, the steelmaking hub in northern China, reiterated production cuts for steelmakers under their jurisdiction.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,900 yuan ($564-567) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,850-3,860 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneSpot prices rose...Read More
Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market was muted on Monday July 22 after an active stretch last week.A cargo of premium hard coking coal was offered at $175 per tonne fob Australia on the Global Coal trading platform during the day, down $1 per tonne from last Friday, sources said.A Chinese end-user source said that mills in the country were concerned about uncertainties associated wi...Read More
Fastmarkets has discontinued the publication of the stainless steel grade-304 Europe raw materials index, with effect from Monday July 22.After a two-month consultation period, Fastmarkets has decided to discontinue the assessment of the stainless steel 304 index domestic, exw EU.This index, which was intended to represent the costs of the raw materials needed to produce grade-304 stainless steel,...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell across the board on Monday July 22, amid environmental restrictions imposed on steelmakers in north China.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $118.33 per tonne, down $3.46 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $118.25 per tonne, down $3.46 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low-alumina...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday July 22 that are worth another look.The wide differential between ferro-vanadium prices in China and Europe has prompted some European vanadium suppliers to deliver their cargoes to China to take advantage of the more favorable price in the Asian country, market sources told Fastmarkets. ERG has appointed Telf AG the exclusive of...Read More
The premium for aluminium billet in Italy has fallen to its lowest in over two years due to aggressively low offers from suppliers and continued poor demand. Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp Italy (Brescia region), at $330-350 per tonne on Friday July 19, down from $340-360 per tonne the previous week. This is lowest since January 20, 2017, when it was $330-340...Read More
The prices paid for base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange were almost universally suppressed during morning trading on Monday July 22, with uninspiring macro data precipitating thin trading volumesTin was the only metal to buck the trend and trade at parity with the afternoon kerb close on July 19, which is around $17,800 per tonne. The LME three-month tin contract may be holding on acco...Read More
Rising tension over Iran and a reduction in expectations on the size of the next US Federal Reserve rate cut were weighing on sentiment this morning, Monday July 22.Last week the market started to price-in a 50-basis-point cut in the US benchmark interest rate at the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) July 30-31 meeting, but now a 25-basis-point cut now seems more likely.Tensions in the Middle...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were all down during morning trading on Monday July 22, with nickel and zinc leading the decline with drops of 2.8% and 1.7% respectively. The rest of the complex recorded more marginal declines: lead (-1%), copper (-0.6%), aluminium (-0.5%) and tin (-0.2%).The broad-based weakness comes amid a recovery in the dollar that saw the US currency recl...Read More
Hot testing of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih's new continuous casting machine (CCM No3) has been halted after a site search by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on Saturday July 20.The search took place as part of an investigation into the contamination of the environment, sparked by a recent visit by Ukraine's new president Volodymyr Zelensky to his home town of Kryvyi Rih, after which he&nbs...Read More
Weaker demand from the automotive market and high mill capacity have softened cold-heading quality (CHQ) wire rod prices, while high carbon wire rod prices remained flat from the previous month. Fastmarkets AMM's monthly pricing assessment for cold-heading quality wire rod North American delivered duty paid Great Lakes region dropped to $39.50 per hundredweight ($790 per short ton) on Fr...Read More