Defaults among overseas buyers have become a problem for Chinese steel exporters in recent weeks, with falling prices and weakening demand triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic leading to an increase in export credit insurance claims.When contacted by Fastmarkets two weeks' ago, a source at a steel mill in northern China said he was having to deal with a shipment of 5,000 tonnes of hot-dipped galvani...Read More

For two consecutive years now, the first quarter has been marked by watershed events as for the iron ore market. Last year, it marked the beginning of a severe supply disruption from Brazil. This year, the Covid-19 pandemic took center stage.Put simply, Covid-19 has slowed down the recovery of downstream demand in China - the world's biggest steel-producing country - that typically takes place aft...Read More

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout metal at the close of trading on Monday April 20, while the rest of the base metals complex remained pinned down amid broad risk aversion. Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $12,505 per tonne on Monday afternoon - its highest closing price since March 13 - with daily turnover notching a three-week high w...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has paused plans to implement pre-trade transparency (PTT) changes to its inter-office market, it said in a note to members on Monday April 20, citing the significant impact of Covid-19 in the postponement of the initiative.The changes, which are a requirement of the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) r...Read More

The catastrophic psychological damage wreaked by stock panics makes silver look way more attractive for diversifying stock-heavy portfolios... by Adam Hamilton of Zeal LLCSilver is blasting higher after mid-March's stock-panic-spawned near-crash. This normal oversold mean reversion looks like the start of something much bigger though. Speculators' positioning in silver futures utterly collapse...Read More

The market for seaborne iron ore fines continued to strengthen on Monday April 20, with Brazilian producer Vale cutting its production guidance figure for 2020 to 310-330 million tonnes.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.45 per tonne, up by $1.28 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.11 per tonne, up by $1.21 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qin...Read More

Canadian gold miners are now considered "essential" businesses and are reopening. Many are optimistic that physical prices will come down as a result. However...by David Brady via Sprott MoneyThe only reason I follow paper prices for Gold and Silver is that they provide valuable insight into how big the premiums are for the physical metals. The combination of higher paper prices and higher premium...Read More

China's production of refined copper in March dropped marginally from a year ago while charges to turn concentrate into copper metal rebounded during the month. Home of half of the world's copper smelting capacity, China generated 771,000 tonnes of copper cathodes last month, representing a drop of 2.5% from a year ago, the country's statistics bureau said on Monday April 20. The largely stable op...Read More

Turkish steel producers exited the deep-sea scrap import market on Monday April 20, after booking seven cargoes last week, sources told Fastmarkets.The seven deep-sea scrap cargoes totalled almost 220,000 tonnes."I think Turkish steel producers have booked enough cargoes for now. This week will probably be slow for trading," a source in Turkey said.Another...Read More

RAPAPORT... The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has named Yoram Dvash as acting president following Ernie Blom's decision to stand down temporarily.The WFDB's executive committee elected the Israel Diamond Exchange president in a Zoom meeting Sunday, it said in a statement. He had already been named president designate at a previous WFDB congress."The diamond industry, like all oth...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has paused plans to implement pre-trade transparency (PTT) changes to its inter-office market, it said in a note to members on Monday April 20, citing the significant impact of Covid-19 in the postponement of the initiative.The changes, which are a requirement of the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) r...Read More

RAPAPORT... The number of jewelry stores operating in the US fell 4.2% year on year to 24,280 in the first quarter as exits from the industry more than doubled, according to data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT).The number of companies leaving the sector rose to 323 for the quarter, from 125 in the same period of 2019, the JBT's figures showed. The number of new businesses declined 19%...Read More

Swiss private equity firm Parter Capital Group AG has sold its majority stake in the Aviles and La Coru??a aluminium smelters, known as Alu Iberica, in Spain to Grupo Industrial Riesgo. The sale of a nearly 75% stake in Alu Iberica for an undisclosed sum, first reported by Spanish local media on April 15, comes just nine months after Parter purchased the two smelters from aluminium producer A...Read More

RAPAPORT... LVMH has withdrawn its four watch and jewelry brands from the 2021 Baselworld show after several of its heavyweight competitors quit the event.Bulgari, TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith will instead take part in a new exhibition in Geneva next April, LVMH said in a statement Friday. They will join Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard, which pulled out of Baselworld last wee...Read More

Kaiser Aluminum has cut its forecast for revenue from commercial aerospace this year amid a sharp decline in air travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a knock-on effect throughout that industry.The US aluminium producer, deemed an essential business in that country, anticipates that its commercial aerospace value-added revenue could be roughly 20-25% lower in 2020 compared with record levels las...Read More

RAPAPORT... Michael Hill's sales fell 12% in the third fiscal quarter as stores closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.Group revenue dropped to AUD 105.1 million ($66.8 million) in the three months ending March 31, the jeweler reported last week. The company was forced to close all its retail locations in Canada on March 20, and shut stores in Australia and New Zealand a few days later. Same-...Read More

RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has put its Mothae mine in Lesotho on care and maintenance until the global market recovers.The miner temporarily closed the asset last month after the government placed the country on lockdown. Lesotho is also dependent on neighboring South Africa - which is also on lockdown - for its essential mining supplies. While the initial closure was only supposed to...Read More

The price of nickel pig iron (NPI) in China is gaining upward momentum due to rising nickel prices and ore supply disruptions in the Philippines. Fastmarkets assessed the price of nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China at 920-940 yuan per nickel unit on Friday April 17, up by 3% or 27.50 yuan per tonne at the midpoint from 895-910 yuan per nickel unit a week prior. Th...Read More

RAPAPORT... Earlier this month, the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) said it would issue two parallel ratings in its company credit reports to show the effect of COVID-19 on liquidity. In an April 6 interview with Rapaport News, Erich Jacobs, president of the Rhode Island-based credit agency, explained the impact of the crisis, how the ratings work, and why some businesses might not survive.Rapa...Read More

The three-month nickel price on the LME was trading at its highest level in more than a month on Monday April 20, while a large inflow of some 46,275 tonnes of primary aluminium put pressure on the light metal's underlying price. Nickel's outright price on the London Metal Exchange was recently seen at $12,405 per tonne, up by just over 2.8% from Friday's closing price of $12,042 per tonne, w...Read More