The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore remains the most bullish commodity of the year, with prices fuelled by Chinese demand and supply disruptions in Brazil, along with bullish sentiment. But prices are expected to come down because Brazilian exports have begun to recover, and have reached their highest level since the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019. W...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the iron ore market, supply issues including heavy rains at the start of the year, followed by staffing problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, have affected exports from Brazil. This has helped Australia gain a larger market share, but since June, Brazilian export volumes have returned to levels last seen before the...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese blast furnace (BF) utilization rates have stagnated and iron ore port stock volumes are rising, reaching their highest levels since March, which suggests that iron ore supply is becoming excessive while demand is not growing. Unsurprisingly, prices dropped last week and we expect the trend to continue. The market has...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.We spoke in our previous tracker of stainless steel prices ending 2020 on a high. That trend has continued during early 2021 and, in fact, the upward rally in prices has increased its momentum.Compared with the monthly price increase of some 5% seen at the end of 2020, prices for grade-304 stainless steel in al...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Prices of stainless steel are generally set to reach highs for the year as 2020 comes to a close. For the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel, this upward trend is being driven above all by rising nickel prices, which themselves are hitting relatively high levels into the end of 2020.The price increases si...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While much commentary has been written about Asian economies performing far better than those elsewhere this year during the global Covid-19 pandemic, it is stainless steel markets in Europe and the United States that are ending the year in better shape than their Asian counterparts.We do not talk of demand levels or demand g...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While a world leader in many areas, the United States is a relatively small player when it comes to stainless steel. It produces a small amount of material, both in absolute and relative terms (i.e. compared to the size of its population), while a large share of its industry is in the hands of bigger European companies. Never...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price rose to a seven-year high during trading on Thursday February 18, with positive macroeconomic sentiment and the return of Asian trading acting as catalysts for base metals prices. Nickel's three-month price reached $19,205 per tonne during Thursday, the first time it had touched above $19,000 per tonne since September 2014. It closed slightly low...Read More

Polished dealers optimistic. Positive momentum amid busy Valentine's Day in US and initial reports of robust Chinese New Year season. Asian market shut for lunar festival. E-commerce driving growth; online accounting for nearly 25% of total retail in China. Kering 2020 jewelry sales weak in Europe, strong in Asia. Brands gaining market share in India, with Titan Company FY3Q sales +17% to $1.1B, p...Read More

RAPAPORT... South Africa's diamond industry lost one of its stalwarts last week with the passing of Louis Lipchin at the age of 90. Lipchin was passionate about the local trade and a vocal advocate on behalf of young entrepreneurs, particularly those from disadvantaged communities.Born in Johannesburg, he was a first-generation diamantaire, beginning as an apprentice after leaving school. His...Read More

RAPAPORT... Kering reported solid sales in its jewelry and watch divisions in 2020, as resurgent demand in mainland China helped offset weakness in Europe."The jewelry houses, penalized by their exposure to Western Europe, reported strong sales growth in Asia," the owner of high-fashion houses Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent said Wednesday. "Sales at Qeelin were up sharply over the year, buoyed by th...Read More

Turkish steel producers resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases, accepting higher prices due to support from growing steel demand, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday February 18.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $418 per tonne cfr late on Wednesday February 17.The previous US cargo sold at $410 per tonne cfr for the same ma...Read More

RAPAPORT... US retail sales surged in January as government stimulus checks boosted consumer confidence, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said.Revenues grew 7% year on year, and were up 5% over December's total, which included holiday sales results, according to data the US Census Bureau reported Wednesday. That compares to a 2.5% year-on-year increase in December."We expected retail spending...Read More

RAPAPORT... Mining operations at Gahcho Ku?(C) remain suspended following the identification of further employees who have tested positive for Covid-19.A total of 15 infections have been discovered at the Canadian site, which is jointly owned by De Beers and Mountain Province, a De Beers spokesperson told Rapaport News Wednesday. That includes the six cases that came to light last week during proa...Read More

(IDEX Online) - One of Europe's biggest watch and jewelry trade shows - Inhorgenta Munich - has been canceled.Last November organizers said they were postponing the event from February 2020 to April, but they've now decided to axe it altogether because of Covid concerns."The decision was taken in detailed consultation with the advisory board, as well as exhibitors, visitors and partners,...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The CEO of Namibia's state-owned Namdia diamond company is reportedly facing disciplinary action over alleged irregularities.The board of Namdia (Namib Desert Diamonds) launched an internal inquiry into Kennedy Hamutenya late last year, according to The Namibian newspaper, and a disciplinary has been scheduled to begin on 1 March. In 2018 Mr Hamutenya (pictured) rubbished...Read More

Low-carbon aluminium will be part of the plan by Greek industrial conglomerate Mytilineos to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the company said in an online summit on Thursday February 18.Mytilineos owns producer Aluminium of Greece, which has output of more than 182,000 tonnes per year of aluminium. The group also has companies that are active in the fields of energy and engineering solu...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Health officials in Canada have confirmed that five new cases of COVID-19 are linked to the Gahcho Kue diamond mine.It brings the total number of cases to 15.  Three of those who contracted the virus have recovered, 12 are considered active.The site (pictured), jointly operated by De Beers and Mountain Province, halted operations on 6 February and there is currently no word on...Read More

Mitsui Bussan Commodities (MBC) has launched a new regulated subsidiary in Paris, France, to ensure continuity of service for clients after Brexit, it said on Thursday February 18. The subsidiary is called Mitsui Bussan Commodities (France) SA (MBCF) and will aim to expand the company's pan-European capability now that the United Kingdom has left the European Union. The energy team are already pro...Read More

Most of the base metals complex set new year-to-date and multi year highs on the morning of Thursday February 18, with the return of trade in Asia after the Lunar New Year holiday only pushing prices even higher. Copper's three-month price hit $8,630 per tonne shortly after 9am, a 2.75% increase from Wednesday's closing price of $8,390 per tonne. Some 15,000 lots had been traded - more than on eac...Read More