Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange rose to $9,809.50 per tonne at the close of trading on Monday July 26, an increase which led most other prices in the complex higher as well.The red metal closed near its intraday high of $9,826.50 per tonne, the highest for copper since June 15. Intense buying took its volumes on Monday to 24,000 lots traded by 5pm, also the highest since th...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil were fairly stable in Europe over the week ended Friday July 23 due to a seasonal demand slowdown and limited availability.Firm offers were still scarce in the Northern European HRC market. Mills in the region had good order books and could only offer fourth-quarter production HRC, with some of them claiming to be sold out until the year-end.The already short su...Read More
CIS slab exporters remained quiet this week, waiting for the return of Turkish customers from a week-long religious holiday, sources told Fastmarkets."I think sales will wait to see the reaction of Turkish market and prices this week," a Russian producer source said."[Ukraine's] Metinvest is looking for bids but not really offering a price," a trader said.Another trading source said that offers he...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 26 that are worth another look.China's drive to achieve peak carbon by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 will likely mean a higher steel industry concentration ratio in time, sources told Fastmarkets.Norway-based aluminium and renewable...Read More
Silver is the only commodity that is not reaching its historic highs (1980 & 2011). We're going to see that high breached in the cycle, and...by David Morgan of The Morgan ReportSilver is the only commodity that is not reaching its (historic) highs, and it has reached (those highs) on two separate occasions, back in 1980 and 2011. I think we're going to see that high breached in the cycle, and whe...Read More
Unfortunately, it's all eyes on the Fed this week. Here's what it means for gold & silver...(by Half Dollar) I use the word "unfortunate" because people are thinking about the Fed all wrong.That is to say, don't even think about things changing for the better in the markets or in the economy until we take the very first step ourselves, which is to think about the Fed differently, and, more importa...Read More
China's drive to achieve peak carbon by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 will likely mean a higher steel industry concentration ratio in time, sources told Fastmarkets.This means that the share of total crude steel production by major steel producers will increase, leading to low-carbon steel production via unified research, development efforts for low-carbon technology and improved production e...Read More
Crude steel production cuts that are gradually being implemented in China have resulted in a switch in preference for iron ore brands among steelmakers in the country, sources told Fastmarkets.While the overall demand for iron ore has started to weaken, low-grade fines are generating more buying interest, sources said.A month ago, low-grade fines started to gain favor among mills amid weakening ma...Read More
Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange rose to $9,809.50 per tonne at the close of trading on Monday July 26, an increase which led most other prices in the complex higher as well.The red metal closed near its intraday high of $9,826.50 per tonne, the highest for copper since June 15. Intense buying took its volumes on Monday to 24,000 lots traded by 5pm, also the highest since th...Read More
Iron ore prices edged up on Monday July 26 due to higher steel prices, while news of production cuts in China affected the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $202.74 per tonne, up by $1.41 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $203.93 per tonne, up by $1.07 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $167.65 per tonne, up b...Read More
China's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil increased on Monday July 26 due to early-hour futures gains, but the export market was inactive due to participants' concern about a possible export duty.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,900-5,910 yuan ($910-911) per tonne, narrowing upward by 40 yuan per tonneSome sellers raised prices following strong futures in the morning. The most-traded October...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has purchased rough diamonds from Russia's national stockpiles to help manage inventory shortages ahead of this week's monthly contract sale.The miner bought "some 70%" of goods that Gokhran - the state gem and precious-metal depository - offered at a special auction last Friday, Alrosa said Monday. The company did not disclose the purchase's value or volume.According to a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mining company Fura Gems is set to launch a trade organization aimed at unifying the colored-gemstone industry, debuting the group at the upcoming Las Vegas jewelry shows.The Fura Marketing Council (FMC) will have booths at both JCK Las Vegas and the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) fairs, the miner said Sunday. It will support the sector by coordinating marketing, training a...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Women's Jewelry Association Foundation (WJAF) has revealed the winners of its 2021 Excellence Awards.The group will award a total of $35,000 to 12 women, using funds that it raises at its annual Awards for Excellence Gala, it said last week.The prizes range from $1,000 to $5,000 each and are offered in five categories: The Cindy Edelstein Jewelry Design Scholarship, the Gabriel Lov...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) last week sold a record $62m at a rough tender in Dubai.It more than doubled its June sales of $30m, though the overall price per carat was lower.There were many single stones +10-ct among the goods offered, from southern Africa and Angola, and several exceptional special stones, between 30-cts and 100-cts.Over 100 companies were represented at the t...Read More
RAPAPORT... In June, Covid-19 cases were shrinking in many US states, and restrictions were relaxed in a lot of major US cities, including New York and Chicago, Illinois. Retailers, too, felt a weight had been lifted from them, with some even talking about attending the rescheduled JCK Las Vegas and Couture shows in August. But even with the country reopening, store owners believed a true recovery...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Burgundy, the new owners of the Ellendale Diamond Project, in Western Australia, today said it had raised $37m and aimed to bring the mine back into production next year.The investment will fund the re-opening of the deposit, which is a leading source of rare fancy yellow diamonds. It ceased production in 2015 when previous owner Kimberley Diamond Company went into liquidation...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The world's third-largest diamond - a 1,174.76- carat clivage stone recovered last month at Karowe, Botswana - has arrived in Antwerp.It will be scanned and analyzed for composition, quality, thickness and clarity by HB Anwerp, the diamond tech newcomer that cut and polished the 1,758-ct Sew?? ?lo, recovered from the same mine in April 2019.Plans for the newly-recovered diamon...Read More
RAPAPORT... The India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) Premiere exhibition will take place in Bengaluru this year, occurring outside of Mumbai for the first time.The fair, the country's largest exhibition of gems and jewelry, is now set to run from September 15 to 19, India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said last week. The annual event was originally scheduled for Janua...Read More
Seaborne manganese ore markets were quiet during the week to Friday July 23, with low-grade manganese ore prices remaining under pressure from heavy stocks of South African material in Chinese ports.Fastmarkets' calculation of the manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin edged down by 7 cents per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) to $4.58 per dmtu on Friday from $4.65 per dmtu on July 16.The index...Read More