Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices in the cfr market fell on Thursday March 4, with end users in China not interested in seaborne cargoes due to sufficient domestic supplies.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $124.45 per tonne, down $0.23 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $214.51 per tonne, down $3.30 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $116.16 per tonne,...Read More

The strength of the economic recovery in China in 2020 defied the expectations of most market observers. According to estimates by Fastmarkets, apparent consumption in the country rose by 9% in 2020 compared with a 12% fall in the rest of the world.Crucially, this increase in supply was a response to a boom in steel demand in the East Asian nation. In the first quarter of 2020, demand (or real con...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese export prices for seamless oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and linepipe barely moved in February 2021, after rallying in January, because the holidays to celebrate the Lunar New Year curbed market activity sharply.With the holiday now ended, we have seen some sharp jumps in round billet prices and we expect there to...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US hot-rolled coil prices moved in line with our forecasts in January, with actual prices modestly exceeding our forecasts for the month. Fastmarkets' US HRC index averaged $1,099 per ton in January, slightly above our forecast price of $1,075 per ton for the month. W...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The uptrend in European flat steel prices continued in January 2021 as expected, with the prices for hot-rolled coil in the North and South of the region averaging ?,?698 and ?,?686 ($840 and $826) per tonne respectively, within 1% of the Fastmarkets research forecasts.With European HRC prices climbing to their highest level...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR?In a strong start to the year, January saw ore and alloy pricing gains across all markets priced by Fastmarkets - with the exception of Chinese silicon metal export prices, which retreated slightly last month after posting impressive gains in December 2020.The combination...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

Market sentiment upbeat. Steady trading levels supported by US demand and gradual return of Chinese buyers. Retailers optimistic amid expectations that Covid-19 vaccine rollout and $1.9 trillion stimulus will boost economy. E-commerce still driving growth. Polished prices stable; 1 ct. RAPI +0.8% in Feb. Manufacturers concerned about tightening profit margins following rough-price hikes in last th...Read More

RAPAPORT... As we look back and take stock of the year that was and gaze longingly at the light at the end of this tunnel we have all been in - together yet physically distanced - there are ripple effects from the Covid-19 pandemic that are now becoming visible. One of the areas where the pandemic has clearly had a regressive effect is the march toward gender equality. Even before this crisis...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Iconic jeweler Harry Winston has been displaying the record-breaking vivid pink diamond named after its founder at its New York store  - and says it is accepting sales inquiries.The 18.96-carat rectangular-cut gem became the priciest pink diamond ever sold by auction house Christie's when it went for $50.4im n November 2018. The Pink Legacy Diamond went on display fo...Read More

(IDEX Online) - India is to host its first major gem and jewelry trade show since the start of the Covid pandemic.Visitors to India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) Signature 2021 in April will only be admitted on production of a recent negative Covid-19 report.The show, expected to attract over 750 exhibitors, signals a return to "business as usual" after a year in which virtually all shows ac...Read More

RAPAPORT... The India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) Signature exhibition will run next month in Mumbai, marking the sector's first large trade fair since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, organizers said.The annual event will take place from April 7 to 12 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in the Goregaon neighborhood, India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) announce...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Year-on-year diamond prices for February were up 1.9 per cent, the biggest monthly increase for over two years. They have been climbing for almost a year now and appear to be finding their level after recovering from the doldrums of the first Covid waves. After the disruption of the early months of the pandemic, the graph has resumed its traditional wave pattern. Monthly prices wer...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies plans to list its shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, aiming to widen its access to investors around the world.The move would leave the Israel-based company with two listings, as its stock is already traded on the Singapore Exchange. Both bourses recently allowed companies to float on a second exchange. Sarine, which supplies manufacturing equipment to the d...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.Ann-Louise Hittle, vice president, Macro Oils, at global natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said: “OPEC+ took the market by surprise today when it decided to roll over its quota, saying that rather than anticipate a d...Read More

RAPAPORT... China saw strong growth in platinum-jewelry demand in the fourth quarter of 2020, as the economy began to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, Platinum Guild International (PGI) reported.Demand for branded collections grew by up to double-digit figures in the country compared to the same period in 2019, the trade organization said last week. Platinum-jewelry manufacturing rose 14% ye...Read More

RAPAPORT... The discussion surrounding conflict diamonds has evolved. Frustrated by the failure of the Kimberley Process (KP) to address today's broader ethical challenges, the trade has developed several programs to compensate. Groups such as the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) and private entities have systems in place to assure buyers that their diamonds can be fully accounted for, have don...Read More

The European ferro-titanium price dropped over the week to Wednesday March 3, with the range widening lower, which surprised industry sources because an acute shortage of scrap has been pushing up all titanium markets in recent months, sources said.The dip in ferro-titanium prices should be brief, however, given the upward pressure on prices from tight feedstock supplies, which is squeezing alloy...Read More

Trafigura has confirmed it will hold a 19% stake in the Goro nickel mining and processing complex in the South Province of the French territory of New Caledoniia, 1,200km east of Australia.The announcement by the Swiss trading and mining company comes alongside reports that electric vehicle car maker Tesla will source material from the mine for use in its batteries.Trafigura is part of the Prony R...Read More

Some US aluminium traders reacted positively to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's comments on the Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs, which she called "effective" in a televised interview on Thursday March 4."Let me say those tariffs have been effective. The data show that those tariffs have been effective. And I think what President Biden has said is we're going to have a whole-of-governmen...Read More