A high dollar index caused lead's three-month price to drop by 1% to its lowest since January at the close on Monday March 8, while copper's futures price inched close to the $9,000 per tonne mark with a 1% rise. Buying interest in lead has been affected by the dollar index moving up to 92.39 on Monday at 5pm, the highest levels since November 2020, "driven by President Biden's mammoth $1.9 trilli...Read More

Limited raw materials availability has continued to support the ammonium paratungstate (APT) price at two-year highs amid a pick-up in spot demand, with alloy prices following slightly higher. Fastmarkets assessed the tungsten APT, 88.5% WO3 min, cif Rotterdam and Baltimore price at $263-268 per metric tonne unit (mtu) on Friday March 5, up from $260-265 per mtu in the previous week. The mark...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 8 that are worth another look.The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.With...Read More

The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.Finished steel distributors have said they have been struggling to get the necessary volumes of finished steel from either domestic or overseas suppliers, adding that they do not expect the situation...Read More

The Indian silico-manganese export market should cement recent price gains that have pushed up the high end of the range to a level last seen in April 2018 on firm domestic fundamentals that are influencing exporter offer prices, industry sources told Fastmarkets. Indian trade sources said firm domestic demand has encouraged higher export offer prices to customers in Southeast Asia, the Middle Eas...Read More

A high dollar index caused lead's three-month price to drop by 1% to its lowest since January at the close on Monday March 8, while copper's futures price inched close to the $9,000 per tonne mark with a 1% rise. Buying interest in lead has been affected by the dollar index moving up to 92.39 on Monday at 5pm, the highest levels since November 2020, "driven by President Biden's mammoth $1.9 trilli...Read More

Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices edged down on Monday March 8, amid limited buying interest, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $121.53 per tonne, down $1.46 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $213.95 per tonne, down $0.56 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $116.66 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $202.79 per t...Read More

Iron ore prices were largely rangebound on Monday March 8 after fresh restrictions were announced for the steelmaking hub of Tangshan on Sunday evening, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $174.34 per tonne, up $0.23 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $174.63 per tonne, down $0.03 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $162....Read More

RAPAPORT... Israel's diamond exports improved in February amid steady jewelry demand in key retail markets and the opening of a trade channel with Dubai, according to government data.Polished shipments out of Israel jumped 24% year on year to $251.6 million for the month, with volume increasing 20% to 122,784 carats, the country's Ministry of Economy and Industry reported last week. Rough exp...Read More

Rio Tinto will begin construction on a new plant that will recover tellurium from copper refining at its Kennecott copper mine in Utah, United States, it said on Monday March 8.Rio Tinto is investing $2.9 million in developing the plant with a capacity to produce approximately 20 tonnes per year of tellurium and expects production to start in the fourth quarter of 2021.Global tellurium production...Read More

RAPAPORT... Many jewelers rely on "tried and true" methods of advertising, blasting consumers with the ideal of a happy couple: A man spots a gorgeous woman across the room and can't take his eyes off her; their love grows, and he proposes with a beautiful, sparkling engagement ring. The idea behind this is to suggest that you, too, can have the romantic fairy tale if you shop with that jeweler. A...Read More

Turkish steel producers skipped the first working day of the week with no deep-sea bookings, keeping their focus on finished steel sales, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday March 8.The steelmakers had booked a number of scrap cargoes late last week, resulting a more than $6-per-tonne increase in the daily scrap indices.A scrap supplier in the Baltic Sea region sold two cargoes at the e...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Biden administration is under pressure to re-impose sanctions on Israeli diamond billionaire Dan Gertler (pictured).He had his US assets frozen in 2017 amid allegations that he'd looted the Democratic Republic of Congo of its copper, cobalt and other mineral resources.Former President Trump quietly, and controversially, granted him a reprieve during his final days in offic...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Pink diamonds from the now-closed Argyle mine have been incorporated into new  Jewelled Horse gold coins by Australia's state-owned Perth Mint.They are legal tender, with a face value of A$2,000, although it's highly unlikely any will actually be used as cash.They each have 2.76-carats of fancy intense vivid pink and purplish-pink Argyle diamonds and cost US$194,833....Read More

(IDEX Online) - Chanel's iconic No.5 perfume has been immortalized in a diamond weighing 55.55-carats and cut in the shape of its signature bottle.The D-color flawless emerald cut, octagonal diamond has been crafted into a necklace, surrounded by 104 round diamonds and 42 baguettes.Chanel No.5 was created 100 years ago by Ernest Beaux and Gabrielle Chanel and is the world's best-selling...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly unchanged on Monday March 8, compared with their 5pm closes on Friday, with a strong US Dollar Index holding above 92 for the first time since November 2020 and a high US Treasury notes yield hindering base metals price movements.The US Dollar index was at 91.21 on Monday at 9am, up from 91.96 on Friday at the close, concurrently the yiel...Read More

In late December 2020, China's Inner Mongolia began issuing a series of policies to restrict its metallurgical sector in an attempt to control its energy consumption. Affected industries include coal, aluminium, ferro-alloys and semi-coke among others.Fastmarkets rounds up the latest policies issued by the autonomous region and the effects seen in markets up until Monday March 8.December 20The Dev...Read More

Chinese customs data, released on Sunday March 7, shows total exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products in January and February 2021 increased by 25.9% year on year alongside China's imports of unwrought copper, copper products and copper concentrates.Exports for unwrought aluminium and aluminium product(January & February 2021)Total exports: 842,124.90...Read More

China's nickel sulfate price narrowed down in the week to Friday March 5 after a significant fall in the LME nickel price, with market participants also reporting little buyer interest, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets assessed the nickel sulfate min 21%, max 22.5%, cobalt 10ppm max, exw China price at 35,000-36,000 yuan ($5,376-5,530) per tonne on Friday March 5, down by 2,000 yuan per tonne,...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were weaker this morning, Monday March 8, but prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly stronger while they caught up with the gains on the LME on Friday. Brent crude oil prices over $70 per barrel following missile attack in Saudi ArabiaUnited States Senate passes $1.9 trillion stimulus billBase metals LME three-month base metals prices we...Read More