European prices for ferro-silicon were likely to set more record highs in the near term, with the market already at levels not seen since Fastmarkets started to assess the market in the late 1990s.A combination of firm fundamentals, an acute container shortage, record high freight rates, and production and transportation issues were all set to boost the metals markets at least through December and...Read More
I’ve been suggesting for some time now that the PM complex is trading at a critical inflection point where they can have a big move in either direction. It may sound like a copout but that is what an inflection point is. Many times at a critical inflection point, in the case of the PM stock indexes, support can hold beautifully or there can be a false breakout of the the S&R line w...Read More
With Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In discussion with Fastmarkets' Carrie Bone, he outlined the changes and challenges anticipated for decarbonizing the steel industry."Why green? Because when we started on...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices edged down slightly on Tuesday August 31, but less so than futures due to strong end-user demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,220-5,260 yuan ($807-813) per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonne.The most-traded January rebar futures contract briefly dropped to today's low of 5,287 yuan per tonne before recovering...Read More
With Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In discussion with Fastmarkets' Carrie Bone, he outlined the changes and challenges anticipated for decarbonizing the steel industry."Why green? Because when we started on...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 31 that are worth another lookWith Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In...Read More
Mexican steel scrap prices continued to decrease in the week ended on Friday August 27, as most steelmakers applied price cuts because of competition from imported material.Scrap consumers have been pushing through a series of weekly price cuts due to pressure from lower international prices.Fastmarkets' assessment of the steel scrap No1 busheling, consumer buying price, delivered mill Monterrey&n...Read More
Aluminium premiums increased on Tuesday August 31 across the globe, with tight supply, an opened arbitrage window in China, and overall bullish sentiment providing market tailwinds and supporting all-time highs.Premiums up in Rotterdam on insufficient supplyUS Midwest premium stable at record highPremiums rise in Shanghai amid wide arbitrage profitsImproved market sentiment drives MJP premiums upw...Read More
Manganese markets were quiet in the week ended Friday August 27, with buyers expecting miners to reduce their offer prices for October shipments to match the port markets."[Miners] must at least offer at a level equal to the port markets to attract buying interest, otherwise smelters will just buy from the spot market," a manganese ore buyer said. "And traders would further lower their purchase am...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 31 that are worth another lookWith Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In...Read More
China's biggest metals conglomerate, Minmetals, has hired Julio Cesar Rojas Ramirez to develop its copper concentrates blending business and the utilitization of its copper smelting capacity, Fastmarkets has heard.Prior to joining Minmetals, Rojas was director for primary raw materials with Aurubis, Europe's biggest copper smelter.His previous roles include head of global sales at Nyrstar and seni...Read More
Gold's sharp plunge in the wake of the FOMC spilled into silver, which amplified it. That selling and the resulting bearish psychology has...by Adam Hamilton of Zeal LLCSilver Miners' Q2'21 FundamentalsThe silver miners' stocks have been pounded lower this summer, collateral damage from gold's selloff on distant-future-Fed-rate-hikes fears. That has devastated this tiny contrarian sector's psy...Read More
4 big takeaways on where we're at in the second half of 2021...By Matt from Silver Fortune via Silver Fortune4 big takeaways on where we're at in the second half of 2021...*** Please Note: If our comment section looks different, it's because we were served notice today that our commenting partner has terminated their relationship with us due to Fake News. Please see the notice here. Also note, thi...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price had the strongest growth in the complex this month, trading at $2,726.50 per tonne on Tuesday August 31, while most other prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower than on August 2. Aluminium closed at $2,718 per tonne on Tuesday, a rise of 2.6% from last Friday's price of $2,649.50 per tonne and up from $2,615 per tonne at the start of August. Bullish funda...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's new digital register for physical metals data, LMEpassport, will launch on October 1, starting with aluminium, the exchange announced on Tuesday August 31.LMEpassport will store electronic Certificates of Analysis (CoAs), which are specification and quality assurance documents that must accompany shipments of LME metals into and out of warehouses.It will also store sust...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in China edged lower on Tuesday August 31; futures prices pulled back due to the latest factory activity data prompting concerns over the country's economic recovery.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,700-5,730 yuan ($881-886) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange came down from its highest leve...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Bulk and noble alloys both moved largely in line with our price forecasts globally over the past month, though several markets surprised to the upside, exceeding our forecast gains. Stronger-than-forecast pricing momentum was primarily triggered by supply shortages in numerous...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong's hard-luxury market saw its weakest growth figure for six months as the retail sector's rebound ran out of steam amid a lack of tourism.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts grew 27% year on year to HKD 3.2 billion ($410.6 million) in July but was still 42% lower than in the same month of 2019, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department repor...Read More
RAPAPORT... A diamond ring garnered nearly triple its high estimate following a bidding frenzy at a recent Fellows auction.The old-cut, 4.86-carat diamond ring fetched GBP 16,588 ($22,705) at the August 26 jewelry sale, beating its upper valuation of GBP 6,000 ($8,213). That price is one of the highest ever achieved for a single item of jewelry in a timed, online-only sale at UK-based Fellows...Read More
RAPAPORT... As the Las Vegas diamond and jewelry shows ended on Monday, mask-clad vendors expressed satisfaction with the amount of business they'd conducted during the past week."I'm so glad I came," said Mishael Vardi, owner of Israel-based VMK Diamonds, a supplier of fancy-color diamonds. "I met a lot of people, and those people came to do business." There were serious buyers, added a New...Read More