Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board on the morning of Friday March 11, albeit with nickel on the LME still suspended.On the Shanghai Futures Exchange most of the metals were stronger, although August nickel was down by 9.6%. On balance, the metals seem to be taking a timeout after all the recent gyrations.• US CPI rises 7.9% in February, compared with February 20...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 45 points in pre-opening trade.The Canadian Dollar added 0.23 to US78.54 cents following release of Canada's February Employment Report at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was a drop in the February Unemployment Rate to 6.2% from 6.5% in January. Actual was a drop to 5.5%. Consensus was an increase in February employment was an...Read More
Russian sanctions unlikely to reduce rough supplies since Indian firms are seeking alternative payment methods and can legally sell resulting polished to America. Sanctions are on payment methods and not on diamonds. Surging commodity prices and inflation are rocking markets. Gold breaks $2,000/ounce. Polished prices stabilizing as consumers battle higher gas and food costs. Rough market cooling a...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's diamond trade is likely to see a slowdown in sales in the coming months as a result of the Russia crisis, according to a major credit agency in the country.The removal of several Russian banks from the Swift international payment system has made it difficult to complete transactions, potentially causing supply disruptions, Crisil - part of S&P Global - said in a statem...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's only industrial diamond mine sold over 8,000 carats in an e-auction, though it did not disclose prices or further details.There are over 1,000 licensed artisanal mines in the country, but only the state-run Majhgawan mine, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, is mechanized.Mining at Majhgawan (pictured) has been stopped several times over the last 50 years because o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Two men have been jailed for a $400,000 armed raid on a jewelry store on the outskirts of Chicago, USA. They stole watches by Frederique Constant, Patek Phillipe and Tudor, as well as high-value jewelry from Razny Jewelers (pictured) in Hinsdale, Ilinois, in March 2017.The defendants later "sold, attempted to sell, or disposed of some of the stolen items" in the Chicago area a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The company behind the first regulator-approved diamond commodity is now offering investors a higher-value diamond bar, in addition to the coins it launched last year.New York-based Diamond Standard says it has received regulatory approval for the 70mm by 35mm transparent bar containing "a set of certified natural diamonds with identical geological scarcity".They each have an initi...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 34 points at 7:30 AM EST. Index futures responded to failed negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to halt the conflict.Much of the early advance by the S&P 500 Index can be attributed to overnight news from Amazon. The company announced plans for a 20/1 stock split. The company also announced a $10 billion share...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers' recorded strong sales at its February sight as rough demand persisted and prices rose in select categories.Proceeds jumped 18% year on year to $650 million at its second sales cycle of 2022, compared with $550 million a year earlier, the miner reported Wednesday. Sales were slightly lower than the $660 million the company registered at the first cycle in January."The sec...Read More
RAPAPORT... The organizers of the September Hong Kong diamond and jewelry show have temporarily moved the event to Singapore to enable overseas visitors to attend.Jewellery & Gem World (JGW) will take place from September 27 to 30 at Singapore Expo, Informa Markets announced Wednesday. The change is a "one-off special arrangement applicable only in 2022," the company said.JGW, a major for...Read More
RAPAPORT... Current US sanctions on Russia's Alrosa will not reduce the supply of rough diamonds. India, where about 93% of the world's diamonds are manufactured, will enable money transfers without using dollars, euros or the SWIFT system. Americans will continue to legally buy polished diamonds from Indian or other cutters who have sourced the rough from Alrosa, as the diamonds themselves a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds' Liqhobong mine will remain dormant after months of debt negotiations fell at the final hurdle.The company had been in talks with its lenders over restructuring its $82.4 million outstanding debt, it said Tuesday. The Lesotho-based deposit has been on care and maintenance during that time. The company had hoped to complete the discussions and set a plan to reopen the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Helzberg Diamonds' lab-grown products saw strong growth last year as the lower prices let consumers buy larger stones, according to the company's CEO.The 2-carat lab-grown diamond has become "the new 1-carat mined diamond," Beryl Raff said in a panel discussion at the recent Dubai Diamond Conference."In 2021, we sold, in units, 50 times more 2-carat labs than we sold 2-carat mined...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers today reported provisional rough sales of $650m at its second sight of the year, amid continuing "robust" demand.It's a slight dip from $660m at Cycle 1, but a significant increase from $550m at last year's Cycle 2.Rough remains in short supply, and banking restrictions on Russia will inevitably impact the ability of its biggest rival, Alrosa, to make sales.De Be...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Surat is braced for a shortage of rough supplies and further price hikes following Russia's invasion of Ukraine."There is growing uncertainty in the diamond industry due to the war," Savjibhai Dholakia, chairman of Hari Krishna Exports - one of India's biggest diamond companies - told Hindustan Times."About 40% of our diamonds are supplied from Russia today and the paymen...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Botswana is aiming to further expand its diamond production as Russia faces global sanctions, says the country's president Mokgweetsi Masisi.He hopes Botswana, currently the world's second-largest producer by volume, will "play a more prominent role in the industry," according to a report by Bloomberg News on an interview her gave in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.Botswana p...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 77 points in pre-opening trade. Booking gained $66.47 to $1,966.00 after Oppenheimer upgraded the stock from Perform to Outperform.Campbell Soup slipped $0.10 to $42.20 after reporting less than consensus fiscal second quarter revenues. General Electric advanced $1.49 to $89.64 after the company announced a share buyba...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has extended its partnership with WomEng, a social enterprise that aims to expand female participation in the engineering and technology industry."We have an ambitious commitment to achieve gender parity across our global workforce by 2030, and key to achieving this will be fostering greater diversity within the talent pipeline," Katie Fergusson, De Beers' senior vice pre...Read More
RAPAPORT... The head of Alrosa's American operations has resigned as president and board member at Diamonds Do Good (DDG) amid the continued war between Russia and Ukraine.Rebecca Foerster, who is president of Alrosa USA, has agreed to stand down from her DDG roles immediately, the nonprofit organization said Monday. Anna Martin, DDG's previous president, will succeed her.Alrosa was one of ma...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has signed a deal with a new investor that will see it develop a provenance program for its diamonds and take them into the retail jewelry market.The miner raised AUD 12.5 million ($9.1 million) in financing from Sydney- and Singapore-based investment fund Tribeca Investment Partners, Lucapa said Tuesday. The companies aim to bring goods from Lucapa's newly acqui...Read More