RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished-diamond exports jumped 40% year on year to $716 million in March, reaching the highest level since September 2019. Rough trading also grew sharply, according to data the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) released last week."Continuing on the trend of the final months of 2020, the first quarter of 2021 demonstrates Antwerp's resilience and its agility to remain...Read More

RAPAPORT... Luk Fook's same-store sales rose 30% in the fourth fiscal quarter amid the recovery of the Chinese economy following Covid-19 closures.In mainland China, same-store sales - at self-operated branches open for at least a year - leaped 93% year on year for the three months ending March 31, the jeweler said last week. The surge was due to a favorable comparison with the same period in 2020...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe increased further on Monday April 19 after ArcelorMittal announced an increase in its offer prices last week, sources told Fastmarkets.The mood in the market is bullish, and buyers are expected to accept even higher prices soon.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?941.67 ($1,128.10) per tonne...Read More

RAPAPORT... The number of jewelry businesses operating in the US slipped slightly in the first quarter of 2021, a much smaller decrease than in previous periods, according to data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT).In total, the sector downsized 1.5% year on year to 24,095 companies, compared to a decline of 4.2% in the first quarter of 2020, the JBT reported last week. Of the businesses that...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A 2.17-carat fancy vivid purplish pink diamond fetched $3.5m at auction, well above its high estimate of $2.5m.It was the most expensive of a "Perfect Palette" of three colored diamonds that raised a total of $8.4m last week at Christie's New York April Magnificent Jewels.The pink diamond (pictured) was a cut-cornered square modified brilliant-cut stone, natural color, SI1 cla...Read More

RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook's sales surged in the fourth fiscal quarter amid the reopening of the greater China economy and a return of consumer demand.Retail sales soared 174% in mainland China in the three months ending March 31, while same-store sales - at branches open for at least year - jumped 141%, the jeweler reported last week. In Hong Kong and Macau, retail sales climbed 47%, while same-st...Read More

RAPAPORT... Production from Mountain Province's Gahcho Ku?(C) mine fell in the first quarter amid an unplanned shutdown of the deposit to limit the spread of Covid-19.Rough-diamond output at the Canadian mine fell 16% to 1.4 million carats for the three months ending March 31, as the site closed for 22 days after several employees tested positive for the coronavirus, Mountain Province said last we...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has prevailed in a trademark infringement suit against a lab that used a look-alike logo to ride off the GIA's success, the organization said. AIG Belgium, which operates as American International Gemological Laboratories and Antwerp International Gemological Laboratories, must immediately cease using "AIG" either alone or in conjunction with...Read More

(IDEX Online) - An Italian jeweler in lockdown sold a $360,000 diamond ring - via the messaging service WhatsApp.The buyer, a wealthy Swiss woman, agreed the sale after seeing the gem on video calls.The Genoa-based jeweler Gismondi 1754 sets great store by its history - 1754 is the year its founder, Giovan Battista Gismondi, was born.But chief executive Massimo Gismondi, a seventh-generation desce...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Manufacturers in Surat are struggling as diamond certificates are delayed by India's pandemic travel restrictions.They're being forced to wait for at least two months, rather than one in normal times, according to the Times of India.The delays are severely hampering cash flow, especially for smaller operations.Buyers increasingly insist on certificates because they'r...Read More

Chinese alumina refinery Kaiman (Sanmenxia) Aluminium has cut its production by half because of a shortage of bauxite supplies, market sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 19.Hangzhou Jinjiang Group owns the refinery in Sanmenxia city in Henan province, which has capacity for 2.1 million tonnes per year. It will reduce output for at least one month starting from Monday, but could extend the cu...Read More

Several major Chinese metal producers bought zinc and gold concentrates produced in North Korea in 2019, despite economic sanctions, a court ruling has revealed.Thirteen men were convicted of smuggling metal raw materials across the closed China-North Korea border, according to a ruling by the Jiangsu Yangcheng Intermediate Court on Wednesday March 31, resulting from the lawsuit (2021) Jiangsu 09...Read More

It seems that copper's biggest market has soured on the metal. Premiums paid over exchange prices for copper cathodes imported into China have fallen in recent weeks, dropping to a five-month low in a decline that shows no signs of slowing down.Fastmarkets' benchmark copper grade-A cathode ER premium, cif Shanghai was at $40-48 per tonne on Wednesday April 14, a five-month low.Falling premiums for...Read More

Korea Zinc has agreed annual supply contracts for lead concentrate from South32's Cannington mine in Australia with a 21.92% reduction in treatment charge (TC) terms from a year ago. The two companies agreed to a TC of $142.50 per tonne and refining charge (RC) of $1.50 per oz, down from $182.50 per tonne / $1.50 per oz, sources claiming direct knowledge said. The deal was locked as per contract w...Read More

Copper's London Metal Exchange three-month price continued on the upside with a rise to $9,415 per tonne on the morning of Monday April 19, while tin's price was also up 1.6% and nickel's futures undid its Friday gains. The copper price rose by 2.2% gain on Monday morning from $9,211 per tonne at 5pm on Friday, which itself was a 3.9% gain from last Monday's closing price of $8,861 per tonne. Ope...Read More

Nickel briquette has steadily become a more favored choice of feedstock for Chinese battery-grade nickel sulfate producers in recent months, resulting in a notable pick-up in spot trading activity for the former.But recent declines in the Chinese nickel sulfate price have raised questions among market participants about whether this trend will continue. Fastmarkets examines the major factors behin...Read More

Prices for cold-heading quality (CHQ) and high-carbon wire rod in the United States rose for the second consecutive month, while mills extended lead times due to higher demand. Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel wire rod (high carbon), fob mill US was $52.50 per hundredweight ($1,050 per short ton) on Friday April 16, up 5% from $50 per cwt in March, and up $4.75 per cwt (9.95%) f...Read More

Special bar quality (SBQ) steel prices for both hot-rolled and cold-finished products soared in the United States in April due to rising demand, mill base price increases and higher raw material costs. Fastmarkets' assessment for hot-rolled special bar quality 1-inch round 1000 series (carbon), fob mill US was at $57.50 per hundredweight ($1,150 per short ton) on Friday April 16, up by 12.75% from...Read More

Are mining companies being held back by their board composition? SPONSOREDswannEmmerson's premium offeringSPONSOREDemmerson plcAlto emerging on song at SandstoneSPONSOREDalto metalsReady for development copper-gold projectSPONSOREDjosemaria resources inc"The judgment of the environmental court unequivocally establishes that the information provided by the owner of the project is sufficient and...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationDevelopment of the access road will be funded equally by AIDEA and Ambler Metals, the joint venture operating company owned 50-50 by Trilogy and South32. The AIDEA board authorised up to $6.Read More