In the currentenvironment of rising inflation and easy monetary policies, the value of goldcould potentially go sharply higher from recent levels.Unlike many traders outthere, the successful gold investor has learned to “see the forest through thetrees.”Put simply, goldinvestors understand that the shiny yellow metal is not likely to go straightup in price. It can, however, be expected...Read More

Gold is okay, but not yet uniqueThere are times when gold is an okay inflation hedge, while under-performing the likes of industrial metals, oil/energy, materials, etc. During those times, if you’re doggedly precious metals focused you should consider silver, which, as a hybrid precious metal/industrial commodity, has more pro-cyclical inflation utility than gold.But as I have argued for muc...Read More

The worldwide shift toward cleaner, greenerenergy sources once again appears to be picking up speed.While the world’s focus on climate changeunderstandably took a backseat to the Covid-19 pandemic for most of the past 18months, that focus on climate change has started to return in a powerful way. In fact, our transition into a post-pandemicenvironment is triggering a number of significantopp...Read More

Tin was the best performer on the London Metal Exchange during trading on Monday June 28, while the rest of the complex was mixed at the start of the new week with particularly low volumes for copper's three-month contract. Tin's three-month price increased by 1.2% to $31,152 per tonne on Monday at the close from Friday's $30,774 per tonne price. The metal rose to as much as $31,220 per tonne dur...Read More

With the current situation suggestiveof a Monty Hall problem, investors are clinging to the first, bullish door. Butwhat if a different option is more likely?The Monty Hall problem is a form of aprobability puzzle, and what it shows is immensely unintuitive. Suppose you areon a game show, and you need to choose one of three doors. Behind one of themis a car and behind the others, goats. You pick a...Read More

Inflation broke into the economy violently. It’s a destructive, dark force. But gold can resist it, being after all a much stronger asset than Anakin Skywalker.Last month, I wrote that “inflation is knock, knock, knockin’ on golden door”. I was wrong. Inflation didn’t knock, it broke down the door! Indeed, as the chart below shows, the core CPI surged 3%, while the ov...Read More

S&P 500 wasted another good opportunity to rise – onewhere the credit markets were largely aligned. Is it a sign of upcoming tremorsthat the 500-strong index couldn‘t defend the daily gains? Commodities weren‘tunder pressure, the dollar wasn‘t surging (looking at the closing prices),precious metals did well, and even lumber enjoyed a white candle again. Inflation expect...Read More

A Russian export tax on aluminium and other base metals levied to curb inflationary risk in the country has stirred expectations of further increases in an already bullish physical market.The Russian government approved temporary export duties Friday on 340 steel and non-ferrous metals sold outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which are set to take effect from August 1 through December 31....Read More

The U.S. Department of Energy is now backing continued research of an incredible fuel that has up to three times the energycontent of gasoline.More importantly, it could be the only fuelon earth that produces zero emissions when burned.Until recently, this remarkable fuel wasconsidered too dangerous and expensive to be used commercially…But a new technological breakthroughappears to have ma...Read More

Investment involves taking a risk. It involves putting yourmoney on something with the hope that it will increase in value. Therefore, itwill be difficult for you to participate in the investment if you are not arisk-taker. Anything can happen at any time, and you might end up incurringlosses or profits. For someone who only had hopes of making a profit, thelosses may discourage him/her. Inve...Read More

Peter Krauth of the Gold Resource Investor discusses rising inflation and the role of hard assets. Sure Mr. Biden, money is cheap. But whose money is it?The White House recently sent a $6 trillion budget plan to Congress. Let that sink in for a moment.Biden's first wide-ranging budget calls for big spending on infrastructure, education and, of course, climate change. His plan lays out $6 trillion...Read More

RAPAPORT... An auction of special rough by Angola's state-owned diamond trader garnered $56.6 million, led by the sale of seven diamonds from Lucapa's Lulo mine.The National Diamond Trading Company, known as Sodiam, also offered rough from Alrosa's Catoca and Luele mines at its third tender in Luanda, which ran from June 9 to 23, it said last week. In addition, the sale included special stones fro...Read More

RAPAPORT... The diamond-financing landscape has changed dramatically since 2012 when Eric Jens entered the industry as head of ABN Amro's jewelry and gems unit. Those developments have paralleled a shift in mindset among diamantaires, who are now more focused on profit than revenue, where the emphasis used to lie. In episode 45 of the Rapaport Diamond Podcast, Rapaport's Avi Krawitz discusses...Read More

Flat steel market in Russia's Central Federal District in Moscow was broadly flat in the week to Monday June 28 with most producers preferred to roll over their price into July amid softer trading activity while buyers assessed the impact of recently introduced export duties on the domestic market. Russia on June 25 approved export duties on 340 metal products, including hot-rolled steel, effectiv...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa lifted prices at its latest monthly contract sale as the rough market continued to see strong demand and limited supply."The increase was mainly in 4-grainers and above, and also more in the medium- to better-quality goods," an Alrosa customer told Rapaport News Monday. "There...the increase was [around] 4% to 5%. But [for] minus-4-grainers, [there was] almost no increase,...Read More

RAPAPORT... A pair of diamond earrings by Harry Winston was the top-selling item at a Phillips auction in New York, bringing in $390,600.Created in 1957, the earrings contain two pear-shaped diamonds weighing 5.27 and 5.76 carats, as well as two marquise-cut diamonds. The price fell just shy of its $400,000 upper estimate at the June 25 auction, which fetched a total of $3.8 million, Phillips said...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales slid at Hong Kong-based Luk Fook in the past fiscal year as the Covid-19 pandemic devastated the tourism industry in the jewelry retailer's home territory.Group revenue dropped 21% to HKD 8.86 billion ($1.14 billion) for the 12 months that ended March 31, the company reported Thursday. Sales in Hong Kong tumbled 46% to HKD 2.41 billion ($310.4 million), outweighing an improv...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) has signed actress Ana de Armas to be its global ambassador for the second consecutive year as it prepares for the September launch of its next advertising campaign. In the NDC ads, De Armas - who stars in the upcoming bond film No Time to Die and plays Marilyn Monroe in Netflix's soon-to-be-released biopic Blonde - will spotlight an 11-piece collectio...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Angola's national diamond company raised over $56.6m in its third and largest rough auction.Fifty companies from the world's main diamond markets bid online for special stones from the Uari, Lulo and Catoca mines, as well as run-of-mine goods from the Luele kimberlite production in the Luaxe region.  Sodiam, the Luanda-based company that has been marketing Angol...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Diamond manufacturers in India are struggling to meet demand, with many workers yet to return from their rural villages after new lockdowns, and Covid curfews again being extended. The general manager of one unit said he was struggling to meet 60 per cent of demand.  Zalak Savani, from Ahmedabad, told the ANI news agency: "Many diamond polishers in Ahmedabad say demand for pol...Read More