A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday June 23.Read More

Hong Kong's Noble Group notched a $206 million loss in the first quarter of 2020, with the company citing the breaking of supply chains due to the Covid-19 outbreak as the key reason for the slump, the trading group announced on Tuesday June 23."Q1 was dominated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had far-reaching implications for every business and sector, including ours," Noble cha...Read More

Sales of passenger cars in the EU will fall by 25% year on year in the full 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Tuesday June 23.The major economic crisis facing the auto industry will see car sales in the European Union tumble by more than 3 million units, with only 9.6 million units expected to be sold this year, compar...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday June 23 that are worth another look.A recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections in Beijing led to some jitters in China's steel sector in the initial stages of the outbreak, but market participants do not expect this second wave to leave much of an impact on the industry.The aluminium duty-paid market in Europe is set to come under...Read More

The aluminium duty-paid market in Europe is set to come under increasing pressure due to fears of excess stock arriving from Canada and a weak Japanese market. On Monday, Bloomberg reported that the United States is considering re-imposing tariffs on aluminium imports from Canada, according to people familiar with the matter. An announcement could be made by the end of the week. Sources told...Read More

A recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections in Beijing led to some jitters in China's steel sector in the initial stages of the outbreak, but market participants do not expect this second wave to leave much of an impact on the industry.The Chinese capital has registered more than 230 new Covid-19 cases since June 11 after a spate of infections traced to the Xinfadi wholesale food center in the sout...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month zinc price declined during morning trading on Tuesday June 23 on poor United States home sales figures and US-China trade concerns, while continued stock drawdowns in copper pushed the metal's price higher. LME zinc's outright price was recently at $2,051 per tonne, falling from a morning high of $2,088 per tonne, while turnover was at more than 4,000 lots as...Read More

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Stitcher | RSSInvestors are about to overwhelm the silver market, and they'll learn there's not really all that much silver in the world. Why, and what happens next? Steve St. Angelo of SRSrocco Report interviewed by Half Dollar of Silver DoctorsInvestment in physical silver is about to overwhelm the markets, and i...Read More

They're trying to keep silver's price in check as demand for physical is intensifying...by Harvey Organ of Harvey Organ BlogJUNE 22//GOLD UP $14.00 TO $1741.00//SILVER UP 15 CENTS TO $17.79/COMEX GOLD TONNAGE STANDING; 164 TONNES/HUGE PAPER DEPOSIT OF GOLD INTO GLD OF 23.09 TONNES///JEFF BERMAN REMOVED AS ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NY// TOM LUONGO ON THE GERMAN AFFAIR: A MUST READ//CORONAVIRUS REPORTS FR...Read More

Markets underwent a knee-jerk downward reaction earlier this morning, Tuesday June 23, when it looked like the phase one trade deal between the United States and China was over, but markets snapped back once US President Donald Trump announced the deal was "fully intact". The fact that a White House official said it was "over" only to retract that later suggests there have at least been discussion...Read More

RAPAPORT... Adolescence is hard enough without having to deal with Covid-19 on top of everything. This year, teenagers are missing out on coming-of-age moments like proms, graduations and sports seasons. Slightly older ones are missing career opportunities, from dream internships to first jobs.Quarantined young consumers are looking for new ways to celebrate life milestones and hang out with frien...Read More

The LME three-month copper price maintained slim gains made during the day, closing up 0.4% on Tuesday June 23, with high turnover buoyed by US financial stimulus optimism, while stock outflows added further price support. The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price held above the $5,900 per tonne psychological level to close at $5,905 per tonne this afternoon, up from $5,880.50 per tonne o...Read More

RAPAPORT... US polished-diamond imports dropped heavily in April to their lowest level since Rapaport records began, as the coronavirus shut global markets. Rough trading was close to zero during the month, according to data from the Commerce Department. US Trade Data for April 2020Read More

RAPAPORT... Tse Sui Luen (TSL) has reported a loss for the full fiscal year, as it faced challenges from the US-China trade dispute, protests and the coronavirus pandemic.The net loss totaled HKD 89.8 million ($11.6 million) for the 12 months ending March 31, compared with a profit of HKD 54.2 million ($7 million) the previous year, the Hong Kong-based jewelry retailer said Tuesday. Revenue slid 2...Read More

RAPAPORT... India's diamond shipments plummeted in May, according to data from the country's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), continuing the decline resulting from the coronavirus crisis.Rough imports and polished exports were essentially zero in April, Rapaport calculations showed, as cargo routes stopped and global demand nosedived. Trading picked up in May as the India...Read More

RAPAPORT... Angola is halfway through the construction of a $77 million diamond hub that it hopes will create revenue sources beyond the sale of rough diamonds.The hub is located in Angola's diamond province of Lunda Sul. It will contain a main diamond-cutting facility, a diamond evaluation and training center, and smaller manufacturing plants, Sodiam, Angola's state-owned diamond company, said la...Read More

Turkish steel mills extended their silence in the deep-sea scrap markets, but are now pushing forlower prices, sources said on Tuesday June 23.Turkey's steelmakers have mostly stayed away from the deep-sea market since booking two US cargoes at the beginning of the last week.On Monday June 15, a steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo at $265 per tonne cfr for HMS...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The British jewelry retailer Beaverbrooks reported a 30 per cent surge in sales on the first day of post-lockdown trade.Customers flocked to the family firm's 59 newly-opened high street stores in a retail frenzy after three months of restrictions were lifted on 15 June.The average spend on watches and jewelry items was up by almost a quarter (23 per cent) year-on-year.And tot...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Zimbabwe's ambitious plans to treble diamond production to 11m carats a year are under threat from COVID-19, says a human rights watchdog.The country has pinned its hope on exploiting rich reserves to revive an economy crippled by triple-digit inflation and high unemployment. But it has amassed a glut of unsellable diamonds, according to the Harare-based NGO Centre for Na...Read More

(IDEX Online) - British miner BlueRock Diamonds says revenue almost trebled in 2019 at its Kareevlei mine, in the Kimberley region of South Africa.It was up 190 per cent from $1.75m in 2018 to $5.1m in the year ended 31 December 2019, according to final results issued yesterday.BlueRock sold 12,675 carats during 2019, up 124 per cent from 5,657 carats in 2018 and the average price per carat r...Read More