RAPAPORT... The holiday season got off to a positive start over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, with observers seeing record online sales.About 124 million people shopped in stores, while 142.2 million bought online during the Thanksgiving period from November 28 to December 2, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported. The average spend on holiday items across all platforms rose...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Signet Jewelers Limited today (Thursday) announced that same store sales at its North American locations increased 2.9 percent in Q3 2020. Average transaction value (ATV) increased 0.5% and the number of transactions increased 2.8 percent.Online sales grew 13 percent and brick and mortar same store sales grew 1.6 percent.Signet's top performing U.S. brand was James Allen, whic...Read More

Domestic long steel prices in Turkey continued to increase over the past week in line with the rising imported scrap values, sources said on Thursday December 5.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey, was 2,920-2,950 Turkish lira ($508-514) per tonne, including 18% VAT, on Thursday up from last week's 2,840-2,880 lira per tonne.Mills in the...Read More

RAPAPORT... Synthetic diamonds grown using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) could change color for an extended period following exposure to certain light forms, Gemological Science International (GSI) has warned. When testing a 2-carat CVD diamond,GSI exposed the stone to high-powered ultraviolet (UV) rays, during which it wentfrom near colorless to blue, the organization said Tuesday. This bl...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Laboratory grown diamonds grown using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process could be prone to extreme color instability warns Gemological Science International (GSI).During standard testing by GSI, a 2-carat CVD diamond was exposed to high-powered UV rays and went from near colorless to blue color. It was then returned to the vault. When it was taken out a week-and-a-half lat...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will close its Dubai office by the end of the year, ending a decade-long presence in the city. The organization has offered education programs, including its Graduate Diamonds course and distance-education lab classes, in Dubai since 2008, and opened a take-in facility to ship stones for grading in 2010. Both services will close by Decemb...Read More

(IDEX Online) - After battling power interruptions, Firestone Diamonds plc has announced that stable grid power restored at its Liqhobong mine, allowing it to operate at full capacity again.Production at Liqhobong was affected by a two-month planned shutdown of the Lesotho Electricity Company's Muela Hydropower Station. To minimize disruption at the mine, Firestone commissioned diesel ge...Read More

RAPAPORT... Luk Fook's sales fell 20% in the first fiscal half amiduncertainty in the Hong Kong market and the rising price of gold. Total sales dropped to HKD 6.31 billion ($805.5 million) inthe six months ending September 30. Profit for the period slipped 26% to HKD497.3 million ($63.5 million). Same-store sales - at Luk Fook outlets open for more than ayear - in Hong Kong and Macau slid 2...Read More

Turkish steel producers skipped the day with no deep-sea bookings, while prices remained unchanged on tight supply, sources said on Thursday December 5.There were rumors of a UK or European cargo being sold at $282 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), but market participants said the deal had not been closed."Suppliers have already...Read More

The seaborne iron ore prices have stayed rangebound on Thursday December 5, while demand for iron ore lump has started to improve.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.65 per tonne, down $0.41 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.74 per tonne, down $0.41 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.25 per tonne, down $0.38 per tonne.58%...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices remained stable on Thursday December 5, with transaction prices seeing only mild movements in recent days.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $136.79 per tonne, down $0.01 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $147.22 per tonne, up $0.13 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $120.70 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr J...Read More

Galena provides a leading lightSPONSOREDgalena miningOZ's market rating hangs on a smooth start-up and commissioning of the project.Read More

Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market gained during the week to Thursday December 5 amid concerns over a potential supply deficit after a Russian steelmaker halted production. Sources told Fastmarkets that the Russian mill was facing difficulty in obtaining financing for raw materials due to a government probe into the company. A total of 100,000 tonnes of February-shipment billet from th...Read More

Cardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesBAML forecasted nickel prices would hit $17,375/t next year and $20,000/t by 2021, on the back of demand for EVs and Indonesia's ore export ban. On 3 December, the price was $13,595/t.Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices remained robust on Thursday December 4, partly because securities companies were buying spot goods to fulfil orders they had signed several weeks ago.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,770-3,800 yuan ($535-540) per tonne, widening upward by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,640 yuan per tonne, unchangedSpot prices in Shanghai narrowed upward, w...Read More

Renewed optimism that a phase one trade deal between China and the United States could soon be reached gave a boost to most of the base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange during the morning session on Thursday December 5. This morning's broadly positive performance follows reports on Wednesday that a partial US-China trade deal may be nearing. This despite comments from US President Do...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for Weekly Initial Jobless Claims was an increase to 221,000 from 213,000 last week. Actual was 203,000. Consensus for the October U.S. Trade Deficit was $51.5 billion versus $52.5 billion...Read More

Glencore has cut its production guidance for cobalt in 2020 to 25,000-33,000 tonnes, down by about a third from 2019's 41,000-45,000 tonnes, the Swiss miner-trader said this week.In an investor presentation on Tuesday December 3, the company said that for 2021 and 2022 it expects to produce 28,000-36,000 tonnes of cobalt. It said the decline in production was mainly a...Read More

Has the United States dollar conquered "Triffin's dilemma"?That is… is the dollar safely and securely perched atop the global monetary system?Today we turn away from the bright, sunlit world of appearance... and seek our answer in the "shadows."For "the eye is always caught by light," as author Gregory Maguire styles it - "but shadows have more to say."To these shadows we shall listen.Belgia...Read More

Dear Rich Lifer,When it comes to saving money, a category many people cut out right away is dining out. This makes sense – restaurant meals can be pricey, and when you add on tax and tips, they can break the budget quickly.Luckily, if you use a little forethought, there are lots of ways you can save money and still indulge in a meal out now and then.Here are a few of our favorites:BYOBAn eas...Read More