The number of new passenger car sales in the EU increased by 4.33% year-on-year in February 2018, making it the second month of consecutive growth.New car sales in Europe totaled 1,125,397 units in February, compared with 1,078,721 vehicles sold in the corresponding month of 2017, the...Read More

Polished trading slower than expected afterHong Kong show. Shortages supporting prices as manufacturers ramp up polishedproduction. Good demand for dossiers. Lower colors hot in carat sizes. Chinaoutlook positive, but Jan.-Feb. retail sales +9.7%, slightly belowexpectations. Signet Jewelers investing in online and off-mall to restoregrowth, as shares tumble -20% after FY2018 sales -2% to $6.3B, pr...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) brought a delegation of its members to do business with the Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) members on the DDC's brand new trading floor at 50 West 47th Street this week.   "We are honored to welcome our colleagues from Shanghai to the DDC trading floor," said DDC president Reuven Kaufman. "This marks the beginning of a new era and we are proud t...Read More

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The so-called 'South Africa discount' that has dogged and diminished the share prices of mining companies operating in South Africa for decades, has been declared "unwarranted" by Goldman Sachs Europe Metals & Mining Equity Research analysts, against the backdrop of the winds of political change bringing with them lower operational risk...Read More

At the end of February Morgan Stanley sent shares of lithium producers and explorers tumbling after the investment bank forecast a huge surplus in the market for the battery raw material in 2022, resulting in forecast prices nearly halving from today's levels.The negative assessment raised eyebrows in the industry with executives criticizing Morgan Stanley for vastly underestimating the rise in de...Read More

Global crude stainless steel production totaled 48.08 million tonnes in 2017, according to figures released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) on Thursday March 15.This was up 5.79% from the revised figure of 45.45 million tonnes produced in 2016.Production in China was 25.77 million tonnes in 2017, up 4.74% from 24.61 million tonnes in 2016.Output in Asia -...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Following the alleged $2 billion fraud by jeweler Nirav Modi and Gitanjali owner Mehul Choksi at the Punjab National Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has moved to ban the use of letters of undertaking (LoUs) and letters of comfort (LoCs).   They are two of the instruments issued by Indian banks to domestic importers to get foreign exchange from banks abroad at a cheaper...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) will hold an in-depth discussion on "The Evolution and Impact of Taxation on Gold" and "Challenges in the Jewellery Sector" on the first day of the 7th edition of the Dubai Precious Metals Conference.   In India, the government imposed a 5% customs duty on gold jewelry last year. And in the UAE, a 5% VAT rate has been imposed on gold...Read More

RAPAPORT... Polished-diamond imports to the US grew 3% to $1.81billion in January, according to government data. By volume, polished imports slid 4% to 805,320 carats, whilethe average price of imports jumped 7% to $2,252 per carat. US polished exports, meanwhile, jumped 22% to $1.52 billion,causing net polished imports - the excess of imports over exports -to slide 44% to $289 million. Rough ex...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelers of America (JA) has announced the winners of its 28thannual CASE Awards for jewelry design, recognizing retail members whose piecesfeature creativity, artistry, style and excellence.This year, the jewelry group debuted a special People'sChoice category, which was determined by the public voting for its favoritejewelry piece of those pictured on the JA's website. The winner was...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds Limited reported revenue of $214.3 million (US$189.8 million in 2016).   Profit for the year (pre-exceptional items) was $20.8 million (US$32.4 million in 2016).   After the exceptional items of $3.6 million, attributable profit was $5.5 million and earnings per share was 4.0 US cents.   Clifford Elphick, Chief Executive of Gem Diamonds, said: "The seco...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close on Thursday March 15, apart from zinc and lead.A stronger dollar and a hesitant market saw copper and nickel both fall significantly, with the three-month copper price closing $68.50 per tonne lower. The red metal is finding it hard to push back and stabilize above $7,000 per tonne and has undone all of Wednesday's gain...Read More

RAPAPORT...Baselworld exhibitors should be vigilant of thieves who lurkoutside the show or scour social media for information that can help them stealgoods, a security group has warned.Every year, there are reports of traders leaving theexhibition area with merchandise and subsequently being robbed, according toItay Hendel, CEO of Israel-based ISPS, which specializes in theft prevention for the je...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Signet Jewelers Limited reported that same store sales declined 5.2% in the fourth quarter and declined 5.3% in full year fiscal 2018.   It expects to close more than 200 stores following an evaluation of its real estate footprint, utilization, and cost structure, aiming to "reposition its portfolio to drive greater store productivity".   "Signet anticipates, pending th...Read More

Turkish import and export billet prices have increased, amid strong local demand and tightening supplies in the CIS region, sources said on Thursday March 15.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was $560-570 per tonne cfr, up from $545-550 per tonne.There were several billet sales from the...Read More

RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co.'s manufacturing unit, Laurelton Diamonds,plans to shut its polishing center in Antwerp, shifting the operations to its otherworkshops in Botswana, Cambodia, Mauritius and Vietnam. Laurelton will continue to carry out rough sourcing,sorting, marking and sawing at its Antwerp headquarters, but will move thepolishing work to its other locations, or to external suppliers,...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds Limited has recovered a 169 carat, top white color Type IIa diamond from the Let??eng mine in Lesotho (pictured above, the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.   It is the seventh diamond of over 100 carats recovered so far this year.     Last week, the firm announced the recovery of a 152-carat stone from the same mine. Read More

RAPAPORT... Pandora has hired Karl Walsh as its senior vice president ofglobal e-commerce in an effort to improve online sales and customer experience. Walsh (pictured), who has previously worked atAccenture and McKinsey, will be responsible for leading the newly formede-commerce department, part of a strategy to boost the brand's omni-channelpresence. He will report to CEO Anders Colding-Friis. "...Read More

Major international mining companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have resigned from the country's Chamber of Commerce ahead of a month of talks with the government to resolve their dispute over the new mining code. A legal and technical team representing Randgold Resources, AngloGold Ashanti, Glencore PLC, Ivanhoe Mines, Gold Mountain International/Zijin Mining Group, MMG (...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 15 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals slid across the board today as zinc led losses with a drop of more than 1%. Nickel fell 0.8%, tin dipped 0.7% and copper edged down.The ferrous complex saw some gains today as coking coal rose 1.6%. Rebar, hot-rolled coil, and iron ore gained over 1%, and coke inched up.Copper: The SHFE 1805 contract slumped after it reached a high of 52,400 yuan/mt...Read More