RAPAPORT... Polished-diamond imports into Hong slumped in the second quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic damaged local demand. Shipments into the municipality fell 45% year on year to $2.24 billion, the weakest for any quarter since 2009 - outstripping the first quarter's low of $2.33 billion.Diamond imports into Hong Kong reflect the local retail market, as well as that of China, for which the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Revenue from the retail division of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway fell 16% to $3.37 billion in the second quarter, the company reported Saturday.The division, which includes jewelry chains Borsheims, Helzberg Diamonds and Ben Bridge Jeweler, was hit by shutdowns affecting many of the company's retail outlets. Pretax earnings for the entire retail unit dropped 39% to $148 million....Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies ended the first half of 2020 in the black as deep cost cuts offset the effects of Covid-19.The supplier of diamond-polishing equipment made a profit of $1.2 million for the period, compared with a loss of $2.8 million a year earlier, it reported Thursday. The company brought its expenses down by around 20% year on year in response to the unprecedented situation...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province reported a loss in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic closed markets and hit demand.The miner posted a net loss of CAD 26.8 million ($21.8 million) for the three months ending June 30, compared with a profit of CAD 10.3 million ($7.7 million) during the same period last year, the company said Wednesday. "Our [second-quarter] financial and operational figur...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Sewel?? ? diamond, the second largest rough gem ever found, is in Singapore on a "worldwide tour" before owners Louis Vuitton decide what to do with it. The 1,758-carat stone, the size of a tennis ball, was discovered in the Karowe mine in Botswana in April 2019, and is the biggest diamond since the 3,106-carat Cullinan was discovered in South Africa in 1905. The French luxury...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An extremely rare gold Rolex Daytona sold for $1.5m, a record high price for a watch in any online auction.It fetched almost twice the high estimate of $800,000 in a week-long auction by Sotheby's, in London. It also set a record for highest price ever paid for a wristwatch in the UK.Only 10 examples of the Daytona JPS (John Player Special) Ref. 6264 in 18k yellow gold a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The diamond market could take "the best part of two years" to recover, Goldman Sachs analyst Jack O'Brien has warned.India's manufacturing midstream, responsible fort the vast majority of the world's diamonds, has collapsed because of a lack of credit, resulting in significant stockpiles, he said.And Russian miner Alrosa expects to have amassed a year's worth of...Read More
PRIVATE BLOG - 2022 & the FuturePrivate blog posts are exclusively available to Socrates subscribers. To sign-up for Socrates or to learn more, please visit Ask-Socrates.com.https://ask-socrates.com/Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies ended the first half of 2020 in the black as deep cost cuts offset the effects of Covid-19.The supplier of diamond-polishing equipment made a profit of $1.2 million for the period, compared with a loss of $2.8 million a year earlier, it reported Thursday. The company brought its expenses down by around 20% year on year in response to the unprecedented situation...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province reported a loss in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic closed markets and hit demand.The miner posted a net loss of CAD 26.8 million ($21.8 million) for the three months ending June 30, compared with a profit of CAD 10.3 million ($7.7 million) during the same period last year, the company said Wednesday. "Our [second-quarter] financial and operational figur...Read More
Michael Cuggino of the Permanent Portfolio makes the case that gold is still relatively cheap, despite its 35% increase this year.Read full newsRead More
KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Borneo Oil Bhd have rallied to a two-year high in early trade today after announcing a gold deposits discovery in one of its mining plots.Read full newsRead More
The Midwest aluminium premium soared by 5 cents on Friday August 7, logging its largest increase since Fastmarkets began assessing this premium in January 2003, with traders boosting offers on replacement cost considerations after the US reintroduced Section 232 tariffs on Canadian aluminium.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US at 16-17 cents per lb on August 7, up by...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was the laggard at the close of trading on Friday August 7, with news of planned restarts at several of Chilean producer Codelco's operating facilities suppressing buying momentum.Meanwhile, lead futures declined by more than 2% but stayed above nearby support levels into the close.Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $6,308 per ton...Read More
The return of Section 232 tariffs on imports of Canadian aluminium has made European market participants nervous of excess stock arriving from Canada, which could pressure premiums, Fastmarkets heard on Friday August 7.United States President Donald Trump announced on Thursday August 6 that the US will reintroduce Section 232 tariffs on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminium from Canada - set...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday August 7.China Seaborne 37% manganese ore prices rose again after some miners increased their offers on a steady appetite among buyers looking to average their purchasing costs at relatively lower levels. The seaborne 44% price moved up as well, partly buoyed by the rising portside prices. Portside...Read More
Higher spot transaction volumes for copper concentrates were reported with Chinese smelters starting to procure for fourth quarter production and pressuring processing charges to a new low this week. Higher transaction volumes were reported in the spot market for copper concentrates with Chinese smelters starting to procure for fourth quarter production, pressuring processing charges to a ne...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States during the week ending Friday August 7. China There was a stand-off in the UG2 chrome ore market, with some suppliers pushing up their offers and also lower bids reported. The imported charge chrome market had already priced...Read More
Adam HamiltonArchivesAug 07, 2020 The US stock-market action last quarter was dumbfounding. Big US stocks rocketed higher despite this global pandemic ravaging the US economy, which collapsed by a third in annualized terms! That makes understanding their fundamentals more important than ever. The winding-down Q2'20 earnings season reveals whether those massive stock-price gains were actually justi...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More