By: Keith Weiner, Monetary MetalsWe have deviated, these past several weeks, from matters monetary. We have written a lot about a nonmonetary driver of higher prices mandatory useless ingredients. The government forces businesses to put ingredients into their products that consumers don't know about, and don't want. These useless ingredients, such as ADA-compliant bathrooms and supply chain trac...Read More

Before we get to looking at those three charts, let's talk about the trade war. On Friday the Trump administration made good on its threat to raise tariffs on as much as $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent from the previous 10 percent. The president also said that a decision could be made soon on whether to impose the same 25 percent rate on an additional $325 billion of Chinese...Read More

Was it President Trump's intention all along that trade talks with China fail? That's the contention of 'Farmer,' a long-time subscriber who lives in Nairobi. He posted earlier today as follows in the Coffee House, a chat room that runs alongside the Rick's Picks Trading Room:"Just for perspective, the average dollar volume of imports being bought from Russia is only $18 billion during the pas...Read More

By: Dave KranzlerThe price of gold soared over $13 Monday as flight-to-safety money flowed into the precious metals sector while the stock market went into a downward spiral. I see Monday's market action as a preview of what's in store going forward as price discovery once again engulfs the stock market and causes the most extreme stock bubble in U.S. history to deflate.Despite the fact that it...Read More

By: Ira EpsteinGold's move yesterday really kicked it up into a new trend? Gold's strange chart:Read More

Why Does Steve Eisman Plan to Short the North?"We're going to make the big banks hurt," Mark Baum, The Big ShortIf you've seen the movie, The Big Short, you know the sort of shenanigans that helped lead to the big financial crisis of 2008. Millions lost their homes, their jobs, their savings in the giant tornado of financial devastation spurred on by the Wall Street scions who hugely profited of...Read More

RAPAPORT... Polished-diamond imports to Hong Kong declined 3% in thefirst quarter, according to data from the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong,China. The average price of imports rose 3%, but was outweighed by lowervolumes.Hong Kong Diamond Trade Data for 1Q 2019 $ Millions unless stated otherwiseRead More

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds sold a 425-carat white diamond from itsCullinan mine in South Africa for just under $15 million, it said Tuesday. "This is a significant sale for Petra Diamonds and anendorsement of the quality not only of the Legacy diamond, but also theCullinan ore body itself, which is known for its exceptional stones," saidPetra CEO Richard Duffy. The D-color, type II, gem-quality s...Read More

RAPAPORT... The rise of lab-grown diamonds might finally be tricklingthrough to the historic heart of the trade: the diamond exchanges.It began last November, when Anoop Mehta, president ofMumbai's Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), told Rapaport News some of itsmembers had asked for a rethink of its total ban on synthetics in the complex.The BDB delayed taking action due to "issues" in the market...Read More

RAPAPORT... Stornoway Diamond Corporation fell deeper into the red inthe first quarter, as rough prices softened, it saidMonday. The miner recorded a net loss of CAD 48.4 million ($36million) for the three months ending March 31, in comparison to a loss of CAD11 million ($8.2 million) during the same period last year. "A continued downward pressure on the market price for roughdiamonds has inhibi...Read More

The leading daily The Namibian reported that Namibia's Central Procurement Board (CPB) has awarded a N$300 million [US$21 million] contract to Gem Diamonds Namibia to valuate Namdeb's diamonds over the next five years. While it is the country's Ministry of Mining's task to hire an independent diamond valuator to ensure that diamonds sold by Namdeb, which is jointly owned by the...Read More

Pearls, coral and innovative new materials and approaches to metals will be the top global jewelry design trends on show at the 64th edition of the Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair, which runs from September 10-14, 2019. Since the Sotheby's sale of a pearl and diamond pendant - once owned by France's Queen Marie-Antoinette - for a world record price paid - $36 million! - for a pearl in...Read More

London-listed Petra Diamonds has sold the 424.89 ct Legacy of the Cullinan Diamond Mine diamond to Stargems Group/Choron for just under $15-million.The exceptional D-colour Type IIa diamond was mined from the Cullinan C-Cut and adds to the most famous diamonds to have originated from the historic mine.Advertisement"This is a significant sale for Petra and an endorsement of the quality not onl...Read More

A surge in investment buying and higher automotive consumption will underpin a nine percent gain in gross platinum demand in 2019, offsetting weakness in the Chinese platinum jewelry market, where platinum faces increased competition from [high-]karat gold jewelry, the latest Johnson Matthey PGM Market Report says.Automotive demand for platinum will rise by three percent this year, due to greater...Read More

Alrosa's sales of rough and polished diamonds reached $318.7 million in April. Rough diamond sales amounted to $315.8 million, while those for polished diamonds stood at $2.9 million. In the months January-April 2019, total sales came to $1,322.9 million (rough - $1,303 million; polished - $19.2 million). Evgeny Agureev, Director of Alrosa's United Sales Organization, went out of his way...Read More

Canadian miner Stornoway Diamond Corporation has initiated a series of actions to preserve its liquidity, including targeted cost reductions of C$18-million to C$20-million this year.The miner, which operates the Renard mine in Quebec, said on Monday that the continued downward pressure on the rough diamond market was inhibiting its ability to generate positive free cash flow.AdvertisementIn addit...Read More

Altech ticks boxes on path to production SPONSOREDaltech chemicalsSierra said EBITDA of US$12 million in Q1 2019 compared with $27.4 million in 2018, and operating cash flow shrunk from $27.4 million in the first three months of 2018 to $11.8 million. Revenue from copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver output was down from $61.7 million to $49.2 million year-on-year as lower metal prices compounded p...Read More

Altech ticks boxes on path to production SPONSOREDaltech chemicalsOZ recently reached a 70% stake in the Eloise joint venture ground by spending A$10 million and has now agreed to loan-carry minority partner Minotaur to commercial production for an additional 10% ofRead More

Lack...ACCESS RESTRICTEDTo read the rest of this analysis please take a free sample or subscribeFREE SampleReceive a free sample of  market analysis and price forecasts.Free SampleSUBSCRIBEReceive unlimited access to all current and archive content going back to 2008 including downloadable pricing data and forecasts.Plus download the latest issue as soon as it’s published.Subsc...Read More

Global markets strained by the US-China...ACCESS RESTRICTEDTo read the rest of this analysis please take a free sample or subscribeFREE SampleReceive a free sample of  market analysis and price forecasts.Free SampleSUBSCRIBEReceive unlimited access to all current and archive content going back to 2008 including downloadable pricing data and forecasts.Plus download the latest issue a...Read More