During the coronavirus crisis many people couldn’t find physical gold, as there was a bullion shortage at dealerships. And these lucky individuals who managed to obtain bullion had to pay high premiums. We invite you to read our today’s article about the high premiums in physical gold market during the pandemic and find out whether they were indicated scam or supply crisis.Gold is expe...Read More

IMF predicts deeper global recession and slower recovery, just as Iexpected. Good news for gold. The June edition of the IMF’s WorldEconomic Outlook Report Update is out! The main message is that theIMF predicts now even a deeper recession than two months ago.As a reminder, in April edition of the WorldEconomic Outlook Report, theIMF projected that the global economy would contract sharply b...Read More

Silver is still near all-time lows in manyways. One of the most significant measures wherein silver is at an all-timelow, is its price relative to the amount of US dollars (US monetary base) inexistence.Below, is a long-term chart of the silverprice relative to the US monetary base: As you can see it is at all-time lows(0.004), but actually even lower, since this chart was done before the massivea...Read More

Key information from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Monday July 13. The index was calculated at $277.26 per tonne, up from $275.49 per tonne on Friday July 10 and at its highest since March 19. Key drivers:  Multiple deals concluded after publication on Friday July 10 for September loading. The highest deal was concluded at $284 per tonne fob Western Aust...Read More

Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices edged downward on Monday July 13 on the influence of recent deals, but there was no activity in the market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $112.49 per tonne, down by $0.54 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $123.11 per tonne, down by $1.69 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $93.66 per tonne, down by $0.17 per tonneHard...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price increased during morning trading on Monday July 13, up against further supply-related concerns from Chile, while the metal's forward curve held in backwardation amid strong buying momentum.Morning turnover in LME copper was over 17,000 lots on Monday and continues to climb since the European market began trading, with the red metal's outright pric...Read More

They're stealing all buyer's profits by rigging the settle...submitted by J. Johnson via JS MinesetGreat and Wonderful Monday Morning Folks, Gold is going higher in the early morning with the trade at $1,813.30, up $11.40 and close to the high at $1,815.10 with the low at $1,802.10. Silver is leading the increase with its trade at $19.54 up 48.7 cents with the high right here at $19.57...Read More

Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil moved up across Europe in the week ended Friday July 10, supported by the continuing lack of competitive import offers.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?404.00 ($456.48) per tonne on July 10, up by ?,?2.00 per tonne week on week and by ?,?6.08 per tonne month on month.Friday's index was base...Read More

Brazilian miner Vale has entered into a non-binding agreement with Japanese companies Kobe Steel and Mitsui to form a low-emission steel joint venture, it said in a filing to Brazil's securities commission CVM on Monday July 13.Vale will supply metallic and steelmaking solutions with low greenhouse gas emissions to both steelmakers, it added. The final approval for the new venture is subject to an...Read More

RAPAPORT... US polished-diamond imports dropped heavily again in May, according to Commerce Department data, with Covid-19 shutting the global market and devastating demand. May is usually the strongest month for shipments as exhibitors send goods to the JCK Las Vegas show, which was canceled this year due to the pandemic. US Trade Data for May 2020Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales of rough from Lucapa Diamond Company's Lulo mine in Angola plunged in the second quarter, as both the average price and carats sold fell sharply due to the coronavirus pandemic.Revenue slid 80% year on year to $2 million, the company said last week. Sales volume dropped 40% to 3,346 carats, while the average price slumped 67% to $594 per carat. The miner was unable to sell i...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month zinc price recorded its highest settlement price since January at the close on Monday July 13, rallying above nearby resistance despite well-supplied exchange stocks, while copper futures registered a standout turnover against the metal's continued price incline. LME zinc's outright price closed at $2,261.50 per tonne on Monday afternoon, climbing over 3% from...Read More

RAPAPORT... GemFair, De Beers' program for the artisanal sector, has partnered with two organizations on a training project to enhance mining practices in West Africa.It has signed a memorandum of understanding with Germany's Deutsche Gesellschaft f? 1/4 r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Mano River Union, a cross-border association comprising Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and the...Read More

RAPAPORT... Consumers in the state of Hawaii are purchasing engagement rings with an average diamond size of 1.20 carats, the largest in the US, according to Shane Co.The retailer and manufacturer, which claims to be the biggest privately owned jeweler in the US, surveyed data of its ring sales over a five-year period from 2015 to 2019. It also found the average diamond size across the countr...Read More

Europe's largest copper producer Aurubis has appointed Michael Hellemann to the senior vice president of commercial, the company said on Monday July 13.Hellemann's responsibilities will include developing and implementing raw material procurement in addition to sales and marketing.He will report directly in to Aurubis chief executive Roland Harings, who began his tenure just over a year ago. "We a...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A pair of matching heart-shaped fancy diamonds - a vivid pink and a vivid blue - fetched a combined  price of $18.6m at Sotheby's in Hong Kong.The stones were sold as separate lots.  It is not known if they were bought separately or by a single bidder.The vivid blue diamond is described as 5.04-carat fancy heart modified brilliant-cut diamond with VS2 clarity, m...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The president of the Israel Diamond Exchange has made an impassioned plea for the government to help an industry that has lost $600m to COVID-19."We are turning to you with an urgent request to help the diamond industry, which is on the brink of collapse as a result of the coronavirus," says Yoram Dvash (pictured) in a personal letter to President Benjamin Netanyahu.He says 15,000...Read More

The Chinese alumina price rose to its highest level in four months on Thursday July 9, supported by a strong aluminium futures price on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for alumina metallurgical grade, ddp China soared to 2,400-2,450 yuan ($343-350) per tonne on July 9, up by 100-120 yuan per tonne in a week from 2,300-2,330 yuan per tonne on July 2. The price is...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A long-running dispute over the ownership of the Princie, a $40m pink diamond sold by Christie's, is to go to trial in the USA.The exquisite 34.65-carat stone was sold to the Qatari royal family in April 2013 -  the highest price for any jewel sold by the auction house.But the family of the powerful Italian senator and newspaper magnate Renato Angiolillo, who died in 1973...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa reported another poor trading month in June, with sales of rough and polished totaling just $31.3m.That compares with $222.4m of like-for-like sales in June 2019.The Russian state-owned miner has revised down its production forecasts, postponed its July and August sales, suffered an 87 pr cent drop in profits and is pursuing a price-over-volume strategy as the COVID-19...Read More