A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday May 12.Please click...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa's diamond sales plummeted 95% to $15.6 million in April, the lowest on record, as customers deferred purchases until the market improves.Rough sales slumped 96% to $13.1 million, while polished revenues fell 17% to $2.4 million, the Russian company reported Tuesday. "In response to the [coronavirus] situation, we have offered to our clients an option to buy the amounts of r...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Wood Mackenzie’s latest analysis reveals that China’s crude stock (including strategic and commercial petroleum reserves) could reach 1.15 billion barrels in 2020, equivalent to 83 days of oil demand.Wood Mackenzie senior...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.What does tight oil have in common with Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet's Google stocks (known as FAANG stocks)? Answer: tight oil is arguably the upstream equivalent of these tech sector leaders. It's the hot investment...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sales of luxury goods will fall by 20% to 35% this year as the coronavirus-related slowdown is set to continue, Bain & Company predicted.Purchases of luxury items already dropped by approximately 25% in the first quarter, and the slump is likely to accelerate in the second quarter, Bain said in its global luxury report, which it released in collaboration with Italian luxury-br...Read More

RAPAPORT... BlueRock Diamonds has resumed operations at its Kareevlei deposit in South Africa after the government allowed the mining sector to reopen.The company expects to reach full capacity by the end of the month, it said Monday. However, the miner has suspended expansion plans for Kareevlei for the moment. "Management and the board have put a lot of effort and thought into the start-up...Read More

RAPAPORT... Indian authorities have allowed Mumbai's diamond and jewelry companies to reopen partially on condition that they limit their workforces and follow social-distancing rules.Trade members may operate with up to 10% of their staff members in order to fulfill export commitments, the state government of Maharashtra said in a statement Monday. No one from containment zones - coronavirus...Read More

Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.The global crude landscape is being upended by surging US crude oil production flowing into international markets.The North America Crude Markets Service provides context and crude oil analysis of the entire US crude value chain - fro...Read More

Sales of the world’s largest diamond miner by volume, Alrosa, came to a near halt in April, with the company only selling $15.6-million in rough and polished diamonds in the month.This compares with sales of $152.8-million in March and $405-million in January this year.AdvertisementThe Russian company virtually stopped selling diamonds as governments across the globe were taking active...Read More

(IDEX) - Alrosa's monthly figures reveal the full impact of COVID-19, with April sales of rough and polished plunging to just $15.6m.That's a fall for the state-owned Russian miner of 96 per cent on $405m sales in January, before coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions came into force. Sales for the world's largest diamond producer by volume in 2019 were $3.3bn.Alrosa sou...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The case against lab-grown diamond companies accused of patent infringements is to go ahead, after a judge threw out their motions to dismiss.The Carnegie Institution of Washington and WD Lab Grown Diamonds, the manufacturer licensed to use its chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technology, are jointly bringing a case against competitors at a New York federal court.Defendants Fenix Di...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The billionaire who owned Firestar Diamond yesterday began his legal fight against extradition to India, where he is accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank out of $1.85bn.Nirav Modi, 49, is alleged to have persuaded corrupt bank workers to approve low-rate loans for importing foreign goods, which he used to pay off debts. He was India's most wanted man and was the...Read More

Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds has advised that its expansion plans for the Kareevlei diamond mine, in the Kimberley region of South Africa, remain on hold.The mine is, however, expected to reach full operating capacity by the end of May.AdvertisementThe mine has started ramping up operations, after having restarted following a complete shutdown of mines in South Africa from the end of March to...Read More

The recovery of zinc metal prices is set to continue with stronger Asian demand outpacing supply cuts, and there are no expectations for a review of annual zinc treatment charges (TCs) due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Nexa Resources chief executive officer Tito Martins said on Tuesday May 12."We are seeing a market adjustment in Asia," Martins told analysts and investors in the company's first-quarte...Read More

RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp. has indicated the market could improve in the second half of 2020 as lower rough supply and a recovery in Asia bode well for prices."Though our near-term outlook on diamond prices remains uncertain, global rough-diamond production curtailments, combined with early indications of polished diamond-demand recovery in Asia, provide some optimism that demand will i...Read More

Troubled oil trader ZenRock owes at least $615 million to banks, suppliers and customers, it said in Singapore court filings seen by Fastmarkets.ZenRock has $116.1 million in secured financing owed to the banks HSBC, Natixis, BCP, Bank of China, Credit Agricole and ING Bank, the company's president, Xie Chun, told Singapore's High Court in an affidavit.The company has $448.9 million in unsecured o...Read More

Low inventories should help limit stock builds in copper, zinc and nickel that may materialize due to the decline in demand resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the chief executive officer of Glencore. The company estimates that 4% of global copper supply for this year forecast prior to the virus has been lost due to shutdowns and cuts created by the virus, excluding smelting/refinin...Read More

London Metal Exchange base metals prices were down at the close on Tuesday May 12, while the previous day's rally abated with the complex absorbing market optimism for a global commercial restart."There were a lot of the positive dynamics that led to yesterday's price rebound, from a recovery in global equities markets, to the reopening of China and the easing of lockdowns in Europe," Fastmarkets...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices have held steady in the United States because both buyers and sellers are leery of pushing tags lower for limited spot volumes.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $24.92 per hundredweight ($498.40 per short ton) on Tuesday May 12, little-changed from $24.89 per cwt on Monday May 11 and up by 1.9% from $24.46 per cwt a week earlier on...Read More

Brazilian automakers are slowly resuming production after more than a month of idling due to Covid-19 brought the country's car output to near zero in April.General Motors (GM) reopened its engine plant in Joinville, in the southeastern state of Santa Catarina, on May 12, a company spokesperson told Fastmarkets. The other units owned by the company in Brazil have been preparing for the past four w...Read More