RAPAPORT... Arunkumar R. Mehta, a prominent leader of India's diamond industry, passed away on June 14, 2020. He was 80 years old.Shri Mehta worked in the diamond trade for more than 60 years and is counted among the founding fathers of the industry in India. He cofounded B. Arunkumar & Co. in Mumbai in 1960, which eventually became Rosy Blue, a prominent diamond manufacturing company. "I...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has elected Colin Shah to succeed Pramod Agrawal as chairman.Shah, the organization's former vice chairman, will serve a two-year term from 2020 to 2022, the GJEPC said last week. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the elections were held via an online voting process from March 20 to 26. Meanwhile, Vipul Shah, the CEO of jewelry re...Read More

Dharmanandan Diamonds (DDPL) is to hold what it describes as "the first ever virtual trade show", in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Diamond Prev?? (C), a private exhibition for customers on 22 June, will feature remote product inspection, one to one interaction and seminar sessions with keynote speakers addressing the current state of the diamond trade. "In these unprecedented times, we keep...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Dubai Diamond Exchange, which boasts the world's largest trading floor, is re-opening after COVID-19 restrictions were eased. It says it is ready to host tenders and other activities, with strict social distancing measures. The exchange closed during the lockdown imposed after the country's first two deaths were confirmed on 20 March. Dubai has built up a $25bn-a-year...Read More

(IDEX Online) - India's diamond trade will close tomorrow (16 June) for a day of mourning after the death of industry stalwart and pioneer Arun R Mehta. Arunbhai. He was 80.   From humble origins in a small town in Gujarat, he founded what became Rosy Blue, the biggest diamond manufacturing unit in the world.   He moved to Mumbai as a young man and recalled buying his first diamond...Read More

RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook expects sales in Hong Kong to remain weak after reporting a sharp slump in revenue and profit due to the coronavirus. Consumer demand was slow in the municipality in April and May as tourists stayed away, contrasting with a slight recovery in mainland China following the relaxation of lockdowns."In Hong Kong and Macau, the market will remain challenging in the forese...Read More

The latest data for the global manganese ore market for the week ended June 15, 2020.Read More

The UG2 chrome ore price retreated for the first time since March 20 due to reduced buying interest in contrast to the consistent liquidity over the past few weeks. Fastmarkets' chrome ore South Africa UG2 concentrates index basis 42%, cif China fell to $169 per tonne on Friday June 12, from $170 per tonne a week earlier, putting an end to a five-week uptrend. The market was described as quie...Read More

Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) will cut up to 1,100 employees in the UK, while posting a pre-tax loss amid the coronavirus pandemic, it announced on Monday June 15 in its financial results.The company took the decision to reduce the number of contract-agency employees in its manufacturing plants over the coming months against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, it said.A company spokesperson expects u...Read More

The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange was the laggard at the close of trading on Monday June 15, slipping by more than 1% against a tightening forward curve, while a steady correction in LME copper saw it close just above the $5,700-per-tonne support level. Tin's outright price on the LME closed at $16,845 per tonne on Monday afternoon, down from an intraday high of $16,940 per to...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has issued a discussion paper on the introduction of an electronic warranting process, a step that would remove the physical component to LME warranting after more than two decades, the exchange said on Monday June 15. Since the introduction of its electronic warrant transfer platform, LMEsword, in 1999, the bourse has used an external provider for depository services, sa...Read More

Copper stocks in Shanghai bonded warehouses have increased from the all-time low recorded on June 1, following the closure of the import arbitrage window.Fastmarkets assessed Shanghai bonded copper stocks at 217,000-227,000 tonnes on Monday June 15, up by 2.3% from 212,000-222,000 tonnes on June 1."The growth [in bonded stocks] makes sense because there has been no import...Read More

Aluminium producer Hydro has reported a 42% drop in sales from its Extruded Solutions business unit and a 21% drop in rolled product sales for April-May, due to the impact of Covid-19 restrictions.The Norwegian company announced that its sales from its Extruded Solutions business unit were down 42% in April and May of this year, compared with the same months in 2019, due to weaker market demand fo...Read More

Base metals price on the London Metal Exchange were lower during morning trading on Monday June 15, pressured lower by weaker-than-expected industrial data out of China, while a fresh inflow of 16,175 tonnes was an added headwind for copper futures prices. Weighing on prices across the complex was economic data out of China released this morning , which showed industrial production year on year fo...Read More

Equity markets started to show some weakness last week, although dips were being bought, but this morning, Monday June 15, the mood seems to have become more concerned about the rise in second waves of Covid-19 in many countries and the socio-economic implications of these. Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were weaker, as were most on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Asian-Pacific equ...Read More

Rupert Resources on a Roll at IkkariSPONSOREDCardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Exore excels in Cote d'IvoireSPONSOREDexore resourcesThe so-called wicked problem is the need to find somewhere in the order of A$20 million to undertake the sort of drill campaign that will co...Read More

Special bar quality (SBQ) steel prices in the United States have again risen due to increased raw material costs, but demand remains weak, industry participants told Fastmarkets. On the hot-rolled side of the market, Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel bar hot-rolled special bar quality (SBQ) 1-inch round 1000 series (carbon), fob mill US rose to $33.25 per hundredweight ($665 per shor...Read More

Equity markets started to show some weakness last week, although dips were being bought, but this morning, Monday June 15, the mood seems to have become more concerned about the rise in second waves of Covid-19 in many countries and the socio-economic implications of these. * Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were weaker, as were most on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. * Asian-Pacific...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States slipped back toward the $25-per-hundredweight ($500-per-short-ton) mark, eroding gains achieved in recent weeks due to concerns about weak demand and inventory overhang. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $25.32 per cwt ($506.40 per ton) on Monday June 15, down by 2.5% from $25.97 per cwt on Friday June 12 and 2...Read More

Prices for the steel plate in the United States held steady for the fifth week in a row after mills were unable to collect most of the price increase they announced in May. North American plate producers announced a round of price rises last month of either $40 per ton ($2 per hundredweight) or $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The announcements said the increases were effective immediately, but market...Read More