Positive sentiment as demand outpaces supply. US retail upbeat; May jewelry sales +203% year on year and +45% vs. May 2019, says Mastercard. Rising expectations for 2H but concern that inflation surge will curb consumer spending. Some jewelers delaying inventory replacement until more polished becomes available. Suppliers' polished prices firm amid escalating rough costs and anticipated Alrosa pri...Read More

RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports saw a limited recovery in May as the coronavirus continued to affect activity in several major markets.Global shipments were 12% lower than in the same month of 2019, amounting to CHF 1.8 billion ($1.97 billion), the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Thursday. Exports rose 174% year on year, but that reflected a comparison with the Covid-19 downturn in May...Read More

RAPAPORT... Debswana, De Beers' joint venture with the Botswana government, has discovered a 1,098-carat rough diamond, one of the largest in history.The company found the "high gem-quality" stone at its Jwaneng mine on June 1, it said on Wednesday. It will work with the government and De Beers to value and sell the diamond, aiming to maximize returns for the people of Botswana."This is the l...Read More

RAPAPORT... Two philosophies have emerged regarding how the lab-grown market will develop.The first sees synthetics in the same space as natural stones, graded according to carat size, cut, color and clarity, and priced at a discount to the equivalent natural diamond. That is how the market has evolved organically.The second ideology is the one De Beers has touted in releasing its Lightbox line. I...Read More

(IDEX Online) - American rapper Post Malone has spent $1.6m having a pair of "diamond teeth" fitted.He had 12 carats specially cut to fit between existing teeth and replace his upper canines.Twenty-five-year-old Post Malone - real name Austin Richard Post - has 77 tattoos on his face and elsewhere, and has amassed an estimated net worth of $30m since his debut album Stoney in 2016.His dentist, Bev...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A huge rough diamond, described as the third largest in the world at 1,098 carats, has been recovered by Debswana at its Jwaneng mine, in Botswana.The biggest diamond ever is the 3,106-carat Cullinan found in South Africa in 1905 - used in the British Crown Jewels - followed by the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona discovered in Botswana in 2015.The newly-recovered stone (pictured) measur...Read More

The upward momentum in cobalt spot prices continued on Thursday June 17 with prices rising for the second consecutive day, and traders becoming aggressive in the market after sensing a return of demand.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, standard grade, in whs Rotterdam, was $20.20-20.95 per lb on Thursday. This was up from $20.10-20.70 per lb the previous day.https://www.metalbulletin.com/M...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Chow Tai Fook, the largest jewelry retailer in Asia, has joined CIBJO in a move that's been described as a "giant milestone".CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, promotes international cooperation in the industry and describes itself as "the United Nations of the jewellery business".Kent Wong, managing director at Chow Tai Fook, which has over 4,590 stores, said: "It is i...Read More

The whole London Metal Exchange complex fell on Thursday June 17 due to a high US dollar, with zinc and lead the hardest hit.The US Dollar Index touched 91.93 on Thursday, its highest level since April 13. This followed a more hawkish view expressed by the US Federal Reserve regarding inflation and interest rates, delivered on June 17.The three-month price of zinc fell the furthest, to $2,911.50 p...Read More

The United States has published a strategy for lithium-ion battery manufacturing which calls for the elimination of cobalt and nickel from the cathode by the end of the current decade.It intends to achieve this through research and development into new technologies, with the goal of establishing a domestic battery supply chain that meets the demands of the growing electric vehicle (EV) and electri...Read More

Joseph Carrabba, formerly chairman, president and chief executive officer of Cleveland-Cliffs, has been named CEO of ElementUS Minerals, the company has said.Carrabba was at Cleveland-Cliffs, at one point known as Cliffs Natural Resources, from 2005 to 2013. Prior to this, he had spent more than 20 years in executive leadership at Rio Tinto, holding positions in its North American, Australian, Asi...Read More

The smooth unloading of a stranded alumina cargo locked in China's Bayuquan port calmed sentiment in the Chinese alumina market on June 17, sources said.Offers for port material rose to 2,550 yuan ($398.37) per tonne on June 15, up 30 yuan per tonne from a week earlier, after news of the quarantined ship became widely known, sources said. "Offers rose after the news [of the trapped ship] but low s...Read More

Fastmarkets will launch a monthly assessment of the discount for No1 copper material, candy/berry, on a cif China basis on June 28. After a consultation period, Fastmarkets has decided to launch a monthly assessment of the discount for No1 copper material, candy/berry, on a cif China basis. Over the consultation period from May 5 to June 7, buying interest in No1 copper material remained stro...Read More

Copper's price fall and a higher US dollar index were the main factors in a decline in London Metal Exchange base metals prices for a fourth day on the morning of Thursday June 17, with most down by at least 1%.The three-month copper contract on the LME was at $9,459.50 per tonne at 9am London time on Thursday, down by 2.1% from its $9,667 per tonne closing price on Wednesday. The contract fell to...Read More

Proudfoot Global CEO Pamela Hackett talks 'wrestling chaosSPONSOREDproudfootAntipa set to soar amid Winu and Havieron potentialSPONSOREDantipa mineralsAzure's Andover nickel shapes as a Pilbara NovaSPONSOREDazure mineralsMcDermitt puts Jindalee at top of US lithium stock-pileSPONSOREDjindalee resourcesThe company aims to submit an environmental impact assessment in September, produce a fea...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have held above $84 per hundredweight ($1,680 per short ton) for five consecutive business days, with mills struggling to meet buoyant demand, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $84.22 per cwt ($1,684.40 per ton) on Thursday June 17, down by 0.75% from $84.86 per cwt on Wednesday June 16...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman exploration"The renewal of our licence at Kombat marks a key milestone as we prepare to commence copper production by the end of the year," president and CEO Jed Richardson said."With licences in hand, it is full speed ahead to become a revenue generating company, capable of funding further exploration of our significan...Read More

Latin America's apparent steel use grew by 27.04% in March this year over the corresponding month of 2020, while consumption increased by 17.03% on the same basis of comparison during the first quarter, regional association Alacero said on Thursday June 17.Steel consumption in the region totaled 6.72 million tonnes in March, up from 5.29 million tonnes a year before, according to data from the ass...Read More

Domestic steel rebar prices in Turkey have widened upward significantly, market sources said on Thursday June 17, while wire rod prices were stable.Demand was moderate in Turkey because of low levels of construction activity, sources told Fastmarkets.The country's scrap prices decreased recently, but the price falls were not sharp.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), Nort...Read More

German steelmaker Salzgitter has raised its full-year forecast for 2021 to ?,?400-600 million, tracking the persistent uptrend in the flat steel market, Fastmarkets heard.In its first-quarter report published in May, Salzgitter said that it expected a pre-tax profit of between ?,?300-400 ($363-484) million for 2021, up from its previous forecast of ?,?150-200 million. ...Read More