* FTSE 100 up 0.9 pct* Foreign Sec resignation dents sterling* Political uncertainty hurts real estate stocks* BHP up on U.S. shale deal speculation* Broker upgrade boosts Just Eat (Updates prices, adds details)By Danilo Masoni and Helen ReidMILAN/LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 jumped on Monday after two leading eurosceptic ministers' resignations dented sterling, with real estate...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jul 9 (SMM) – Copper: LME copper consolidated around the daily moving average at $6,300/mt during the European trading session, after rising to a high of $6,334/mt on weaker US dollar. It closed at $6,308.5/mt, down $15.5/mt from the previous trading day. The SHFE 1809 contract was pushed up by longs to a high of 49,380 yuan/mt last Friday night, and closed at that level. As d...Read More
Investing.com - Gold prices started the week off on the right foot, heading further away from seven-month lows seen last week, as easing worries over inflationary pressure supported the precious metal.At 11:09AM ET (15:09GMT), gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $6.60, or 0.5%, to $1,262.40 a troy ounce.Last Friday’s jobs report s...Read More
With the supply of copper slowly recovering, there has been a steady shift in focus towards development and project growth.This is likely to be a slow process, with access to capital being a major stumbling block. Company balance sheets are improving, but shareholders are concentrating on yield, rather than re-investment of capital for growth. Is the timing right for new project investment? How wi...Read More
The weekly issue of the Short Seller's Journal has been released this afternoon. This is my best issue yet and includes an options trading resource (emailed separately). I have identified a short-sell idea that takes advantage of a highly leveraged company exposed to a highly cyclical industry and has significant exposure to subprime counterparty risk. I also have a leveraged energy sector...Read More
Chinese ferro-chrome prices plunged late last week after ferro-chrome smelters in the major production hub of Inner Mongolia restarted operations, while muted buyer interest and uncertainty weighed on cif China UG2 chrome ore and charge chrome indices. Spot domestic ferro-chrome prices drop in China Chrome ore and charge chrome cif China dip Alloys in South Korea and Japan unmoved&nbs...Read More
Chinese domestic ferro-silicon prices dropped in the past week, paring gains made the week before amid low key trading activity from a fall in demand; meanwhile, the European market has seen a widening of the spot price trading range amid an illiquid market. China pares recent gains amid lower demand Dealers eye end to environmental inspections Europe price range widens lower amid slack...Read More
RAPAPORT... Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) garnered $35 million from atender of rough diamonds in Dubai in June, it said Monday.The company sold 27,161 carats of high-qualitystones sourced from mines in South Africa and Angola. The diamonds fetched anaverage price of $1,288 per carat during the event at the Almas Tower. Some 126 companies attended the sale, the seventh thecompany has held this ye...Read More
RAPAPORT... Economic growth from Namibia's diamond-mining sector willslow this year due to depletion of resources from inland deposits, its nationalbank said. While the industry's contribution to gross domestic product(GDP) will increase 11% in 2018, that rise is less than last year's 12% jump, accordingto data the Bank of Namibia released in a July report. "Growth for diamond mining is expected t...Read More
Copper prices could sink to $6,000 per tonne if the trade war between the United States and China sparks a selloff in the equity markets, INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir wrote in his July market overview.On Friday July 6, after the onset of US tariffs on $34 billion of imports from China at midnight that day, copper plunged to $2.7825 per lb, its lowest level since hitting $2.7695 on July 19...Read More
RAPAPORT... Botswana once again finds itself at a crossroads. The sparsely populated,landlocked country is in a constant battle to ensure the longevity of itsdiamond industry.Recognizing that diamond mining will not last forever, thegovernment's beneficiation program has sought to establish cutting andpolishing, trading, and auxiliary services in an effort to diversify itsindustry - and economy -...Read More
RAPAPORT... Stornoway Diamond Corporation saw production and sales dropin the second quarter amid a slowdown while the company transitions from open-pitto underground mining. The miner produced 223,351 carats from its Renard mine inthe three months ending June 30, a 46% decline compared with the same periodlast year. The company sold 201,283 carats at two tenders, versus 350,159carats across the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Global rough-diamond production increased in 2017, mainlydue to new mines in Canada, according to data the Kimberley Process (KP)released last week. Total output rose 29% to $15.87 billion last year, the KPsaid. By volume, production grew 19% to 150.9 million carats, with the averageprice up 8% to $105 per carat. Russia remained the largest producer of rough in 2017, itsoutput jumping...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has unearthed a rough diamond bearing an uncannyresemblance to a soccer ball, and with flawless timing: bang in the middle ofthe World Cup taking place in Russia. The miner discovered the 0.50-carat stone at itsKarpinskaya-1 pipe in the Arkhangelsky region last Wednesday, three days beforethe Russian national soccer team's quarterfinal against Croatia. Alrosa CEOSergey Ivanov sa...Read More
The Federation of Copper Workers in Chile has rejected copper producer Codelco's response to a threatened strike at its Chuquicamata copper mine, and will form a new group to meet next week and discuss its next steps, the federation's board of directors said on Monday July 9.The move follows a meeting of the federation on Friday at which it discussed a potential stoppage by trade unions 1, 2 and 3...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Scientists at Princeton University called on GIA's (Gemological Institute of America) expertise in gemological research and the analysis of optical centers to evaluate how to use the unique properties of diamonds to create a highly secure communications network. The research, published in the July 6, 2018 issue of Science magazine, examined how color centers created by r...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers' synthetic diamond screening device, SYNTHdetect, has been nominated for Industry Innovation of the Year in the JNA Awards SYNTHdetect, launched last year, is the first synthetic diamond screening device to simultaneously test multiple stones in set jewellery and has the industry's lowest referral rate at around 0.05 per cent. The device thereby significantly i...Read More
Alrosa, the State-owned diamond miner of 2018 FIFA World Cup-host Russia, has unearthed a diamond that bears a resemblance to a soccer ball.The diamond was recovered on July 4, three days before the World Cup quarter finals, in which the Russian national football team lost to Croatia.AdvertisementThe diamond was discovered at Karpinskaya-1 pipe in Arkhangelskiy region, Alrosa said on Twitter at th...Read More
Lead-zinc producer Recylex has started the hot commissioning phase of the new reduction furnace at its lead smelter at Nordenham in northern Germany, operated by Weser-Metall.The hot commissioning phase is used to test furnaces before they go into production mode, and is expected to last for a few weeks before ramping up to commercial levels of production in the third quarter of 2018, the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A new edition of the critically acclaimed Pearls: Treasures from the Seas and the Rivers exhibition will open in Moscow on July 11 as part of the Qatar Russia 2018 Year of Culture. The exhibition was curated specifically for this year's Year of Culture program and will display over 100 pieces of jewelry and other examples of pearl craftsmanship made from freshwater pearls born in...Read More