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.On Friday 15th February 2019, Vale announced there was a fire affecting a conveyor belt system at its distribution centre in Malaysia. Vale anticipate this will result in a 10 to 15 day halt in operations and note that a planned 10 da...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.Rising stocks of concentrate, high treatment charges and difficulties in selling less desirable qualities of concentrate was expected to result in mine production losses over the next few years. But coronavirus has changed this dynami...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... New York's Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) unlocked its doors on Tuesday, with social distancing in place, after the city entered phase one of its reopening plan."Based on my conversations with members, I felt it was the highest priority to be open as soon as possible, as many members rely on the trading floor as a necessity for their businesses and livelihoods," DDC president Reuven K...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
Dear Subscribers,After careful consideration we are returning to our policy of publishing the Rapaport Price List on a weekly basis. The diamond markets are returning to activity and it is important that we have the flexibility to change our benchmark prices when and how we see fit.We will not publish a weekly TradeSheet with discount prices as this additional price sheet has caused confusion and...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) closed its trading floor on Wednesday after a member who had been inside the hall tested positive for Covid-19.The bourse has already disinfected the room in preparation for it to reopen on Sunday, an IDE spokesperson told Rapaport News Thursday. The trading floor shut initially on March 15 because of the global pandemic, and restarted on May 24 w...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.Disruptions to the metals markets, as well as the sentiment change due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), have dominated metals markets and price movements so far in 2020. The metals markets are moving faster than ever driven by announcem...Read More
RAPAPORT... More than half of US consumers think holiday gifts this year should be meaningful, and see diamonds as the top representation of that notion, according to a survey by De Beers.Some 56% of both men and women believed a meaningful gift was a better choice than one that was practical, functional or fun. Respondents also classified diamonds as a gift that symbolized intimacy, connecte...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 coronavirus is casting a shadow across commodity markets. It has undermined China’s economic sentiment, putting the country's growth outlook at risk. The full scale and impact of the outbreak remain to be seen, but it is cer...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Face masks are being sold online to raise funds for Jewelers for Children. New York-based jewelry companies SDC Designs and SHR Jewelry Group are tapping into their manufacturing resources to help a charity that has donated nearly $57m to kids' programs since it was founded in 1999. "Everyone is going to need access to masks as our industry follows guidelines set by the CDC,"...Read More
RAPAPORT... The pandemic of 2020 has caused what may be the greatest economic upheaval in the history of modern society. No one is unaffected, from the catastrophic loss of life, to the tens of millions around the world who have lost the income they need to survive, to the businesses everywhere that have been wiped out or reduced to ashes. This is an international challenge that must be met w...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israel's Bank Leumi has entered the bidding to acquire Union Bank's diamond-lending business, signaling a potential return to the industry following a six-year absence.The move pits the lender against Peninsula, another Israeli credit provider, which announced last week it was in advanced talks to buy the portfolio. "We submitted an offer to purchase [Union Bank's] portfolio," a B...Read More
The London Metal Exchange recently reiterated its willingness to facilitate spot trading of low carbon aluminium. While not a new concept for the exchange, it would serve two important purposes. First, it would provide more transparent, digitalized data on the specification of its aluminium brands and determine whether people are actually paying more for low carbon metal. Second, it would pro...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's diamond sales plummeted 85% to $40.1 million in May as the miner allowed customers to defer purchases.Rough sales slumped 86% year on year to $36.2 million, while polished revenues fell 22% to $3.9 million, the Russian miner reported Wednesday.However, total sales of rough and polished were still nearly triple April's $15.6, showing the beginning of a rebound in demand."I...Read More
Zambian blister copper producer Chambishi (CCS) has brought forward its 43-day maintanence plan after being hit by a furnace outage since early June, Fastmarkets understands.With a 250,000 tonne-per-year copper capacity, the CCS plant is one of the biggest copper smelters in Zambia to supply blister copper to the export market. The subsidiary of China Nonferrous Mining Corp (CNMC) h...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its two Shanghai bonded copper premiums, which were published incorrectly on Wednesday June 10 due to an error. Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for copper grade A cathode ER premium, bonded in-whs Shanghai (MB-CU-0383) was originally published at $80-90 per tonne on June 10. This has now been corrected as $75-80 per tonne. The copper grade A cathode SX-EW pr...Read More
RAPAPORT... HRD Antwerp has closed its equipment division, effective June 9, as part of a restructuring of the Belgian grading laboratory.The organization will increase its focus on its grading and education services, CEO Ellen Joncheere said in a statement Tuesday. The equipment division - which specializes in machines for detection, examination and manufacturing - will continue to sell diam...Read More
A deal for third-quarter aluminium ingot supply to Japan has been concluded at a premium of $68 per tonne cif main Japanese ports (MJP), sources told Fastmarkets on June 11 - a drop of 20% from a deal done last week.The tonnage, sold by a trader to a Japanese trading house, is 1,500 tonnes, with 500 tonnes to be supplied in each month of the quarter.This follows the first deal for the third quarte...Read More