Why Is a Widening Gulf War Lifting Oil but Sinking Gold and Silver?

Macro Snapshot: The week ending 30 October brought the kind of news that once sent buyers into gold. Reuters reported the first known successful limpet-mine strike on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz since the war began in February, and Houthi forces claimed strikes on Saudi refineries. Washington ordered non-emergency government staff out of Saudi Arabia amid reports that US strikes on Iran could resume after the 3 November midterm elections. Brent rose 13.6% over October, with the expiring

Read More »

Why Is a Widening Gulf War Lifting Oil but Sinking Gold and Silver?

Macro Snapshot: The week ending 30 October brought the kind of news that once sent buyers into gold. Reuters reported the first known successful limpet-mine strike on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz since the war began in February, and Houthi forces claimed strikes on Saudi refineries. Washington ordered non-emergency government staff out of Saudi Arabia amid reports that US strikes on Iran could resume after the 3 November midterm elections. Brent rose 13.6% over October, with the expiring

Read More »

Top News

US Economy Makes Slow Start to 2017

New York: The American economy put in its slowest quarterly growth rate in three years in first three months of the year, increasing by an annualized 0.7 percent, according to the Commerce Department. Ironically, the annual growth rate for the quarter is far below the 2.5 percent pace in President Barack Obama’s final three months in office, and even further

Read More »

Botswana Vulnerable to Weak Diamond Market

Gaborone: Standard & Poor’s (S&P) maintained its negative outlook for Botswana last week due to the country’s continued reliance on the diamond sector. While diamonds account for approximately 80% of Botswana’s total exports and about one-third of its gross domestic product, the economy remains vulnerable to a weak performance in the sector, the financial-services company said Friday. “The negative outlook

Read More »

Fresh Defeat for Zimbabwe in Diamonds Battle

Harare: The state-run Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) has been barred by the High Court from pillaging diamond ore which belongs to Mbada Diamonds (Pvt) Limited, in a new setback for government’s troubled mining project. Mbada has been granted an interdict stopping the ZCDC — formed last year through a forced merger of Marange Resources, Gye Nyame, Diamond Mining Corporation,

Read More »

IIDGR to Roll Out Synthetics-Detection Course

London: A training course for synthetic-diamond detection will launch this spring in the US and India, courtesy of De Beers’ International Institute of Diamond Grading and Research (IIDGR). The two-day course — which aims to show participants how to distinguish lab-grown diamonds from natural ones, rough or polished — will debut in the US during the JCK Las Vegas show

Read More »

New Digital Innovation Reinforces Antwerp’s Global Leadership

Antwerp: The Belgian diamond federation Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) has launched an innovative digital customer screening tool, based on Regulatory Technology (RegTech) and tailored to the specific needs of the diamond industry. With this new application, the Antwerp diamond sector takes an important step forward in the prevention of money laundering, helping diamond companies to meet their legal Anti-Money

Read More »

GJSCI Signs MoU with APSSDC

Mumbai: The Gem & Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) to implement skill training programmes. The collaboration will encompass Short-Term Training programs, upskilling modules, and Recognition of Prior Learning assessments, designed to enhance talent development in the gems and jewellery sector. Through these structured

Read More »

GSI and Mindron Unveil TRUSURE APEX

Mumbai: Gemological Science International (GSI) and Mindron announced the launch of the Trusure Apex, a state-of-the-art and advanced diamond screening instrument, at a recent event. Powered by GSI, this groundbreaking tool is engineered to detect natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds (CVD and HPHT), and non-diamond simulants such as CZ, across various jewellery types and categories, including loose, mounted, and complex polki

Read More »

WDC Urges KP to Support Historic Reform

Dubai: Feriel Zerouki, President of the World Diamond Council (WDC), opened the 2025 Kimberley Process (KP) Plenary with a decisive call for participants to support a modernized definition of “conflict diamonds,” marking a pivotal moment for the international certification scheme. Ms. Zerouki highlighted three years of hard work, drafting and negotiation led by the WDC and honored the leadership of

Read More »

Latest Videos