Nirupa Bhatt appointed as Chairperson of FICCI's Gem and Jewellery Sub Committee

Nirupa Bhatt, MD, Gemological Institute of America (GIA) India Laboratory Pvt Ltd, has been appointed as the Chairperson-Sub Committee Quality and Standardisation of FICCI's Gem and Jewellery Committee.

"India has the potential to be the global manufacturing hub for cutting and polishing of diamond and gemstones as well as jewellery manufacturing. However, in order to achieve this it is imperative for the companies to be able to be recognised for consistency in quality. This is only possible if companies have documental systems and processes in place. Standards and technology together can become the enabler for achieving this," said Nirupa Bhatt.

The primary objective of the committee will be to promote use of technology in manufacturing and production to modernize and upgrade the current practices in the Indian gems and jewellery sector .

Platinum and Palladium hit multi-year lows in September

Platinum Group Metal (PGM) prices continued to fall in the month of September, with platinum and palladium hitting multi-year lows and all three metals posting double-digit month-on-month losses, said a Standard Bank report.

The PGMs traded far below their individual 200-day moving averages, driven lower in part by a stronger dollar and softer commodity prices in general, it said.

The report further added that the deteriorating outlook for the global economy was another contributing factor to the weakness in price. A significant source of downside pressure was attributed to data released during September showing marked declines in auto sales in Europe as well as in several key emerging markets, such as China and India.

Silver more volatile than gold

Silver metal remained more volatile than the yellow metal in the month of September.

The overall trends in the two prices were very similar as an uncertain silver market allowed itself to be influenced by gold. Although the market feeling was, in line with the relative fundamentals of the two metals, that silver was the more sluggish of the two with respect to the upside, the Standard Bank report said.

Gold prices buffeted in September: Standard Bank

Gold prices were buffeted during the month of September in the same way as those of any other asset class, but in keeping with gold’s history as an investment vehicle (as well as a natural resource commodity), prices traded in a narrower range than the rest of the precious metals sector, said a report by Standard Bank on Monday.

The report said that between the start of September and the beginning of October, gold gained about 7% in price, while silver and PGM (Platinum group metals) prices fell. A single snapshot does not tell the whole picture, however, and the market itself experienced a variety of phases as problems escalated in the financial system.

One tangible element was the development of vast fund flows into the major Exchange Traded Funds as investors looked to reduce counterparty risk, it said.

Gem and Jewellery park in Chhattisgarh

The Indian state, Chhattisgarh plans to invest $37mn to set up a gems and jewellery park at its upcoming satellite city Naya Raipur, said state Industry Minister Rajesh Munat.

The park at Naya Raipur whose foundation stone was laid on Saturday will be India’s one of the major gems and jewellery parks.

The park will spread across 28.32 hectares of land and will house latest diamond cutting and polishing technologies. The park is likely to generate direct and indirect jobs for about 25,000 people. The project is expected to be ready by 2011 and will be maintained by Chattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation.

Naya Raipur will replace Raipur as the state’s capital by 2011. The new city that will be sprawl across an area of about 20,000 acres will be equipped with state-of-the art physical, social and economic infrastructure.

Markets still shaky: Standard Bank

US legislators passed the much disputed $700bn rescue bill late on Friday but markets are not convinced of its ability to revive gridlocked credit markets, said a report by Standard Bank.

While US inter- bank lending rates have declined, they’re still extremely high, it said. Despite authorities’ efforts, banks remain suspicious of counterparties’ ability to honour financial obligations.

Scepticism around the rescue plan is also being demonstrated by Asian equities having fallen sharply this morning, the report said. The Nikkei was down more than 4%, followed by the Hang Seng at 3.5%. US equity futures have lost more than 1.5%, possibly signalling another red day in US equity markets.

Global fears continue to translate into high demand for US Treasuries at the expense of other assets. The main beneficiary have been the USD which has gained ground from $1.3850 to as low as $1.3605 against the euro.

“We expect this trend to continue if the Europe and the US track Asian markets later today,” said Standard Bank’s commodity analyst Walter De Wet.

On the data front, Friday’s US non-farm payrolls, which declined by 159,000 which was much more than the estimated forecast decline of 100,000 adds to the list of negative data.

“Faced with a stronger dollar, PGM and silver will see little support. We estimate the average PGM basket price currently at $847/oz. While the market is currently more concerned about demand, persistent low prices would put many mines in financial difficulty,” said Walter.

Walter also mentioned that the yellow metal is still dithering and with investors unwilling to commit to major positions on Friday, gold traded erratically at $845/oz-$825/oz.

After finding some support early in Asia, which pushed gold from $830/oz to $845/oz, gold lost its direction as the dollar drifted around $1.383. A series of sharp spikes followed when US markets opened, but gold remained stuck at $825/oz-$845/oz. It closed at $828.5/oz on Friday, and held up well in the aftermarket after the rescue plan was passed, reflecting the lingering concerns in financial markets, said the report.

“Primary support is at $821/oz, and secondary support at $807/oz and $803/oz. Resistance is at $848/oz, $861/oz, and $888/oz,” said Walter.

The report mentioned that silver initially found solid support in Asia as it gained $0.65, to trade at $11.40/oz, before it stabilized in Europe. Renewed buying support in New York saw the metal shoot to $11.70/oz, just to subside again when gold lost steam. Silver ended the week at a bid of $11.25/oz.

“Primary support is at $11.00/oz and secondary support at $10.88/oz-$10.70/oz. Primary resistance is at $11.65/oz, and secondary at $12.00/oz,’ said Walter.

Platinum remains under pressure; on Friday, trade was choppy. The metal failed to break above $1,000/oz, bouncing between $950/oz and $980/oz. With the stronger dollar, platinum could remain under pressure today. It closed at $955/oz on Friday.

Palladium is holding up well despite platinum’s move lower. Although the metal dropped to $195/oz on Friday, it managed to claw its way back in New York and closed at $198/oz. Rhodium lost $60/oz, to fix at $3,210/oz in New York, it said.