Uranium price makes fresh decade high as forecasts grow (even) rosier

Ukraine has accused the Russian military of executing residents of Bucha, a town outside the capital Kyiv that Russian troops had occupied for several weeks.

The gold arrived from the UK, but had a Russian so-called designation of origin, customs said in a statement Friday.

China agrees that the Ukraine issue falls outside the scope of the Kimberley Process.

Over 3 tons of gold -- worth about $200 million -- was shipped from Russia to Switzerland in May, almost all of which was marked as being for refining.

The Finance Ministry proposed this week to put a portion of the country’s gold and gems into a special reserve that can be accessed in times of war.

Switzerland received 3.1 tonnes of gold worth around $200 million from Russia in May, accounting for around 2-3% of its total gold imports.

The United States and Britain have imposed sanctions on Russia's Alrosa, the world's largest producer of rough diamonds, which accounted for around 30% of global output last year, and is partly state-owned. 

The 190,000 tons shipped in May brings the year-to-date figure to 380,000 tons, nearly 1,000% higher than the same period in 2021.

Western sanctions on Russia have left equipment key for the functioning of the Nord Stream gas pipeline stuck abroad.