US four-week moving average of initial jobless claims for week ending June 6: 219,000, prior 214,750.

Huifeng Diamond Co., Ltd. said its wholly owned Huifeng Diamond (Baotou) Co. CVD production line is expected to begin production in early July, ahead of schedule. The company plans to invest 500 mln yuan in the Baotou unit over five years. Huifeng cited Baotou’s low-cost power—coal and wind resources deliver about 0.30 yuan/kWh—as key to cutting CVD’s high energy costs; energy accounts for over 60% of the cost of diamond heat spreaders. The Baotou plant will produce large-size CVD single-crystal diamonds, diamond heat spreaders (core material for server and AI-chip heat sinks) and mass-produced high-grade lab-grown diamond blanks, supplying upstream to Huifeng’s Sanya Tianya super-factory.

ECB President LAGARDE said a larger or more persistent rise in energy prices would push inflation higher.