Rapaport released its new RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI) on 5 September 2023. Prices for 1-carat diamonds fell 4.7 percent in August. The 0.30-carat RAPI also dropped 4.7 percent. Both of these were the worst performances since the peak of the Covid-19 crisis in April 2020.
The index for 0.50-carat stones slumped 8.6 percent — the sharpest drop for any month since RAPI records began in 2005 — and 3-carat diamonds slipped 2.1 percent.
The diamond market weakened in August as economic challenges persisted and synthetics expanded their market share. The likelihood that G7 governments would soon impose stricter source-disclosure rules to sideline Russian goods also created uncertainty, said Rapaport in the news release.
The declines reflected weak retail sales in the US and China as well as competition from lab-grown stones. The industry is approaching the holidays with apprehension.
Round diamonds lost value at a sharper rate than those in fancy shapes. The market for square cushions cooled as production increased and demand slid.
Indian manufacturers kept polished production at around 40 percent to 50 percent of capacity. Submissions to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) declined, prompting the laboratory to lay off about 20 percent of the workers at its headquarters in Carlsbad, California.
Rough supply fell in accordance with weak polished demand. De Beers’ August sales slid 42 percent year on year to $370 million. Okavango Diamond Company brought in $48.5 million for the same month, a 55-percent decline from July.
Both retail and wholesale in China remained slow as the country’s economy weakened. Exhibitors at the upcoming Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong show expect relatively subdued trading. India’s domestic jewellery market boosted sales of polished under 1 carat as the wedding season began. (Photo courtesy: Rapaport)
21-09-2023
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