CHAMWE KAIRA
Diamond prices fell in September as the market continued to suffer from an oversupply, Rapaport Group said this week.
Indian manufacturers reduced rough-buying and polished production to rebalance supply and demand. Polished inventories began to decline, but it will take a few weeks for them to fall to healthy levels. Shortages of in-demand items are likely.
The RapNet Diamond Index dropped 4% for 0.30-carat stones, 4.2% for 0.50 carats, and 2.5% for 3 carats. Lower-quality stones saw a gentler decline, with prices of round, 1-carat, D to H, SI diamonds slipping 3.5% in September. Prices of fancy shapes decreased less sharply than rounds.
US retail sales were stable ahead of the holiday season. Store owners and the wholesalers supplying them were cautious about restocking diamonds. Retailers remained focused on memo.
India’s domestic jewelry market supported the trade in diamonds under one carat. Chinese retail orders remained weak. Diamond trading at the Jewellery & Gem World show in Hong Kong was slow, as many Chinese buyers were absent. Sentiment among diamond dealers was low at the Vicenzaoro fair in Italy, though exhibitors of finished jewelry were more upbeat.
The rough market was quiet as manufacturers reduced their inventories. India’s net rough imports slumped 47% year on year to US$642.3 million in August, the lowest since November 2023, when the country was in the middle of a voluntary freeze on rough imports. Belgium’s diamond activity (combined rough imports and rough exports) fell 33% year on year to US$671 million in September.
De Beers continued to allow deferrals and keep rough prices firm at its September sight. Alrosa told customers it would also maintain prices for the time being, insiders reported. This indicates that the two miners have no intention of flooding the market.
According to the Bank of Namibia Quarterly of Bulletin of September, diamond production declined yearly and quarterly, attributed to fewer carats mined during the quarter under review.
Production of diamonds decreased by 9.1% and 11.7% year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter to 561 285 carats during the second quarter of 2024. The central bank said the lower diamond production was ascribed to fewer carats mined off shore, as a result of planned maintenance on a mining vessel during the quarter under review.
According to the International Diamond Exchange (IDEX) diamond price index, prices exhibited a quarterly and yearly decline of 3% and 12.7%, respectively.
“Notably, the weak demand for natural diamonds remains as the continuous market share expansion of
synthetic diamonds persist coupled with consumers increasingly shifting towards gold jewellery as a means of preserving value,” the central bank said.
