• 653 days Will The ECB Continue To Hike Rates?
  • 653 days Forbes: Aramco Remains Largest Company In The Middle East
  • 655 days Caltech Scientists Succesfully Beam Back Solar Power From Space
  • 1,055 days Could Crypto Overtake Traditional Investment?
  • 1,059 days Americans Still Quitting Jobs At Record Pace
  • 1,061 days FinTech Startups Tapping VC Money for ‘Immigrant Banking’
  • 1,065 days Is The Dollar Too Strong?
  • 1,065 days Big Tech Disappoints Investors on Earnings Calls
  • 1,066 days Fear And Celebration On Twitter as Musk Takes The Reins
  • 1,067 days China Is Quietly Trying To Distance Itself From Russia
  • 1,068 days Tech and Internet Giants’ Earnings In Focus After Netflix’s Stinker
  • 1,072 days Crypto Investors Won Big In 2021
  • 1,072 days The ‘Metaverse’ Economy Could be Worth $13 Trillion By 2030
  • 1,073 days Food Prices Are Skyrocketing As Putin’s War Persists
  • 1,075 days Pentagon Resignations Illustrate Our ‘Commercial’ Defense Dilemma
  • 1,075 days US Banks Shrug off Nearly $15 Billion In Russian Write-Offs
  • 1,079 days Cannabis Stocks in Holding Pattern Despite Positive Momentum
  • 1,080 days Is Musk A Bastion Of Free Speech Or Will His Absolutist Stance Backfire?
  • 1,080 days Two ETFs That Could Hedge Against Extreme Market Volatility
  • 1,082 days Are NFTs About To Take Over Gaming?
Hawkish Fed Sends Gold Prices Crashing

Hawkish Fed Sends Gold Prices Crashing

The gold bulls are facing…

Gold Bulls Are Facing An Uphill Battle

Gold Bulls Are Facing An Uphill Battle

Last year proved to be…

Mining.com

Mining.com

Mining.com

MINING.com is a web-based global mining publication focusing on news and commentary about mining and mineral exploration. The site is a one-stop-shop for mining industry…

Contact Author

  1. Home
  2. Commodities
  3. Precious Metals

Diamonds Are In The Rough

Diamond Markets

Rapaport published a report stating that diamond markets are under pressure as profit margins have tightened and the trade war with China has fueled uncertainty.

The international firm revealed that the RapNet Diamond Index, known as RAPI, for 1-carat+ diamonds fell 0.7% in May and is down 1.7% since the beginning of the year.

RAPI is the average asking price in hundred $/carat of the 10% best-priced diamonds, for each of the top 25 quality round diamonds offered for sale on the Rapaport Diamond Trading Network.

Stones weighing 3 carats saw the most dramatic change, with a 4% drop in May and a 9.8% drop since the beginning of the year.

If the trade does not change its business practices and adapt to new realities, the diamond industry will suffer 'extreme financial and regulatory disruption'— Rapaport

Diamonds of 0.30 carats sunk by 3.7% in May and 9.4% since the start of the year, while 0.50-carat rocks fell 1.7% last month and 2.9% year-to-date.

"There is good demand for 0.60- to 1.99-carat, F-J, VS2-I1 diamonds. Buyers are insisting on well-cut stones. Polished below 0.50 carats is slow due to excess supply, weak Chinese demand and tight Indian liquidity," the report reads. Related: Is This A Turning Point For Gold?

According to Rapaport, this state of affairs has pushed cutters to operate at lower capacity as they try to reduce inflated inventory, while manufacturers are rejecting high-priced rough stones that have made polished production unprofitable.

"De Beers and Alrosa are carefully managing production and price levels amid this year’s slow rough demand," the document states.

In the view of the firm's chairman, Martin Rapaport, if the trade does not change its business practices and adapt to new realities, the diamond industry will suffer "extreme financial and regulatory disruption."

By Mining.com

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com:

Back to homepage

Leave a comment

Leave a comment