According to Rapaport, the diamond market was quiet in October as Chinese, Jewish and Indian holidays rolled around. Trading also took a plateau as the larger U.S. holiday orders were already filled, and dealers shifted to accommodate for custom orders from retail customers.
The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI™) for one-carat, RapSpec-A3+ polished diamonds fell 2.3 per cent in October. The index dropped 4.3 per cent in the first ten months of the year.
Although rough demand approached a sluggish time, mining companies are still seeing strong growth in comparison to 2015. De Beers sales volume rose 90 per cent in the third quarter, while ALROSA increased 69 per cent. India’s rough imports soared 54 per cent to USD $4.2B in the third quarter, a record for the period, while its polished exports grew 15 per cent to USD $6.1B.
Rough prices are expected to soften in the long term due to pressure for the rest of 2016 and into 2017. Rappaport states that with sufficient stock in the midstream, the diamond trade continues to re-align its inventory with lower levels of demand while there is still an overhang of supply from previous years.
