In it latest analysis of polished diamond prices published on IDEX Online, the IDEX polished diamond price index saw a small decrease in December. The Index began the month at 122.4 and ended at 121.0. The decline followed an increase the month before.
Prices and Carat Size Analysis
Polished diamond prices have declined since the middle of the year. In December, the index was at its lowest point for four years.
Polished diamond prices since January 2013 shows a 7.6 % decline to-date. On a month-to-month basis, December’s global polished diamond prices saw a decline of 0.5% over November.
On a year-over-year basis, December’s average price showed a 1.7% decrease. When analyzing the index by carat sizes – comparing prices during December 2016 to November 2016 – there were two rising categories and four categories of decline. While 2 and 4 carat stones increased, the following sizes declined: 0.5 carat, 1 carat, 1.5 carats and 3 carats.
On a year-over-year basis, there was one riser and five decliners. While the 1.5-carat category rose, all the others declined.
Over the longer term, the general trend is that 4-carat stones have shown the most price volatility, although 3-carat diamonds have displayed the steepest year-over-year decline since mid-2015. From October 2015 onwards, there has been relative price stability in 1-carat, 1.5-carat and 2-carat stones.
As for the average annual price index, the figure of 123.73 for 2016 continued a downward trend that began in 2012.
Outlook
According to IDEX , “trading volumes were relatively low last month in the run-up to Christmas period. With the holiday season entering its last few weeks, all eyes were on jewelry sales levels, data regarding sales will more fully become available in January and February”.
The industry will be looking to see rough diamond sales in January, looking ahead to the Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day. “Rough diamond trading was subdued last month with De Beers’ sales cycle results being lower than in November”, says the analysis.
The report concludes with expectations of the next De Beers sale, which will be held on January 17. “The demonetization program in India has impacted sales of rough and polished, especially smaller stones, so industry members will be interested to see how the withdrawal of the larger rupee banknotes will affect sales going forward”, says the report.
