In a press release by Rapaport quoted by Rough & Polished, the RapNet Index (RAPI™) for 1 carat diamonds went down by 1.8% in June. However, that figure increased 7.4% between the beginning of the year and July 1.
According to the report, “polished prices declined amid a weak global economic outlook and a rise in inventory levels.” In July, market activities subsided “due to the holiday season and simultaneously emerging concerns about a possible recession” in the US, as well as “a slump in demand in April and May in China resulting in accumulated inventories at local jewelry companies.”
Meanwhile, inventories went up among diamond manufacturers. According to the report, “RapNet piled up 1.87 million polished goods as of July 1, an increase of 4.3%, despite the Russian sanctions that limited Alrosa’s rough sales and took an estimated 30% of global production off the market.”
