Shortages, Holiday Demand Boost Diamond Prices

New York--Shortages in certain categories helped to boost polished diamond prices in December though they ended the year down, the Rapaport Group said.

The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI) for 1-carat, Gemological Institute of America-graded diamonds was up nearly 2 percent in December. The RAPI for 0.30-carat and 0.50-carat stones also increased, 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively, while the RAPI for 3-carat diamonds fell slightly (-0.1 percent).

Despite the late-year recovery in diamond prices, the RAPI for 2015 is down across the board, most sharply for half-carat and 3-carat diamonds. The RAPI for those sizes fell 15 percent this year.

The RAPI for 1-carat stones fell 6 percent this year and it is down 13 percent for 0.30-carat diamonds.

In its report for January, Shortages Supporting Prices, Rapaport noted that the United States continues to be the top-performing market in the world in terms of diamond sales. And though final numbers on jewelry sales in November-December have not yet been released, anecdotal evidence suggests that U.S. retailers had a positive holiday season.

Jewelers who spoke with National Jeweler last week indicated that a lot of their business came in the final few days before Christmas and that diamond sales were particularly strong, perhaps buoyed by the extra generic advertising this holiday season.

However, Rapaport noted that shortages constrained orders for select goods, particularly in higher-quality diamonds up to 2 carats.

In 2016, the shortage remains, as suppliers sold off higher-quality stock and manufacturers in India limited polished production in the past year due to an over-supply of diamonds in the middle of the pipeline and high rough diamond prices.

Rapaport said that sightholders expect De Beers to reduce prices again at the next sight (scheduled for Jan. 18 to 22) by 5 to 7 percent. Both De Beers’ and Alrosa’s rough prices declined about 15 percent during the year.

Rough demand is expected to increase in 2016, as manufacturers ramp up production to fill voids in the market, but will still remain below levels seen in previous years.

While Alrosa is expected to increase diamond mining slightly in 2016, De Beers anticipates cutting production from 29 million carats to 26-28 million carats, and already has announced it is mothballing its Snap Lake mine in Canada and cutting production at a number of mines in Africa as well.