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RAPAPORT... The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for jewelry declined 4.3 percent year on year to 169.36 points in May, which was the lowest reading since December 2010. The CPI in May was just a touch lower than the reading in April.  The CPI for watches, meanwhile, was down 0.9 percent year on year to 120.37 points. Lower prices for some of the jewelry industry's commodities have contributed to a lower CPI in the past few months. The average price of gold in May was about 10 percent lower, while platinum was about 2 percent higher compared with May 2013. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI), the global benchmark for polished diamond prices, fell 3.3 percent year on year for 1-carat diamonds, while RAPI for 3-carat diamonds dropped 2.6 percent in May. However, RAPI for 0.30-carat diamonds jumped 8.5 percent and the index increased 5.1 percent for 0.50-carat stones. By comparison, the CPI for all product categories in May increased 2.1 percent year on year to set a new record high of 237.08 points. The U.S. CPI has experienced 13 consecutive monthly increases as energy and food producers, in particular, continue pass on price increases to consumers.
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