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Rapaport Weekly Market Comment
Apr 21, 2016 7:58 AM
By Rapaport News
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Rounds: Polished trading
quiet. Suppliers refusing low offers for better-quality RapSpec A2 diamonds.
Manufacturing profit declining with high rough prices and weak polished demand.
Rising expectations for U.S. demand as Dow surpasses 18,000. De Beers 1Q
production -10% to 6.9M cts., sales -10% to 7.6M cts. ALROSA 1Q production -2%
to 8.2M cts., sales +34% to 12.1M cts. Sotheby’s NY sells $30M (71% by lot) but
Shirley Temple 9.54 ct. blue diamond fails to sell. Israel 1Q polished exports
-17% to $1.4B. Israeli police probing Hanan Abramovici over $60-65M owed to
bourse members. THE RAPAPORT PRICE LIST WILL NOT
BE PUBLISHED ON APRIL 29 DUE TO THE JEWISH HOLIDAY OF PASSOVER.
Fancies: Ovals doing well and
cushions have cooled off. Emeralds selling. Princess and Hearts slow. Top
quality fine-cut fancy shapes OK but buyers are extremely picky. Overall fancy
shape prices relatively soft. U.S. demand supporting market for
commercial-quality fancies, especially for sizes under 1 ct. Far East fancy demand
weak. Buyers are very selective and insisting on excellent-shape proportions.
Significant price differentials between excellent- and average-cut fancies.
Off-make, poorly-cut fancies illiquid and very hard to sell, even at very deep
discounts.
United
States: Quiet
polished trading with many New York dealers taking vacation during next week’s
Passover holiday. Buyer’s market developing as suppliers reduce prices on
unwanted excess inventory.No price breaks for top-quality RapSpec A2
goods that are in high demand. Steady demand for bread-and-butter 0.30 to 1.99
ct. diamonds. Melee and large stones above 3 ct. weak.Retailers
avoiding unnecessary inventory and taking goods on memo.
Belgium:
Confidence
low and trading slow. Dealers focused on filling orders with very little buying
for inventory. Steady demand for pointer sizes and 1 to 2 ct., G-J, VS-SI
diamonds. Suppliers holding firm prices for better-quality RapSpec A2 diamonds.
Good fancy color diamond demand. Rough trading stable. Widening gap between
rough and polished resulting in declining manufacturing margins. Big stones
under pressure.
Israel:
Sentiment
weak with default of estimated $60-65M owed to the trade by Hanan Abramovici. Trade
is concerned bankruptcies may follow. Polished trading slow. Big-stone demand
weak with limited selective orders. Steady U.S. demand for 0.30 to 1.99 ct.,
G-J, VS-I2 diamonds. Good fancy shape demand for ovals and pears. Rough trading
stable with boxes selling for low premiums on the secondary market. Israel
Diamond Exchange services will be closed for the week of Passover (April
24-28).
India:
Trading
is relatively slow and the market is expected to be quiet through April-May.
Weak domestic demand resulting from jewelers’ strike impacting cash flows in
the diamond sector. Retailers mulling further action to protest 1% jewelry
excise duty when parliament returns next week. Steady demand for GIA-dossiers
and 1 ct., G-J, VS-SI diamonds. Manufacturing levels stabilizing.
Hong
Kong: Polished
trading stable, continuing momentum since the March show. Concern about
softening prices and weak big-stone demand. Steady demand for 0.30 to 1 ct.,
D-J, VS-SI, 3X diamonds. Consumer spending remains cautious with large retail
chains reporting weak jewelry sales in Jan.-Mar. quarter. Jewelers expecting
sales boost in Mainland China during May 1 Golden Week but weak Hong Kong sales
due to decline in tourist traffic.
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Tags:
Rapaport News
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