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Rapaport TradeWire February 21, 2019
Feb 21, 2019 10:20 AM
By Rapaport
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| February 21, 2019 | | RAPAPORT MARKET COMMENT |  | | Rising expectations for Hong Kong show (Feb. 26), with hope that Chinese buyers will resume bulk orders following 2018 slowdown. Dealers uncertain about prices. Suppliers taking a lot of goods to the show. Top-make RapSpec A2+ seeing steady demand and short supply. Rough market cautious ahead of De Beers sight, as manufacturers are squeezed by high rough prices and inflated polished inventory. De Beers 2018 revenue +4% to $6.1B, earnings -34% to $349M, average price +6% to $171/ct. Petra Diamonds appoints Richard Duffy as CEO, 1H revenue +8% to $207M, loss of $58M vs. loss of $118M the previous year. India Jan. polished exports -16% to $1.7B, rough imports -40% to $858M. | | | RAPNET DIAMOND INDEX (RAPI™) | | | | Weekly | Monthly | Y2Y | | 0.30 ct | -0.11% | -0.91% | -8.74% | | 0.50 ct | 0.22% | 0.02% | -2.33% | | 1.00 ct | 0.19% | 0.21% | -2.91% | | 3.00 ct | 0.14% | -0.62% | -6.00% |  | | The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI™) is the average asking price in hundred $/ct. of the 10 percent best priced diamonds, for each of the top 25 quality round diamonds (D-H, IF-VS2, GIA-graded, RapSpec-A3 and better) offered for sale on RapNet - Rapaport Diamond Trading Network. | | | | Market Reports | | |  | United States: Mixed reports about Valentine’s Day, with busy traffic at big brands and shift to lower price points... |  |  | Belgium: Focus on filling specific requests from US and Europe, rather than bulk orders... | | |  | Israel: Dealers struggling to compete with India on price... | | |  | India: Manufacturers maintaining lower production, as inventory of low-quality polished remains high... | | |  | Hong Kong: Wholesale trading improving, with some pre-orders before the Hong Kong show, which begins Feb. 26... | | |  | | | Synthetics: The Meat of the Matter |  | | WITH Avi Krawitz | The meat industry is facing similar challenges diamonds went through in the early stages of the lab-grown debate. With the discussion in our sector now at a more advanced phase, the natural-diamond trade needs to get off the defensive. |  | | | WEEKLY NEWS | | industry | | | | Higher Costs Hit De Beers Profit | | Underlying earnings fall 34% to $349 million in 2018. |  | | | Rare 88ct. Diamond to Lead Sotheby’s Hong Kong | | Stone is one of only three oval cuts over 50 carats ever to be auctioned. | | | | | China Downturn Still Plagues Swiss Watches | | Exports to the country fell 15% in January. | | | | | Blom Urges Joint Effort to Mend South Africa Trade | | Close cooperation will help reverse slowdown in cutting sector, says WFDB president. | | | | | retail | | | | Holiday Sales Growth Misses Expectations | | NRF questions government data showing increase of just 2.9%. | | | | | Couples Paying Less for Rings, Survey Shows | | Average outlay on engagement pieces down 2% to $5,680, says The Knot. | | | | | mining | | | | Petra Names New CEO to Drive Turnaround | | Richard Duffy is a veteran of the mining industry. | | | | | Lucara Recovers 223ct. Diamond at Karowe | | Stone will be up for sale at March tender. | | | | | Vast to Mine Zimbabwe’s Marange Fields | | UK-based company will collaborate with local development trust. | | | | | Lucapa Recovers 128ct. Rough | | Miner also finds 7.5-carat purple-pink stone. | | | | | Gem Diamonds’ Letšeng Mine Yields 13ct. Pink | | Stone is largest of its color the company has found since 2011. | | | | | general | | | | Baselworld Owner Gets New Chief | | Bernd Stadlwieser will help implement the watch exhibition’s transformation. | | | | | India Starts Year with Export Slump | | Rough and polished trading declines in January. | | | | | 34ct. Yellow Diamond Sells for $520K | | Ring once belonged to the king and queen of Hawaii. | | | | | Belgium Trade Slows in January | | Polished exports down 4%, rough imports slump 33%. | | | | | | FINANCE | | Diamond Industry Stock Report | | | | Mining companies had a rough week. Lucapa Diamond (-8%) dropped following disappointing results from an exploration project, while Firestone Diamonds (-10%) fell again after a large-stone find had boosted its stock performance in the previous week. Petra Diamonds (-13%) continued its weakness, as the announcement of a new CEO and a reduced loss failed to improve investor sentiment significantly. Lucara Diamond (+8%) bucked the trend after recovering a 223-carat stone. In retail, Walmart (+2%) gained after holiday sales exceeded analysts’ predictions. Shares in Hong Kong-based Luk Fook (+4.4%) also increased. | | | | | Contact Us |  |       | | © Copyright 2019 Martin Rapaport. All Rights Reserved. | | Rapaport®, TradeWire®, RapNet®, Index® and JNS® Jewelry News Service are registered trademarks. | |
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