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RAPAPORT... The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for jewelry dropped 5.1 percent year on year to 161.75 points in December, which was about 4 points lower than November's reading and the lowest since July 2010. The average jewelry CPI for 2014 slipped 4 percent to 170.58 points and it was the lowest reading since 2010, when the index held at 161.24 points.  Comparatively, the CPI for watches reflected a more stable environment in December as the index slipped only 1 percent year on year to 119.73 points and it was down 1.6 points from November's reading. However, the average CPI increased 0.5 percent during 2014 to close at a record high of 122.2 points. Meanwhile, diamond prices contracted in 2014, according to the RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI), the global benchmark for polished prices. RAPI for 1.00-carat diamonds plunged 8.7 percent year on year, while RAPI for 3.00-carat dropped 6.6 percent and 0.30-carat fell 6.5 percent. Only prices for 0.50-carat diamonds held steady, or up 0.1 percent, according to RAPI. Gold prices in 2014, while at times reacting wildly to global and economic events, closed the year slightly lower, falling by 1.5 percent compared with 2013. But prices for silver plunged 19 percent and platinum was off by 12 percent in 2014. The CPI for all consumable product categories in December rose 1.7 percent year on year to 236.38 points, closing out the year with an average CPI up 1.5 percent to a record 237.09 points.
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