IDEX Polished Price Index: Biggest Monthly Drop of 2024
July 04, 24
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Price Index fell by 2.00 per cent in June, its biggest and bumpiest drop this year, and its steepest monthly decline since last September (3.07 per cent). It's also almost double the near-straight line 1.02 per cent fall in May. There is, however, some glimmer of hope, namely that month-on-month drops this year are notably less than in the last two years (see fourth graph below). An ongoing global slump in demand coincides with turmoil at the two biggest players in the diamond industry, accounting for around 60 per cent of all diamond production between them. Alrosa is increasingly being hit by G7 and EU sanctions (all goods of 0.50-cts or above will be outlawed from 1 September), although it claims the countries imposing them will suffer more than it will. And the future of De Beers remains uncertain after parent company Anglo American said it would sell off the loss-making miner to focus on copper and other more profitable operations. That uncertainty could take up two years to resolve, according to Anglo. On top of that, the rise in popularity of lab growns continues. They now account for almost half of all diamond engagement rings sold in the US.