IDEX Polished Price Index: The Decline Slows in April
May 02, 24
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Price Index slipped marginally in April. The trend remains downwards, but the decline during the month was a modest 0.59 per cent, compared with 1.52 per cent in March. It's too early to talk about a recovery, but a combination of factors appear to be pushing up prices.
Lab grown prices are still crashing. They have yet to reach rock bottom, according to many analysts, but are becoming less attractive to retail jewelers. In addition the G7 sanctions on Russia have effectively put a third of the world's diamond supply off limits.
Alrosa, the state-run miner is being forced to offload some of its unsellable goods to the Gokhran, the state-run repository of precious stones and metals.
And De Beers, now controlling the majority of the market again, is producing less and selling less. Output during the first quarter of 2024 was down by 23 per cent, the annual forecast is down 10 per cent and sales at is sights and auctions are down on last year.
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