Rough DIAM Prices (Fri, 03 Sep) - Summary by Will Purcell Rough diamond prices rose 0.2 per cent last week, according to Paul Zimnisky's global rough diamond price index, but there has not been any late data trickling in to erase the formation of a top on the one-year chart. Although prices are up about 40 per cent since they fell off a COVID-19-induced cliff in the early spring of 2020, they are now off about 0.5 per cent from their high in early August.
The index also shows prices up about 12 per cent over the past five years, a rate roughly matching inflation, but they are still about 15 per cent below their all-time high set in the spring of 2011. That high was the result of demand rebounding after the Great Recession while supply remained diminished by the slow start-up of mines mothballed during the slowdown. That situation could be repeating itself, but miners and diamantaires are cheerfully predicting further gains -- just as they have done incessantly over the past decade.