Rough Diam Prices (Fri, 06 May) - Mentioned by Will Purcell The flattening of the decline in rough diamond prices continued this week, and in fact, Paul Zimnisky's global rough diamond price index shows a 0.1-per-cent increase in prices. Still, the trend since mid-February's all-time high remains downward, with a 5-per-cent drop over the past 10 weeks.
While diamond miners are enthused with the near-record-high prices still prevailing, explorers and would-be miners can only hope that the buoyant market for rough holds through the years to come. Perhaps it will, but so far the charts look very much like they did in the first few years after the Great Recession of late 2008. In spring of 2009 prices began a two-year climb to a record high, then drifted relentlessly lower over the following decade. In fact, Mr. Zimnisky's chart shows prices are 28 per cent higher than one year ago, five years ago and 10 years ago -- a clear picture of stagnation.