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In a surprise development Russia has moved into first place as the world's biggest diamond producer by value and volume, displacing Botswana. Canada held its number three position. Rapaport also reported on August 25, 2015 that De Beers had cut the prices of its August sight in Botswana by 10%. This follows talk earlier this summer that sightholders had declined a significant part of the parcels offered by De Beers. Part of the explanation has been a drop in demand due to the Chinese crackdown on corruption which has discouraged conspicuous consumption. This has hit demand for luxury goods, now expected to take a bigger hit in the wake of China's stock market bubble collapse. But another explanation offered from non-quotable sources is that rough diamond dealers are suffering capital problems due to a sudden unwillingness of European banks to get caught up in investigations into money laundering and tax evasion. Disappearing margins between polished and rough diamond prices coupled with difficulties in obtaining loans has crimped dealer demand for rough diamonds. Although we do not see diamond price trends as we do with metals, the sense is that rough diamond prices are softening. That is mostly of concern to diamond producers, but the resulting pall has also settled onto juniors with advanced diamond projects such as Peregrine Diamonds, the top SVH diamond pick.