Demand for diamond jewelry, traditionally growing by the beginning of the celebration of Navratri, this year remained weak in a number of Indian regions.
The decline in prices for rough diamonds by about 5% did not bring relief to participants in the Indian trading sector, as consumers abstain from buying. Diamond traders continue negotiations with suppliers of raw materials about further price cuts. Now the entire diamond industry is betting on the Diwali holiday, hoping that sales of diamond jewelry will rise, bringing this sector back to life.
Nevertheless, the decline in diamond prices made traders happy, as export markets show signs of recovery. In the US and Europe, there is an increase in demand. Diamantaires are pleased with the drop in prices for raw materials and expect that next month prices will drop by another 3%, as the extremely low activity in the market forces suppliers to drop prices. At present, Indian demand for diamonds is much lower than the usual figures for this season. In addition, the liquidity crisis in the domestic market caused a decline in sales of diamonds.
According to some reports, diamonds are in second place in terms of popularity growth as a discretionary purchase after mobile phones, but this year, despite the holiday season, demand has not increased.
Many retailers remain hopeful of growing demand in the coming weeks. Participants in Indian trade are negotiating with suppliers of rough diamonds to be able to reduce prices for their products for the wedding season and holidays.