Market Comment

News:

Market quiet due to Jewish holidays. India preparing for Diwali (Oct. 20), while US focuses on Thanksgiving and holiday season. Adobe forecasts US online holiday sales +5.3% to over $250B, with Cyber Monday +6.3% to $14.2B. Namibia unsure about buying stake in De Beers. Prices at latest De Beers sight stable. HRD Antwerp names Paul de Wachter CEO. Round prices under 1 ct. weak: 0.30 and 0.50 ct. RAPI -6% in Sept., 1 ct. -0.9%, 3 ct. flat. ODC refutes claims of “emergency” sale.

Fancies:

Long fancy shapes such as Oval, Marquise and Emerald doing better than rounds in 2 ct. and larger. High-quality Marquises, long Radiants and long Cushions in short supply. Marquises most expensive fancy shapes. Long Cushions easy to sell and trading at 20% to 25% premium over square ones. Solid US market for elongated Ovals of good shape and quality in D-I, VS-SI categories. US Oval prices 5% to 10% higher than those of Pears. Very well-cut fancy shapes difficult to find and commanding premiums. Fancies with bad proportions illiquid.