Market Comment

News: Indian manufacturers reducing rough purchases and production. Polished inventory high and rough relatively expensive. July RAPI: 0.30 ct. -8.9%, 1 ct. -7.3%. VS-SI goods doing better than IF-VVS due to US demand. Luxury brands struggling. Rio Tinto 1H sales -40% YOY to $149M, underlying loss of $65M vs. profit of $44M in 1H 2023. Ekati 2Q sales -27% YOY to $106M. Chow Tai Fook fiscal 1Q retail sales -20%. US consumer confidence index +2.6% in July, says Conference Board. Federal Reserve signals possible Sept. interest-rate cut. New York diamond dealer Manashe Sezanayev indicted for allegedly swapping natural diamonds with synthetics.

Fancies: Fancy-shape prices weaker following strong demand last year and overproduction by manufacturers. US buyers more selective about quality of SIs, rejecting black centers and short ratios. Elongated shapes still preferred. Fancies with medium and short ratios harder to sell. Supply shortages supporting prices for Marquises. Cushions slow. Very well-cut fancy shapes hard to find and commanding premiums. Oversizes trading at higher prices than usual. Off-make, poorly cut fancies illiquid.