Mercury Polished Diamond Prices: Signs That the Tide Has Turned

(ehudlaniado.com) - Polished diamond prices increased across the board in April, indicating that the polished market is strengthening. The rise follows weak prices in March and marks a return to the trend of rising polished diamond prices that started in December 2017. The Mercury Diamond Global Tracker™ (MDGT™) averaged 114.94 in April, up 0.2% over March. Year-over-year, polished diamond prices are still low, down 1.9% compared to April 2017. The Mercury Index rose 0.28% in January and 0.08% in February, but declined 0.2% in March. Prior to that, the Mercury Index mainly declined for several years. Polished diamond prices peaked in April 2014, when the index reached 142.3. Since July 2014, the index has exhibited a steady decline with a few notable respites in the 44-month period. The rise in prices is noteworthy, and not only because it is important for the midstream of the diamond pipeline to finally have some relief. Price increases in three out of four months is already a trend. The decline in March in this context even makes sense. Traders had certain sales expectations early in the month due to the trade fair in Hong Kong. When they did not materialize as expected, the reaction of price decreases was normal. However, the forces that are pushing up prices are steady and were present in March as well.