A Look at Rough Diamond Prices in the Midst of the Covid Crisis

(paulzimnisky.com) - Much of the diamond supply chain has been virtually suspended since boarder closures and travel restrictions globally were implemented in the last two weeks of March in response to the Covid pandemic. The diamond manufacturing hub in India was officially closed on March 24 and most retail outlets that sell diamonds and jewelry throughout the world, excluding China, were mandated to shut doors in mid-to-late March. While some rough diamond trading has taken place in recent weeks, the relative volume of transactions has been minimal due the aforementioned travel restrictions, and ultimately a lack of downstream demand as closed jewelers have no need to replenish inventory. Typically, in a crisis-environment diamond trading liquidity dries up, however at the moment the circumstances are especially severe due to the unique nature of an acute concurrent demand and supply shock.