Diamond market overview
There was overall steady demand for polished over the past week. Some traders were cautiously optimistic about the JCK trade show in Las Vegas early June, citing selective restocking in the retail market. On a monthly basis, US retail sales have slowed, suggesting consumer spending is easing. While in the shorter term, sentiment is slightly more cautious, expectations in the trade about the end of year sales season are strong. The main polishedprices index ended the week virtually unchanged, opening at 118.97 on Friday, from Monday’s opening ay 118.69.
Rough market
Rough trading continued to show strong demand this past week. De Beers published its sales figures for May, which came in lower at $520 million, compared with $586 million it sold at the April sight. The world’s largest supplier of rough said the company continued to see steady demand, despite the industry entering a typically quieter season.
Corporate and events
De Beers announced its auction sales business will pilot the sale of its own polished diamonds using auctions for the first time. The sale will comprise a wide range of polished stones manufactured directly from its rough diamonds, the company said in a statement.
Chinese jewelry retailer Chow Tai Fook announced a cooperation agreement with DFS Group, an American luxury retailer catering to the traveling public, chinaretailnews.com reported. Under the agreement, Chow Tai Fook will open a store at DFS’ T Galleria Hawaii in May 2017. This is reportedly Chow Tai Fook’s second store in America. In November 2016, Chow Tai Fook launched its first U.S. store at Macy’s in Flushing, New York, the chinaretailnews.com report said.
