A US slowdown in demand for polished diamonds is gradually building up inventories at Indian jewellery manufacturing companies, leading to a decline in diamond prices by as much as seven percent this month.
The US usually orders bulk for the holiday season, but this year the volumes are down.
Inventories have started piling up at the manufacturing units. It will become a matter of worry if this continues for long. We do not expect manufacturing activities to be cut down due to this slowdown in export markets. Manufacturing companies may reduce rough purchases.
Diamond markets in Belgium and Israel are also quiet. Rough diamond trading has slowed.