This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Will Purcell

The diamond and specialty minerals stocks box score on Friday was a mediocre 80-77-153 as the TSX Venture Exchange fell fractionally to 721. Yes, another week has passed with diamond prices just as flat as ever, according to Paul Zimnisky's global rough diamond price index. How flat depends on your perspective: Over the past two months one must squint firmly to notice the gentle week-to-week squiggles, while over the past three months, the weekly jogs have been just a bit more pronounced.

Mr. Zimnisky takes a wider view -- having endured three years of relentless decline -- as he highlights a flattish period now running for a full six months. In that time prices did fall to a five-year low of 123.2 months in early February, and they also rebounded to about 127.5 points in early March. Still, this week's setting at 126.8 points is just 0.3 point below the 127.1 mark where Mr. Zimnisky had placed his chart in early December.

The problem, of course, is that rough prices are far below their short-lived record high of 207.3 points, set in early 2022. Back then, miners had been expecting further increases, and not the 40-per-cent decline in prices that followed. (Mr. Zimnisky currently estimates rough diamond prices are 38.9 per cent, 80 points, below the 2022 all-time high.)

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS