Morning Bites

💍Hong Kong jewellery and watch sales gained 24% YoY in February, vs. the +31% YoY in January, per government data. According to Rapaport, demand remained steady for larger diamonds; however, the geopolitical situation has dented customer sentiment in March, while many participants from the Middle East are absent.

We maintain our cautious view on the medium-term prospects for a recovery in the global diamond market, given the risks to supply discipline related to Anglo American's planned sale of De Beers (which is currently disrupting the price-over-volume strategy), as well as geopolitical/trading concerns.

#diamonds