OREANDA-NEWS  Global demand for diamonds will recover slowly in the coming year, as high credit rates in the United States, a key consumer market, may only begin to decline, Andrey Eremin, head of commodity markets at Alfa Capital Management Company, told RIA Novosti.

The 1 carat diamond price index decreased by almost 10% over the year, to 4.15 points, the specialized publication Rapaport reported with reference to the RAPI index. Prices for small stones of 0.3-0.5 carats fell the most last year - by 20.3% and 26%, respectively. The price index for 3-carat diamonds decreased the least - by 0.3%, in December the indicator even increased by 0.3%, unlike other categories of stones.