Diamond prices are poised for their first annual drop in five years and may slide further next year as U.S. workers, who make up almost half of world demand, lose jobs at the fastest pace since the bursting of the tech bubble. “Luxury goods will get a serious knock,” said Abri Du Plessis, who helps manage the equivalent of $1.3 billion as chief investment officer of Gryphon Asset Management in Cape Town, South Africa. “It will be impossible for diamonds to escape the meltdown.” The last time the diamond index fell for the year was in 2003, when U.S. joblessness increased to 6.3 percent. The Labor Department last week reported unemployment at 6.5 percent, the highest in 14 years. Diamond prices may fall 15 percent in 2009, RBC Capital Markets said. Bloomberg News
