The shekel reverses its late-October firming while the price board waits on the October RAPI

The board still sits where September's RAPI left it, with the 0.50-carat index up 2.5% for the month against 0.3% at one carat, and the Rapaport price list has not been revised since September 11. De Beers Sight 9 closed on October 30 with rough prices held unchanged at a quiet, low-volume sale, Rapaport reported on November 2, so the rough side offers no lift either and quotes stay anchored to that September print. The month-old index now points the other way from the live dealer read because Rapaport's October 22 and October 29 market comments both have 0.30- to 0.89-carat rounds softening as dealer inventory builds. The index and the desk still point in opposite directions.

The shekel weakened about 1.93% on the week to 3.14 per dollar. That gives back the firming to 3.05 we flagged on October 28 as possibly a sustained turn, so a week later the move has already reverted toward 3.15 and that call is not holding. For Ramat Gan desks, the reversal undoes the recent easing in local costs and financing, while leaving the USD price of the stones themselves untouched. The rupee held near 94.9, inside the quoting band and not a factor this week. Gold is down 5.45% since October 2, which reads as a cost signal for jewelry metal rather than a move in stones.

The October RAPI is the next real test, due in the coming days, with September's reading having been published on October 6. It will show whether the small-stone lead held through the month or whether the dealer softening that Rapaport flagged has now reached the index, which is the tension the desk is carrying unresolved. For the travel desk, the nearest show is the Jewellery & Watch Show (JWS) in Abu Dhabi, running from November 11 to 15, the first Gulf fixture before Jewellery Arabia in Bahrain later in the month.