Coming Soon: A Diamond Futures Market?

MarketWatch reported that a futures market for diamonds may be created as soon as late 2016 or early 2017. Martin Rapaport of Rapaport Group has been gunning for that to happen for decades, and now believes the time could finally be here.
As quoted in the market news:

Rapaport isn’t the only business mind to try to establish a diamond-backed futures market, efforts have been made to establish one in fits and starts over more than 30 years.
But Rapaport said it can only become a reality with a spot-cash market. “You can’t have a derivatives market without a legitimate, transparent, competitive and efficient spot-cash market,” he said.
A spot-cash market is a market in which goods are sold for money and delivered immediately, or in a short period. A futures market, meanwhile, is a market in which participants can buy and sell a commodity or futures contract for delivery on a specified date in the future.
“A diamond futures market will help the industry,” Rapaport said. “Right now, the diamond trade is forced to be in a long position. If there’s a downward movement in prices, the whole trade is at risk.”

Click here to read the full MarketWatch report.