De Beers sold $418m worth of diamonds at its tenth auction this year, 12% down from $476m at its ninth auction. Parent Anglo American’s share price fell as much as 2.3% to a low of R207.51 after the announcement on Tuesday. "While the trade in lower-value rough diamonds is experiencing a temporary slowdown as a result of the demonetisation programme in India, demand across the rest of the product mix continued to be healthy and overall sales remained in line with seasonal expectations," said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver. "Pleasingly, sales were also significantly higher than those for the equivalent cycle in 2015."

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.