DIAMOND sales picked up strongly in the latest sales by De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer by value, gaining more than $100m on its last sale.De Beers, which is 85% owned by Anglo American, reported sales of a provisional $630m for its seventh out of 10 annual sales events, which was higher than the $528m sold in July.The uptick in sales to about 80 clients called sightholders and auctions of rough diamonds marked the first upturn in sales since the peak of $666m in April, which was the third sales event of the year. Since then there had been a steady decline in revenue from sales. "We saw healthy demand for our rough diamonds in cycle 7, as manufacturers brought forward some of their demand in order to cut and polish rough diamonds in time for the important retail selling season," said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver said in a statement on Tuesday. Anglo is in the midst of a massive portfolio restructuring to focus on three "consumer-facing commodities" in diamonds, platinum...
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