NEW YORK — Diamond sales growth is not expected to accelerate any time soon, as demand from China continues to slump, says the president of the World Diamond Council.Global polished diamond sales used in jewellery will increase 4% a year until at least 2019, according to Andrey Polyakov, who is also a vice-president at Russia’s Alrosa PJSC.He said the decrease in Chinese sales — a result of the country’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign — would be offset by stable demand from the US, Japan, the Indian middle class, and in Europe, where Chinese tourists were supporting sales growth.Rough diamond prices dropped 18% in 2015, as slowing Chinese demand and an industrywide credit crunch curbed purchases.Sales of$630m at a diamond auction last week by De Beers,the world’s largest supplier, raised hopes that the industry can avoid a second-half slowdown.Bloomberg
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