De Beers diamond sales fall sharply
Revenue from the seventh sale of the year was much lower than both a year ago, and the previous sale
De Beers reported a big drop in the seventh sale of rough diamonds for 2017, with provisional revenue of $505m compared with $639m in the matching period a year earlier, as industry experts warned of slowing demand for rough diamonds in coming months. De Beers, which is 85% owned by Anglo American, has 10 sales events a year and is one of the world’s largest sources of rough diamonds. It notched up sales of $576m in the sixth event. “As expected, rough diamond sales were somewhat lower in the seventh cycle of the year, with some midstream demand having already been brought forward into Cycle 6 due to Diwali being earlier than normal in 2017,” said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver. Rapaport The midstream segment are the cutters and polishers of rough diamonds, with India being a significant player in this segment because of its capacity to cut and polish small diamonds more cheaply than most other countries. Rapaport, which specialises in pricing polished diamonds and market intelligence, ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
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.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.