De Beers CEO says dire demand for dinky diamonds is stabilising
The diamond company has been forced to cut prices to sell its cheaper gems in recent months, and its sales have been depressed
The CEO of De Beers says an improvement in diamond sales demonstrates that the poor demand for smaller stones that has plagued the company and its competitors in recent months is stabilising. Bruce Cleaver said the poor demand for stones valued at less than $100 a carat had been due to a surfeit of supply, currency weakness in India and the difficulty faced by gem cutters in accessing financing. While the currency of India, which is the world’s biggest cutter and polisher of diamonds, has fallen 5.7% against the dollar over the last year, the rupee has arrested that decline, gaining 1.9% over the last three months. “If you see the results we’ve published earlier this week it’s the best sight we’ve had this year,” Cleaver said in an interview in Cape Town on Thursday. “We are seeing a stabilisation in the lower-end goods so we would expect over time that it would work itself out as supply slowly normalises.” De Beers, the world’s biggest diamond company, has been forced to cut prices...
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.