De Beers diamond sales improve despite market challenges
Anglo American announced this morning that sales at diamond specialists De Beers had hit their highest level since June, but remained lower than normal for this time of year.
De Beers sold $390m (£303.8m) of rough diamonds in November, a considerable jump on its previous sale of $297m, but less than the $442 achieved at the same time last year.
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Bruce Cleaver, De Beers chief executive said: “With signs of increasing polished price stability, cycle 9 saw an improvement in sentiment from rough diamond buyers.
“Global consumer demand for diamond jewellery at the retail level continues to be broadly stable but, with midstream trading conditions still in the process of rebalancing, we offered sightholders further flexibility during the sight to provide support.”
2019 has proved a challenging year for diamond sales so far, with a combination of oversupply, ongoing trade tensions and increased sales of lab-grown diamonds all responsible for the fall in sales.
The lower demand for the precious stones saw De Beers cut its production from 35.3m carats to 31m carats for 2019.
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Anglo American also announced that a final vote on the granting of a license for the company’s mine at Minas Rio would be taken by the end of the year.
The mining giant raised its production guidance for the site, which indicates that it expects licencing imminently, according to RBC Capital Markets analysts.
Main image credit: Getty