On Tuesday, De Beers announced a drop in their seventh rough-diamond sale cycle, falling 12 percent to $505 million. In July, the miner’s saw $576 million. In comparison to last year’s sales, the company faces an overall 21 per cent decrease in sales.
According to De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver, the slight drop in sales is partly due to Diwali being moved up to October 19 this year, whereas last year it began on October 30. This caused rough-buyers from India to purchase their pieces in July rather than in August.
“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 the cycle six due to Diwali being earlier than normal in 2017,” explains Cleaver. “Businesses in the diamond industry’s midstream segment are adopting a watchful approach as attention now turns to the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair in mid-September,” he adds.
