Press Release – The De Beers Group of Companies today announced the value of rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales) for the first sales cycle of 2016.
Sales value [1] ($m)
– Cycle 1 2016 [2]: 540
– Cycle 10 2015 : 248
Rough diamond sales during the first cycle of the year improved significantly compared with the final sales cycle of 2015. A positive holiday season in the US from a retail perspective, low levels of rough diamond purchases by the midstream in Q4 2015 and a subsequent reduction in manufacturing saw polished diamond stocks pull through the pipeline. This has resulted in firmer polished prices. Rough diamond demand broadened across the entire product range as cutting and polishing factories began to increase their activity.
Philippe Mellier, Chief Executive, De Beers Group, said: “We are encouraged by the result of the first sales cycle of 2016, and will keep working closely with our customers to deliver sustainable improvements in the diamond industry in 2016.”
[1] Sales value is quoted in terms of sales by De Beers Global Sightholder Sales and De Beers Auction Sales, and reported on a consolidated accounting basis. Auction Sales included in a given cycle are the sum of all sales between the end of the preceding cycle and the end of the noted cycle.
[2] Cycle 1 2016 provisional sales value represents sales as at 25 January 2016.
