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SourcingMar 07, 2018
De Beers Diamond Sales Flat in Second Cycle
Rough sales totaled $555 million, compared with $553 million in the same period last year.
De Beers reported Tuesday that rough diamond sales totaled $555 million in the second sales cycle of the year, up slightly from $553 in the same period in 2017 but down from $672 million in the first sales cycle.
Gaborone, Botswana--Rough diamond sales were up less than 1 percent year-over-year in the second sales cycle of the year, De Beers Group reported Tuesday.
The diamond miner and marketer said sightholder and auction sales together totaled $555 million between Jan. 30 and Feb. 5, compared with $553 million in the second sales cycle of last year.
Compared with the first sales cycle of the year, which is usually a strong period for De Beers as manufacturers restock after the holiday season, second-cycle sales were down 17 percent.
The $555 million is a provisional figure and likely will be revised upward when De Beers announces the sales results of the third cycle in early April.
CEO Bruce Cleaver called rough demand “good” and said it was what De Beers expected following strong retail sales of diamond jewelry in the United States during the holiday season and early signs that many consumers bought diamond jewelry for the Chinese New Year (Feb. 16) as well.
De Beers revised its sales figure for the first sales cycle upward, from $665 million to $672 million.
Here is a chart showing the year-over-year comparison for De Beers’s rough diamond sales so far in 2018.
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