Diamond sales drop for first time in 2016

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

De Beers’ fourth sale of the year that ended in Gaborone last Friday saw diamond sales falling for the first time in 2016. A statement released by the company yesterday shows that De Beers’ rough diamond sales declined to $630 million in its fourth sales cycle of the year, a 5.4 percent drop from a revised $666 million in April.

“As normal seasonal trends return to the market, we are encouraged by the continued stability of demand for rough diamonds shown in the fourth sales cycle of 2016,” said Philippe Mellier, chief executive officer of De Beers.

The relatively small drop in May follows consecutive increases in the four sales from December to April, after a slump in the second half of 2015 to an estimated low of $178 million in November.

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