DTC expects challenging year in US market

"If you look at the new consumer markets in China and India, there is a huge new demand pool that is coming into place," Managing Director Varda Shine told Reuters in an interview.

"The real question is what will happen in the US because of subprime," she said late on Monday, referring to the US housing crisis which has ignited fears of a recession that could set off a global economic downturn. The United States is the world's biggest market for diamond jewellry.