Gaborone: De Beers announced that sales of rough diamonds in the fourth sales cycle of 2023 saw a small decrease from the previous cycle. The provisional sales value for Cycle 4 2023 is $480 million, down 11% from $542 million in Cycle 3, and down 21% from Cycle 4 of 2022.

Al Cook, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “Sales of our rough diamonds in the fourth sales cycle of the year saw a small decrease from the previous cycle as the industry has entered what is traditionally a seasonally quieter period. Rough diamond demand was also influenced by ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and a slower pace of recovery in consumer demand from China than was widely anticipated.”