Gaborone: De Beers concluded its 2019 rough diamond sales on a seemingly recovery path as the Anglo American 85%-owned diamond company raked in $425 million from the tenth sales cycle of 2019 compared with $400 million realised during the ninth sales cycle.

“Following continued polished diamond price stability in the lead up to the final sales cycle of the year, we saw further signs of steady demand for rough diamonds during Sight 10,” said De Beers chief executive Bruce Cleaver.

The situation was, however, not that rosy when compared with $544 million that De Beers accrued during the same period last year.
Although still provisional, the group stated that it earned $4.04 billion this year from its diamond sales compared with $5.39 billion, a year earlier.

The diamond industry had been experiencing an oversupply of polished diamonds that have led to sharp price drops than for rough stones.
De Beers lowered prices across the board by about 5%.

It had been offering flexibility to its diamond buyers as midstream trading conditions are still in the process of rebalancing.