|
|
De Beers Pre-Diwali Sales Beat Expectations
Oct 5, 2016 7:57 AM
By Rapaport News
|
|
|
RAPAPORT... De Beers sold $485 million of rough diamonds in its eighth sales cycle of
the year, exceeding expectations in a seasonally quiet period ahead of the Diwali holiday in
India.
While the figure for September is still the
lowest for this year, sales soared 57 percent from a year ago when demand hit
rock-bottom levels. Sales in the 7th cycle were restated at $639 million.
The Diwali vacation in India from October
30 means demand for inventory is lower as manufacturers hold on to fewer goods
during the period. While cutters have been ramping up production for the
holiday, they are now limiting how much rough they buy because they will be
shut for much of November.
Rough demand “continued to reflect the
improved midstream trading environment compared with 2015,” Bruce Cleaver, De
Beers chief executive officer, said. “Our rough diamond sales were slightly
ahead of expectation during the cycle, given the normal seasonal demand
patterns, the shorter than usual period between sights 7 and 8, and the
forthcoming holidays in some of the major diamond cutting centers.”
Prices of stones in the 1 to 2 carat range
increased by about 1 to 2 percent, even as smaller star and melee prices
declined around 0.5 percent to 1 percent, a sightholder reported. As a result
of the price rise, premiums on boxes on the secondary market declined 2 to 5
percent compared with the week before the sight, according to rough brokerage
Bluedax.
“Once the sight got underway and the
market realized there was a price increase, buying in the secondary
market cooled,” Dudu Harari, co-founder of Bluedax, wrote in a blog.
The latest sales figure includes the De
Beers sight held in Gaborone, Botswana, from September 26 to 29, as well as
auction sales and supply to beneficiation and government partners. De Beers
holds 10 sights in a year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tags:
Bluedax, Bruce Cleaver, De Beers, Diwali, India, Rapaport News, sight, sightholder, Sightholders
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|