01 Feb 2024

De Deers group has announced an increase in the first diamond sales of the year amounting to P5.1 billion.

The 2024 first cycle sales are higher than De Beers recorded in any cycle last year.

In a statement released following the recent sales, De Beers group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Al Cook, said solid consumer demand for diamonds in the United States over the year-end holiday season had helped to stabilise the industry.

 Mr Cook said there was thus optimism that polished diamond prices would increase again.

“Combined with the restart of rough diamond imports into India, this has led to demand for rough diamonds increasing substantially in the first sales cycle of 2024,” he said.

He however cautioned that it might take some time for rough diamond demand to fully recover, as the prospects for economic growth in many major economies remain uncertain.  

Meanwhile, state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) temporarily suspended the rough diamond sales amid market weakness reinforced by global macroeconomic uncertainty.

The company had also cancelled both November and December auctions owing to a decline in demand for polished diamonds in the international market. Ends