De Beers, the worldâs biggest diamond producer by volume, posted a 15.5 percent fall in the value of rough diamond sales during its fourth sales cycle as Indiaâs deadly second wave of Covid-19 weighed heavily on demand. Photo: File
De Beersâ diamond sales slide as Indiaâs Covid-19 woes dent demand
By Dineo Faku
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JOHANNESBURG - DE BEERS, the worldâs biggest diamond producer by volume, posted a 15.5 percent fall in the value of rough diamond sales during its fourth sales cycle as Indiaâs deadly second wave of Covid-19 weighed heavily on demand.
De Beers, an Anglo American plc subsidiary, said yesterday that the provisional value of global sight holder sales and auctions fell to $380 million (R5.3 billion) during the fourth sales cycle from $450m a cycle earlier.
De Beers’ Group, the world’s number one diamond producer by value, this week attributed the downfall of its sales for the fourth cycle week to the second wave of the Covid-19 variant (B.1.617.2) which was first discovered in India.
TOP NEWS: Anglo American s De Beers sales ease in fourth cycle
Wed, 19th May 2021 09:10
(Alliance News) - Anglo American PLC on Wednesday said its diamond business De Beers posted lower sales for its fourth sales cycle of 2021, as the spread of Covid-19 in India, where most diamonds are cut and polished led to lower demand for rough stones in an already slow time of year.
For the provisional fourth sales cycle - which reflects the period from May 3 to May 18 - De Beers posted rough diamond sales of USD380 million, down 16% from USD450 million in the third sales cycle.
However the figure was significantly higher compared to the fourth and fifth cycle of 2020, which achieved a mere USD56 million in total.
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