Anglo American sees solid De Beers rough diamond demand

Anglo American said sales at its De Beers diamond business were not as quiet as expected in the eighth sales cycle of the year.

De Beers sold $485m worth of rough stones in its eighth sales cycle of 2016, which was lower than the $639m in the seventh cycle due to normal seasonal effects.

Bruce Cleaver, CEO of the South African diamond giant, said this level of demand reflected the improved 'midstream' trading environment compared with last year.

"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 centres," he said.