Anglo's De Beers completes mixed cycle of rough diamond sales

Anglo American's De Beers arm sold $418m of rough diamonds in its tenth sales cycle of 2016, despite a slowdown in the trade in lower-value rough diamonds due to India's demonetisation programme.

The value of global sightholder sales and auction sales was up two thirds from the $248m in the same stage last year, though down 12% from the $476m in the ninth sales cycle of 2016.

"We continued to see good demand for De Beers rough diamonds in our latest sales cycle," said De Beers chief executive officer Bruce Cleaver.

"While the trade in lower value rough diamonds is experiencing a temporary slowdown as a result of the demonetisation programme in India, demand across the rest of the product mix continued to be healthy and overall sales remained in line with seasonal expectations."