Anglo's De Beers enjoys sparkling first cycle of rough diamond sales

Anglo American's De Beers reaped $720m in rough diamond sales from the first cycle of 2017.

This was 32% ahead of the $545m in the same cycle last year and 70% up on the last cycle of 2016.

"We saw good demand across the majority of our assortment during the first sales cycle of the year, as the industry entered the period when rough diamond demand is traditionally strongest," said De Beers chief executive officer Bruce Cleaver.

"The longer period between the final Sight of 2016 and the first Sight of 2017 also contributed to heightened demand during the cycle."

The reopening of some diamond polishing operations in India saw something of an increase in demand for smaller, lower quality rough diamonds.

But Cleaver said De Beers was maintaining a cautious outlook for these categories as the Indian industry continues to adjust to the post-demonetisation environment, with a local industry hitherto reliant on paper money forced to accept delayed payments and staff pay disputes.

The Indian government pulled 500 rupee and 1,000 rupee notes out of circulation last year in an effort to weed out counterfeiting, tax evasion, and black-market activity.

De Beers reported in December that business had slowed but in the long run the Indian industry is forecast to surpass Europe and Japan to become the world’s third-largest market for diamond jewelry, following only the US and China.