Rough diamond sales at Anglo’s De Beers rise in first cycle

The value of rough diamond sales at Anglo American’s De Beers rose in the first cycle of the year.

The value increased to $450m from $417m in the final cycle of 2022, but was down from $660m in the first cycle of last year.

De Beers chief executive Bruce Cleaver said consumer demand for diamond jewellery over the 2022 end-of-year holiday season performed well.

"As expected, given the macroeconomic outlook at the time, Sightholders took a cautious approach in late 2022 in planning their 2023 allocation schedule, with a greater weighting of goods to be purchased as the year progresses," he said.

"While there is still some uncertainty over the macroeconomic environment, we see cautious optimism for demand to increase as China continues to reopen and inflation rates start to decrease in many major economies."