Diamond sales drop at Anglo's De Beers

Sales declined to $415m from $581m in the third cycle and $554m in the fourth cycle of last year.

De Beers chief executive officer Bruce Cleaver said: "Cycle four saw lower rough diamond sales against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty, and as we enter a seasonally slower period for the industry with Indian factories closing temporarily for the traditional holiday period."

RBC Capital Markets analyst Tyler Broda said that based on the first four cycles of the year, revenue is tracking 14% below last year or $321m in revenue terms.

"This is a marked step down in momentum following encouraging signs from the April tender. The rationale for the weakness was macroeconomic uncertainty and seasonality, although we note that over the last three years the fourth cycle has provided 5% higher sales than the average cycle.

"With De Beers selling higher quality diamonds, with a higher average value than peers ($180/ct in H2 versus global average of around $100-$125/ct) this is concerning, especially considering most of the price pressure previously was on smaller diamonds."

At 0910 BST, Anglo American shares were up 0.5% at 1,943.40p.