Johannesburg – De Beers sold diamonds worth $545 million in
its second sales cycle of the year.
In a statement released on Tuesday the company, owned by
Anglo American, said the provisional figure was for the cycle to February 27.
This follows its first sales cycle, in which it sold gems
worth $729 million.
In its second cycle of 2016, it sold gems worth $617
million.
CEO Bruce Cleaver says the company continues “to see good
demand across our product range in the second sales cycle, which was in line
with expectations at this time of year.
Read also: De Beers has biggest diamond sale in a year
“Sentiment remains positive heading into the Hong Kong
International Jewellery Show this week – an important barometer of trade
confidence.”
At the end of January, the company reported its biggest
diamond sale in at least a year as the gem industry restocked after the key
holiday period.
In its January statement, it said provisional sales were $720
million for the first sale of the year, compared with $545 million at last
year’s January offering.
The world’s biggest diamond producer said at the time it
saw “good demand” across most diamond categories, while there was a
larger-than-usual gap between its previous sale.
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