11th Sep 2020 08:16
(Alliance News) - Anglo American PLC on Friday said diamond markets improved in August, with provisional seventh cycle sales higher in 2020 than the year before and more than twice what they had been in the sixth cycle.
The London-based miner of diamonds, copper, coal, platinum and other minerals reported the sales value of rough diamond sales for De Beers in cycle seven of 2020 as USD320 million. This is a provisional figure and represents sales as at September 2020.
In comparison, the actual sales value in cycle seven of 2019 was USD287 million and the actual sales value in cycle six of 2020 was USD116 million.
As a result of restrictions on the movement of people and products in various jurisdictions worldwide, De Beers has implemented "a more flexible approach to rough diamond sales during the sixth and seventh sales cycles of 2020".
As such, the provisional rough diamond sales figure for cycle seven reflects the expects sales value for the period from August 19 to September 10 and is still subject to adjustment based in final completed sales.
De Beers Chief Executive Bruce Cleaver said: "Diamond markets showed some continued improvement throughout August and into September as Covid-19 restrictions continued to ease in various locations, and manufacturers focused on meeting retail demand for polished diamonds, particularly in certain product areas.
"Overall industry sentiment has become more positive as jewellers in the key US and Chinese consumer markets gained confidence ahead of the important year-end holiday season, supported by strong bridal diamond jewellery demand across markets. Accordingly, we saw a recovery in rough diamond demand in the seventh sales cycle of the year, reflecting these retail trends, following several months of minimal manufacturing activity and disrupted demand patterns in all major markets. It's clear that the recovery is at an early stage and we expect that it will take some time to get back to pre-Covid-19 levels of demand."
Shares in Anglo American were up 0.8% at 1,876.80 pence each in London on Friday morning.
By Anna Farley; [email protected]
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