Anglo American has said demand at its latest De Beers diamond sale showed a slowdown in response to India’s withdrawal of high-value banknotes, but was still higher than a year ago when commodity trade was slumping.
Anglo American – which owns 85 per cent of De Beers, the world’s leading diamond company – sells rough diamonds to world-leading diamantaires through its Sightholder sales and auction sales operations. The company also markets polished diamonds through its Forevermark brand and sells finished pieces through De Beers Diamond Jewellers.
The company said that the value of sales for De Beers’ tenth sales cycle of 2016 went down to $418 million, less than the ninth cycle that was valued at $476 million, due to demonetization.
India is the third-biggest diamond jewellery market behind the United States and China, accounting for about 8 per cent of global demand.
According to a Reuters report: Typically, Indians purchase jewellery in cash and many do not have credit cards. In addition to withdrawing high-value notes from circulation, the government has also capped daily withdawals from cash machines at 2,000 rupees.
India is the third-biggest diamond jewellery market behind the United States and China, accounting for about 8 per cent of global demand
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