De Beers earns $550 mln from November sight - report

Global diamond giant, De Beers raked in about $550 million from its November sight, which took place last week.
Rapaport quoted unnamed sightholders as saying that although minor adjustments to prices and assortments were made, certain categories still cannot be manufactured into polished diamonds at a profit.
“The mood at the sight was not positive because polished prices have not stabilised and it was soon after Diwali, so the factories are just starting up again,” a sightholder from India said.
Diwali took place on October 23 this year and the Indian diamond industry was also said to have closed for an extended vacation over the festival.
Rapaport also cited some sightholders who were dissatisfied that De Beers did not reduce overall prices at the sight given the continued decline in polished prices.
The sightholders and brokers also said refusals and box deferrals at the sight were noticeable, as was the case in October, but they did not reach significant levels. Some ex-plan goods were sold at the sight.
Meanwhile, De Beers head of midstream communications David Johnson said that the November sight had been similar to the October sight regarding prices and assortment quality.
“The third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter can be a bit of a tough time for the industry because it’s a historically slow period in the business cycle that lacks a major gifting occasion,” he was quoted as saying.
“There are also several [religious] holidays that slow down activity within the industry.”
Johnson said De Beers had not made a considerable correction to rough prices because they believed that the fourth quarter Christmas shopping season would be a good one in major consumer markets, Rapaport reports .

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau from Harare, Rough&Polished