World number-one rough diamond miner De Beers, 45% held by Anglo American, on Wednesday announced that its marketing division, the Diamond Trading Company (DTC), will with effect from its August 2004 sight increase rough diamond prices by an average of 5%.
The DTC will be holding its next sight from August 16 to 20.
The DTC has already increased rough diamond prices by an average of 8% this year.
“Assortments will remain consistent but, as usual, box mixtures and therefore prices may vary according to intakes,” the DTC said.
The first half of 2004 has shown good growth in retail sales of diamond jewellery across the major consumer markets, with initial estimates indicating an increase of about 7%, the DTC added.
This growth has resulted in a decline in polished stocks held in the cutting centres and a rise in the price of most categories of polished diamonds.
Consumer confidence levels have increased and macro-economic indicators are broadly positive, indicating that the environment will be in place to support continued strong consumer demand in the second half of the 2004 calendar year, the DTC said.
“Therefore, the price increase is based on the fundamentals of the market as indicated by a strong first half and is further supported by expectations of continued growth in second half of the year,” the DTC added. — I-Net Bridge