De Beers' rough diamond sales increase in first sight of this year 

Diamond miner De Beers' rough diamond sales increased to $545-million for the first sales cycle of this year.

This was higher than the $426-million in sales recorded for the tenth sales cycle of 2019, as well as the $500-million in sales recorded for the first sales cycle of 2019.

“Demand for rough diamonds increased during the first sight of 2020 following the end-of-year selling season and subsequent inventory restocking,” De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver said on Wednesday.

In a bid to boost sales amid low global demand, the diamond miner in August 2019 started offering rough diamond buyers the flexibility to refuse some diamonds in each parcel of diamonds put up for sale during its sights.

By November, however, the company reported some signs of improvement in global demand.