De Beers has raised prices of its rough goods for the first time since 2014 as it reacts to rising demand by manufacturers.
The firm raised prices by up to 2% at its latest sight this week which ends tomorrow, according to three people familiar with the process cited by Bloomberg Business.
The value of the sale is similar to De Beers’ February sight in which it sold $610 million of rough diamonds.
In January, De Beers sold $545 million of rough diamonds at its first sight of 2016.
Rough prices slumped by around 18% in 2015 as demand dropped, but in the first quarter of this year De Beers and ALROSA together have sold around $3 billion of goods.
"Banks such as Liberum Capital remain skeptical that a price rebound can be sustained and that demand gains are anything more than cutters, polishers and traders replenishing supply," Bloomberg reported. "Liberum said last month that it might take at least another year to recover, while miner Gem Diamonds said it’s still too early to tell whether a recovery will stick."
