By Ian Walker

Anglo American PLC said Wednesday that rough-diamond sales by its majority-owned De Beers Group rose 7.9% in the first cycle of 2023 compared with the previous cycle, as it benefited from demand over the holiday period.

The FTSE 100 diversified mining company said De Beers sold $450 million worth of diamonds in the first sales cycle of the year, compared with $417 million in tenth and last cycle of 2022 and $660 million in the first cycle of 2022. There are 10 sales cycles each year.

"Consumer demand for diamond jewelry over the 2022 end-of-year holiday season performed well," De Beers Group Chief Executive Bruce Cleaver said.

"While there is still some uncertainty over the macroeconomic environment, we see cautious optimism for demand to increase as China continues to reopen and inflation rates start to decrease in many major economies."

Anglo American said sales are provisional figures due to a change in the company's approach to diamond sales because of pandemic-related movement restrictions around the world. The figures are based on expected sales between Jan. 16 and Jan. 31.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 01, 2023 02:56 ET (07:56 GMT)

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