De Beers Group has announced the value of rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales) for the fifth sales cycle of 2018.

The company reported rough diamond sales worth $575-million (R7.8-billion) at its fifth sales cycle of 2018, up from $554-million in the fourth cycle.

Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “Sentiment in the diamond industry’s midstream is positive following the JCK Las Vegas trade show at the start of the month, and we continued to see good demand for our rough diamonds across the product range.”