Strong Demand for +2 Carat GoodsStrongdemand for larger goods in the first quarter was reported by De Beers'subsidiary Diamdel. The company sold all 138 lots it offered in thethree monthly auctions it held. Smaller companies and firms based in Israel stood out in their demand for rough.
In a first quarter 2010 auctions updateit published on Thursday, Diamdel Managing Director Neil Ventura noteda “strengthening in the competitiveness of bids placed by customers inIsrael compared to 2009, especially in 4-8 grainer and 2-15 carat sizeranges.”
Diamdeloffered 3 grainer, 4-8 grainer and 2-15 carat lots during the quarter.The January to March sales enjoyed strong demand driven by small- andmedium-scale specialist manufacturers, the company said.
“Froma market’s perspective, we witnessed broad based participation from allcustomer groups and across all markets during this first series ofauctions in 2010,” Ventura said.
“Competitionwas most intense for rough in the +2 carat ranges. Given that themajority of companies that won lots (…) were small- to medium-sizedmanufacturers, the data does not lead us to believe that speculativebuying drove our results to a significant extent,” Ventura added.
Accordingto Diamdel Head of Sales Jonathan Whitney, “just under 75 percent ofall winning bids were placed by small- to medium-sized specialistmanufacturers in Israel, Antwerp, India and the far-east.
Whiledemand was broad based, demand for +2 carat items intensified in March.“We anticipate strong demand to continue throughout April as customerfeedback indicates that sourcing the right rough in the rightquantities remains challenging,” Whitney said.
In2009, Diamdel offered 695 lots. Diamdel serves as an important channelfor De Beers to supply the secondary market. In the past, the supplywas around $500 million annually, however, in the past two years it isbelieved to have been less.
https://idexonline.com/portal_FullNews.asp?id=33952