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De Beers raised diamond prices for the first time in more than a year in a sign the industry might be recovering from the biggest slump since the 2008 financial crisis. The biggest producer, unit of Anglo American Plc, raised prices as much as two per cent in a sale this week.
The ongoing sale could be comparable in size to De Beers' prior $610 million offering of rough diamonds, said people who asked not to be identified as the information isn't public.
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Slowing demand from China and an industry-wide credit crunch led De Beers to lower prices about 15 per cent last year. While the company, along with rival Alrosa PJSC, responded by cutting supply to try to support the market, prices fell a further seven per cent in January. A spokesman for De Beers declined to comment on the latest sales.
