De Beers Group produced more diamonds in the second quarter of the year owing to strong rough demand, parent company Anglo American plc reported.

The group also revealed a double-digit increase in prices from the start of year largely due to tight inventories across the diamond value chain as well as solid consumer demand for polished diamonds.

“Consumer demand for polished diamonds continued to recover, leading to strong demand for rough diamonds from midstream cutting and polishing centres, despite the impact on capacity from the severe Covid-19 wave in India during April and May,” the company said.

Rough diamond production was up 134 per cent to 8.2 million carats in Q2 and 37 per cent to 15.4 million carats during the first six months of 2021. Rough diamond sales meanwhile reached 7.3 million carats from two Sights in Q2 2021, reflecting the impact of reduced Indian midstream capacity on Sight 4. By comparison, De Beers sold 0.3 million carats from two Sights in Q2 2020 and 13.5 million carats from three Sights in Q1 2021.

Consolidated average realised price during the first half of 2021 was up 13 per cent to US$135 per carat, driven by an increased proportion of higher-value rough diamonds sold. “While the average price index remained broadly flat, the closing index increased by 14 per cent compared to the start of 2021,” the company said. 

De Beers further reduced its full-year production guidance to 32 million to 33 million carats from 32 million to 34 million carats.