“With the key China market struggling amid renewed graft investigations, we don’t expect to see much evidence of recovery during 2024,” BMO analyst Colin Hamilton wrote in a brief on Wednesday.
De Beers chief executive Al Cook confirmed the pessimistic outlook. “The recent annual JCK jewelry show in Las Vegas confirmed a resurgence in retailers’ interest in natural diamonds in the United States but ongoing economic growth challenges in China mean we continue to expect a protracted U-shaped recovery in demand,” he said in the statement.
Parent company Anglo American, which recently fended off a takeover by the world’s largest miner BHP (ASX:BHP), is in the midst of selling its 85% stake in De Beers.
The decision, announced in May, is part of a major company-wide restructuring and comes as the diamond sector continues to face declining sales, a sluggish global economy, and the rise of lab-created diamond…
