De Beers' Mellier Calls for Diamond Market Volatility in 2016

Speaking at De Beers’ first sight of 2016, Philippe Mellier, the company’s chief executive, said that while there have been some “encouraging signs” in the diamond market already this year, “the recovery in the sector remain[s] delicate.” He believes that there will be some volatility in the space in 2016.
In a press release on the event, De Beers states:

Highlighting some of the positive developments, Mr Mellier stated: “We have seen polished diamond prices start to stabilise and even increase in certain areas, we have seen some encouraging early indications from holiday season sales in the US consumer market and we have seen greater trading activity than at the end of 2015”. However, he also stated that: “There continues to be uncertainty regarding the macroeconomic outlook, currency pressures have the potential to weigh on downstream demand in a number of locations and we will need to see how retail restocking appetites develop”.
Recognising the crucial role played by a number of midstream diamond businesses in addressing recent difficulties, Mr Mellier stated: “2015’s challenges were very different from those presented by the demand crisis that followed the 2008 downturn, but that does not mean they were any less difficult to deal with… We all had to take difficult decisions, considering trade-offs between what was right for our businesses and what was right for the industry. We all had to absorb the impact of negative trading conditions in the short-term so as to protect the industry’s long-term interests. And we all had to employ our hard-earned experience and expertise to navigate through some very difficult times.”

Click here to read the full De Beers press release.