Diamond demand remains sluggish, Anglo American Resources Group cuts production targets

According to the VETIM Finance APP, Anglo American Plc has lowered its diamond production target for this year, as the industry continues to struggle with excessive global inventory after the catastrophic year of 2023. Following last year's diamond price collapse, demand and prices have shown signs of rebound, but De Beers' diamond production target has been reduced to 26 to 29 million carats.

It is understood that in the second half of last year, the industry almost came to a standstill as De Beers and Alrosa PJSC, both under Anglo American, almost completely halted the supply of rough diamonds in an attempt to prevent further price declines. While these measures helped to boost market demand and prices, they also made it difficult for the two largest diamond miners to reduce their inventory levels.

Even with a slow recovery in diamond demand this year, it will take a considerable amount of time to clear the inventory. Anglo American Plc stated on Tuesday that the production target for De Beers' business unit this year is 26 to 29 million carats, lower than the previous target of up to 32 million carats. In terms of market value, De Beers is the world's largest diamond producer in terms of rough stones.

The global mining giant has also maintained its remaining production target expectations.

Late last year, the mining giant announced a significant reduction in the production of rough diamonds and other mining product portfolios to reduce costs and address operational challenges, which surprised the market.

Shares of Anglo American Plc fell 1.8% in London stock market trading, in line with the general sell-off of mining stocks