NEW DELHI: Diamond jewellery consumption in India dropped by 4 per cent over the last 12 months, dragged down by restricted consumer credit, weakness in consumer spending and a strike by jewellers, according to De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer by value. De Beers Insight Report 2016, which was seen by ET, also said millennials accounted for almost half of the $5.5-billion worth of consumption in the country.The report will be officially released on Thursday. "In the four leading markets — the US, China, India and Japan —millennials spent nearly $26 billion on diamond jewellery last year." The miner expects India and China to drive positive consumer demand over the next 10 years but at lower levels than previously assumed. According to the report, the overall diamond jewellery business in 2015 was worth $79 billion, with India contributing around $5.5 billion.De Beers' report said 2015 was a challenging year for the diamond industry, with global consumer demand slowing down and the industry facing squeezed margins and working capital challenges, which affected purchase and sale of rough diamonds.

Source: Economic Times September 14, 2016 23:15 UTC