Diamond giant De Beers reported solid demand for its diamonds in December, with sales of rough diamonds coming in at $450 million.

Demand remained broadly stable in the company’s last sales cycle of the year, with levels similar to those seen in cycle nine. Sales were also slightly ahead of the equivalent period in 2016.

Provisional proceeds rose 6.6 percent compared with actual sales for the same period last year, though they fell 3.4 percent from November sales.

De Beers chief executive Bruce Cleaver confirmed the results, saying that: “The tenth sales cycle of the year saw the continuation of good demand for De Beers rough diamonds as we head towards the end of 2017.”

De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company, which is 85 percent owned by mining giant Anglo American. De Beers and its partners produce about a third of the world’s rough diamonds by value.

Shares in Anglo American (LON:AAL) are currently down 0.58 percent at 1,374.50 (1150GMT).