De Beers Group, announcing the results of its Cycle 2 (Global Sightholder plus Auction) sales, said that its decision to allow customers focused on supplying the Chinese market to defer certain allocations had led to the value of rough diamonds sold dropping to US$ 355 million.

This was 28% below the US$ 496 million of goods sold in the comparable Cycle 2 last year and 35% lower than the US$ 551 million level of the first cycle of the current year.

Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “Following an improvement in demand for rough diamonds during the first sales cycle of 2020, we recognised the impact of COVID-19 Coronavirus on customers focused on supplying the Chinese market and put in place additional targeted flexibility to enable customers to defer allocations of the relevant rough diamonds.”