De Beers Group said today that demand at the second rough diamond sales cycle of the year continued to be good. The Company announced provisional value of rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales) for the second sales cycle of 2018 stood at US$ 555 million as at March 5, 2018, almost the same as the US$ 553 million reported in Cycle 2 of last year.

The Company also announced that the final revised figure for sales in Cycle 1 stood at US$ 672 million

Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: "The second sales cycle of the year saw the continuation of good rough diamond demand. This was in line with expectations, following strong retail sales of diamond jewellery during the US holiday season and positive early signs for consumer demand over Chinese New Year."