Rough diamonds above 5 carats were in tight supply at this week’s sight, customers reported, with explanations ranging from production cuts to ’ strategy of withholding supply. The February trading session saw stable prices in the vast majority of categories, as the miner maintained its policy of not flooding the market, insiders said this week.

The lack of large stones has puzzled some, since De Beers is reportedly sitting on $2 billion of inventories, its largest since the 2008 financial crisis.  Many market insiders viewed it as a positive that these sizes were hard to find, reflecting that the categories had sold better in the past few sights. The resultant polished — mostly 2 carats and larger — has performed better in the recent downturn than 0.30- to 2 carat goods.

Some point to a tactical effort by De Beers to limit supply — either to protect the market or to reward sightholders that purchase less sought-after items.

SOURCE: RAPAPORT