(IDEX Online) - De Beers rough sales slumped to just $200m during cycle 8, the second lowest figure since it started reporting Sight totals in 2016.The company responded by cancelling the online rough auctions, which account for around 10 per cent of its sales, for the rest of the year.There has been only one occasion in the last seven years when De Beers reported a lower sales total - $116m in cycle 6 of 2020, after three cycles were cancelled because of Covid.The latest figure is down 60 per cent on $508m for cycle 8 last year and down 46 per cent on the previous cycle ($370m),Al Cook, De Beers CEO, said: "De Beers will continue to support its Sightholders to help re-establish equilibrium between wholesale supply and demand by providing full flexibility for rough diamond allocations in Sights 9 and 10 of 2023, suspending De Beers Group online rough diamond auctions for the remainder of 2023, and investing an additional $20m in natural diamond marketing to help drive consumer demand during the holiday season."Pic courtesy De Beers