Anglo American's De Beers sees diamond sales value drop

De Beers Group, in which Anglo American holds a majority stake, saw sales drop in its second sales cycle of 2017.

The business generated sales of $545m, down from $729m in the first cycle of 2017 and $617m in the second cycle of 2016.

Bruce Cleaver, chief executive officer of De Beers, said: "We continued to see good demand across our product range in the second sales cycle, which was in line with expectations at this time of year. Sentiment remains positive heading into the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show this week - an important barometer of trade confidence."

At 0911 GMT, Anglo shares were down 1.9% to 1,245p.