Sales of luxury goods in Hong Kong rose 7% year on year in June, an improvement from the previous month’s 3.2% drop.

The US diamond and jewelry trade is supposed to spring into life in the last week of July as dealers return from their summer vacations ready to fill clients’ holiday demand. But this year it hasn’t.

Gemfields saw a drop in auction revenue. Sales plunge 50% year on year in first half amid five-month production shutdown at Kagem mine.

De Beers has reported a loss for the first half of the year amid a challenging market, as it plans to ramp up output over the next two years.