⁍ Even before the new virus triggered the COVID-19 pandemic, diamond prices and demand were weak.

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⁍ Global economic weakness has exaggerated that and Anglo American’s (AAL.L) De Beers unit last week reported a plunge in earnings.

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⁍ South African cutting and polishing firm Nungu Diamonds said its custom-made jewellery sales have grown 60% since South Africa imposed a strict lockdown in March.

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– Diamond prices have been falling since the end of last year, and this year could be even worse, according to the chief executive of the world’s biggest diamond mining company. The company expects diamond prices to fall by 10% this year, the BBC reports, partly because of a new virus that has killed hundreds of people in Africa and the Middle East. “This year is going to be worse than last year because the situation in Africa is much worse,” Bob De Beers tells the Wall Street Journal. South Africa, the world’s biggest diamond producer and supplier, imposed a nationwide lockdown on diamond imports in March to stop the spread of the virus, which has killed hundreds of people in Africa and the Middle East, Reuters reports. Small businesses that polish the rough diamonds found in the country’s mines say they’ve been pleasantly surprised by the response to the lockdown, which has led to a 60% increase in custom-made jewelry sales. “We remain resilient. We fight on,” the founder of Nungu Diamonds tells Reuters. “Because of COVID-19, we have managed to move into the jewellery space.”