Russiandiamond giant PJSC ALROSAcut prices by as much as 2% for its latest monthly sale between April 12 and14, Interfax newswire reported April 14, citing unnamed sources at thestate-controlled miner.

Theprice cut, the first since ALROSA's September 2015 sale, comes after rivaldiamond player De Beers cut prices by between 5% and 7% for its sale inJanuary, but raisedthem by about 2% in its latest sale in early April.

Bothcompanies are trying to whittle down rough diamond stockpiles accumulated lastyear, after they cutprices last year and allowed some long-term clients to delay purchases or tobuy less than contracted volumes.

Globalrough diamond prices have fallen by approximately 19% since October 2014,according to figures from BCS Global Markets, a Moscow-based brokerage.

Demandfor the stones fell last year, as economic uncertainty in China cut intojewelry sales in the Asian country, while mid-stream cutters and polishersreduced purchases due to a buildup of their own inventories.

Midstreamdemand was also hit by restricted access to credit facilities for some polishersand cutters.

OlegPetropavlovskiy, a mining analyst at BCS, thought that ALROSA's price cut mightstimulate demand and compensate for the resulting lower average sales price percarat.

"Webelieve ALROSA's move should stimulate demand for its diamonds, while theimpact is not material," he wrote in comments emailed to clients April 14.