Dwindling supply cuts Christie’s half-year results by 27%

Slimmer auctions and a lack of masterpieces worth more than 20m contributed to a 27% dive in the value of sales at Christies in the first half of 2016. The appetite to buy continues to be very high, but supply is less than demand, says Jussi Pylkkanen, Christies president of Europe and the Middle East.In total the privately owned auction house made 2.1 billion ($3 billion) compared with 2.9 billion ($4.5 billion) in the same period last year. The number of lots selling for more than 5m fell fro