Petra’s Rough Prices Slip at Early Tender

Petra Diamonds’ rough prices fell at its second tender of the fiscal year amid prolonged market weakness.

The trading session brought in $30.2 million from the sale of 344,554 carats, an average price of $88 per carat, Petra said Saturday. Prices were 16% to 18% lower on a like-for-like basis — comparing similar categories of diamonds — than those at the first tender, which took place in August.

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Those figures represent 75% of total goods on offer at the sale, which will close on or around October 11, after which Petra will release its full sales results, it explained.

The tender — brought forward to get ahead of the two-month moratorium on diamond imports to India, which begins October 15 — included rough from the Williamson mine in Tanzania as well as from the company’s South African deposits. It had originally held Williamson’s goods from the previous sale in hopes of seeing higher prices.

“The steps taken by major producers to curb supply to the market and the two-month Indian moratorium are expected to bring some much-needed stability and support to the market, and in turn, prices,” Petra noted. “The company’s assessment of the current market volatility and associated near-term uncertainty will be reflected in our…annual report…to be published October 10. In the medium to longer term, we continue to expect prices to benefit from the structural supply deficit.”

Main image: Rough diamonds. (Petra Diamonds)