Rough Prices Continue to Recover at Latest Petra Tender

Petra Diamonds’ rough prices are showing increasing signs of a market rebound, according to results from its latest tender.

The fourth trading session of fiscal 2024, which took place in February, brought in $47.8 million from the sale of 428,860 carats, at an average price of $112 per carat, Petra said Friday. Although total sales were down 30% from December, prices were 4% higher on a like-for-like basis — compared with similar categories of diamonds — at the fourth tender.

Prices of rough across all size categories increased, apart from those in the 5- to 10.8-carat range, which remained primarily flat, the company noted.

Revenue also benefited from an improved product mix, with both the Williamson mine in Tanzania and the Finsch mine in South Africa yielding a greater proportion of higher-value stones. Results for the fourth tender did not include a 14.76-carat blue diamond of “exceptional color and clarity” recovered from the South Africa’s Cullinan mine. Petra intends to sell that stone at the end of the month in a standalone tender, it explained.

For the full fiscal year, which comprises four tenders, sales fell 15% to $235.6 million. The average price slid 28% to $113 per carat, outweighing a 17% jump in sales volume to 2.1 million carats. Like-for-like prices slipped 9% versus the equivalent four tender held in fiscal 2023.

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Main image: Rough diamonds. (Petra Diamonds)