Rough Prices on the Mend at Latest Petra Tender

Petra Diamonds’ rough prices have started to rebound, initial results from its latest tender indicated.

The first part of the trading session brought in $58.7 million from the sale of 462,794 carats, at an average price of $127 per carat, Petra said last week. Prices were 20% higher on a like-for-like basis — comparing similar categories of diamonds — than at the fiscal year’s second tender, which ended in October.

Prices of rough under 2 carats rose by more than 20%, driving the overall growth, the company noted. Goods between 2 and 10.8 carats saw increases in the mid-teen percentages.

Revenue also benefited from an improved product mix, which included a greater proportion of higher-value stones, including a 12.6-carat blue diamond from the Cullinan mine, which sold for $6.2 million.

The company still has around 31,000 carats from its Williamson mine in Tanzania and about 25,000 carats from its South African ventures available to sell. It will offer those stones this week and will add the revenue to the tender’s total, it explained.

“The 20% increase in like-for-like prices for our third tender of fiscal 2024 supports the view that diamond prices have likely bottomed,” said Petra CEO Richard Duffy. “We believe actions taken by major producers to curb supply and the two-month Indian moratorium that comes to an end on December 15, together with strengthened retail sales in the US, have improved market conditions as inventory levels across the pipeline rebalance.”