Petra Diamonds experienced a decline in rough diamond prices at its latest tender, reflecting ongoing market softness exacerbated by seasonal factors. During the seventh trading session in June, the company sold 337,064 carats for $38 million, marking a 14% decrease from May’s $44 million in sales value. Sales volume also fell by 9%, with the average price per carat decreasing by 6% to $111.
The decrease in average price was partly due to a less favorable product mix compared to previous tenders, particularly affecting rough diamonds from Petra’s Williamson mine in Tanzania, where prices slid by 14%. This decline was attributed to a reduced availability of higher-value individual stones in the current mining areas, though Petra anticipates this situation to be temporary.
Petra CEO Richard Duffy acknowledged the challenging market conditions, noting that like-for-like prices across all diamond categories softened, especially for diamonds between 1 and 10 carats. Over the fiscal year’s first seven tenders, average like-for-like prices dropped by 12% compared to the previous year.
In addition to its regular sales, Petra realized $1.3 million in profit from the sale of three rough stones through a partnership agreement, slightly down from $1.4 million in the previous fiscal year.
Looking forward, Duffy expects market conditions to remain subdued for the remainder of the year.
