ALROSA earns $35.8 million from diamond sales in July

Sales of rough and polished diamonds in July amounted to $35.8 million, including proceeds from rough diamond sales of $22.7 million, and polished diamond sales of $13.2 million, the company said in a press release distributed on Monday. For seven months of 2020, total rough and polished diamond sales accounted for $1,027 million, including $978.0 million of rough diamond sales and $49.0 million of polished.
‘Given the situation in the diamond value chain is challenging, specifically at the midstream, we kept supporting with the unprecedented measures our long-term clients, offering them an opportunity to refrain from buying contracted volumes of rough in July. Furthermore, we decided, as a measure of support amidst extremely challenging market conditions, to provide our clients with an additional flexibility. Nevertheless, we see the market's interest in expensive goods, such as special size and large diamonds of high color and quality characteristics. In July, we successfully auctioned +10.8 carats’ diamonds in Israel and Belgium. We also sold expensive rough on spot. As a result, the average realized price of gem-quality diamonds in July increased by 9x compared this year's average. As for the terms of the August trading session and the possibility of offering our clients an option to defer purchases, the decision has not been taken yet,’ ALROSA Deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev commented. He noted that the company would continue doing everything needed to reach the market supply and demand balance as soon as possible.