Petra Diamonds sold 444,029 carats for $40.5 million at its second tender of the fiscal year (FY) 2024, compared to 696,194 carats sold for $79.3 million at the first tender of FY 2024 in August.
Company chief executive Richard Duffy said like-for-like prices for goods sold fell 16.9% from the first tender of FY 2024 due to double-digit price drops across all size categories.
He said big producers' supply curbs and the two-month Indian embargo will stabilise the market and prices as inventory levels drop.
“While we anticipate that prices will remain volatile throughout calendar year (CY) 2023 and possibly into CY 2024, we continue to expect prices to benefit in the medium to longer term as a result of the structural supply deficit," said Duffy.
He said that 37,856 carats of Tanzania’s Williamson goods were sold for $7.7 million in the tender.
This was Williamson's first sale after restarting operations, marking the start of the steady ramping up of carats available for tender from the mine.
South Africa's Cullinan Mine and Finsch sold 406,200 carats of diamonds for $32.9 million.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
