The Russian Finance Ministry will consider the possibility of purchasing rough diamonds from ALROSA to state depository Gokhran based on the results of the second quarter of this year, Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseyev said.
"As we have already said, it is possible that Gokhran will buy some of the stones. At this stage, we are still observing the market dynamics, indeed, it is quite weak, but not much time has passed. In principle, the first quarter is rarely good," he said.
"I think that we will actually see how much the situation has changed systemically, [taking into account] the impact of seasonality, based on the results of the second quarter. Then we will make a decision," Moiseyev explained.
In November, Gokhran of Russia and the diamond mining company ALROSA agreed on a deal to sell a batch of rough diamonds to the state fund by the end of 2024.
The state will spend up to 154.5 billion rubles ($1.55 billion) for the purchase of precious metals and gemstones to Gokhran in its 2025-2027 federal budget. In March, the Ministry of Finance announced the first purchase of ALROSA diamonds for 2024, the transaction took place in the same month.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
