Like-for-like prices at Petra Diamonds’ latest tender fell 17% compared with the previous sale as the market weakened, the miner said in an updated report.

The company sold 444,029 carats for $40.5 million across September and October at an average price of $91 per carat, management noted in a statement Tuesday.

Petra offered around 75% of the goods by volume at an early sale, bringing it forward because of India’s freeze on rough imports. The remaining 25% included 37,856 carats of diamonds from the Williamson mine in Tanzania, which fetched $7.7 million.

At the initial part of the tender, prices for similar diamond categories were 16% to 18% lower than at the previous sale in August, while sales came to $30.2 million from 344,554 carats at an average price of $88 per carat, Petra said earlier this month. 

 

Like-for-like prices for the first two sales of the fiscal year — spanning from August to October — fell 14% year on year, the company added.

It also reduced its price assumptions for the financial year, which ends on June 30, 2024, estimating average valuations of $110 to $130 per carat at the Cullinan mine (down from $125 to $140), $100 to $115 per carat at Finsch (down from $105 to $120), and $225 to $250 per carat at Williamson (down from $240 to $270).

“We believe actions taken by major producers to curb supply and the two-month Indian moratorium will assist in bringing stability and support to the market and prices as inventory levels reduce,” said Petra CEO Richard Duffy. “While we anticipate that prices will remain volatile throughout [calendar year] 2023 and possibly into [calendar year] 2024, we continue to expect prices to benefit in the medium to longer term as a result of the structural supply deficit.”

Main image: Sorting at the Finsch mine. (Petra Diamonds)