Diamond Prices will Rise, says Alrosa
January 08, 25
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa is predicting price rises in diamond products as demand increases and supply slows in the coming months.
Sergey Takhiyev, head of corporate finance at the Russian miner, said the normalization of diamond inventories would act as a catalyst for the price turnaround.
He said also forecast a significant reduction in diamond mining capacity - down as much as 20 per cent on 2018-19, according to the independent Interfax news agency.
It was unclear whether he was referring to Russian or global capacity, and why the comparison was drawn with 2018-19.
"The decline in mining which has been observed in recent years due to the natural depletion of the global resource base, and the growing market capacity for luxury goods and jewelry products in particular, are factors that will drive long-term price growth for diamond products," Takhiyev said.
Alrosa announced last November that it was planning to suspend some of its less profitable activities, and to lay off some of its 35,000 workers in a move designed to save 10 per cent on its labor budget.
The company's CEO, Pavel Marinychev, said the global diamond industry was in a "deep crisis".
The latest figures available from Alrosa, for the three months to June 2024, show revenue down 34 per cent year-on-year to $680m.
Pic of rough diamonds, courtesy Alrosa.