Following a strong performance in December, Russian miner Alrosa’s rough and polished diamond sales fell to $281.5-million in January – a 44% decrease on the same month in 2018.
January’s rough diamond sales amounted to $278.2-million and polished diamond sales were $3.4-million, the company reported on Tuesday.
“In January, market activity was lower than usual. After active restocking at the midstream in December, our January sales came lower,” explained Alrosa deputy CEO Yury Okoemov.
He added that sales in the diamond market were cyclical, and that a correction was expected after the peak values in previous periods. December sales were up 20% quarter-on-quarter, and up 46% year-on-year.
Alrosa competes with Anglo American’s De Beers, which is the biggest seller of rough diamonds by value. De Beers also reported a weaker start to 2019, with its rough diamond sales in the first sales cycle of the year having fallen by 25% year-on-year to $505-million.