Recovering Diamond Demand Encourages ALROSA

(IDEX Online News) – ALROSA, the world’s largest rough diamond producer, has said that recovering diamond demand provides a bright outlook for the market, according to a report on Bloomberg.com.

ALROSA president Andrey Zharkov told investors at a meeting in London this week that the “clouds are disappearing.” A presentation on the Russian miner’s website, which sold $776 million at its January and February sales, shows that it expects a more balanced market until 2019, when demand is expected to begin outstripping supply.

The Bloomberg article reported that ALROSA and De Beers have restricted to supply to some stone sizes, which has in turn bolstered prices. Morgan Stanley and Gem Diamond Ltd.’s CEOs have argued that it is too soon to say how long the recovery will last.

ALROSA held approximately 22 million carats valued at $2.5 billion at the end of 2015, and 2016 production is estimated to be 34 million to 39 million carats. The company’s chief operating officer said that production could be cut in the summer to help reduce inventories, and if demand remains weak, total production could be cut by 5 million carats.