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Stornoway Notes Poor Small-Stone Market

Oct 14, 2018 6:55 AM   By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT...
Stornoway Diamond Corporation’s average price fell quarter on quarter in the three months ending September 30 due to weakness in the Indian market, it said last week.

Prices of smaller and lower-quality stones have decreased since July due to challenging conditions in India, while larger and high-quality categories have remained strong, the company said. The miner’s average price of $103 per carat was 7% lower than the previous quarter. Lower prices are likely to continue for the rest of 2018, the miner added.

“During the third quarter, we saw price weakness return to smaller and lower-quality diamonds after more than a year of steady price gains,” said Stornoway CEO Matt Manson. “Underlying polished-diamond demand remains strong in the US market, but is being impacted by currency weakness in the emerging markets amidst global trade concerns. This has put pressure on certain segments of the rough-diamond trade.”

Attendance at Stornoway’s tenders in Antwerp remains strong, and overall prices are still higher than during 2017 due to the robust market for more expensive goods, Manson added.

Revenue fell 52% year on year to CAD 24.7 million ($18.9 million) as the company sold 184,620 carats at two tenders during the quarter, versus 438,632 carats at the same number of sales a year ago. The average price climbed 8% year on year. Production at the company’s Renard mine in Canada declined 26% to 329,306 carats.

Image: Stornoway’s Renard mine in Canada. (Stornoway Diamond Corporation)
Tags: Matt Manson, Rapaport News, Renard mine, stornoway, Stornoway Diamond Corporation
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