Alrosa Sees Sales Decline in 2017

RAPAPORT...  Alrosa's diamond sales fell in 2017 as an influx of lower-value rough reduced the average price it achieved.  Combined rough and polished sales amounted to $4.27 billion for the year, Alrosa said Thursday, leaving the total 5% below the amount reported for 2016.  There was pent-up demand for small diamonds at the beginning of 2017 after Indian cutters reduced their buying in late 2016 when the government's demonetization program sapped liquidity from the market.  "The average price of rough diamonds sold by Alrosa was a little lower than a year ago, which is due to the changed sales assortment resulting from the increased demand for small-sized rough diamonds from the Indian diamond cutting sector in the first half of 2017," explained Alrosa vice president Yury Okoemov.  He expects the market will stabilize in 2018 due to a moderate growth in the global demand for diamond jewelry and no major change in global diamond mining.Alrosa's total December sales grew 35% year on year to$237.8 million, according to the miner's stated figures for 2016 and 2017.Rough sales reached $228.3 million, while polished accounted for $9.5 million of the total for the month.