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Belgium’s Polished Diamond Trading Declines
Aug 4, 2016 3:54 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Belgium’s polished trading slumped while rough trading
jumped in July. This is in line with a trend this year that has seen growth in rough
shipments but a decline in polished.
Polished exports in July fell 14 percent to $1.02 billion
despite the average price increasing 1.3 percent to $1,941 per carat. By
volume, polished exports dived 16 percent to 527,826 carats. Polished imports slid 17 percent
to $840.4 million, according to data provided by the Antwerp World Diamond
Centre. Net polished exports, representing exports minus imports, crept up 0.2
percent to $184 million.
Polished shipments to the U.S., Belgium’s largest trade
partner for diamonds, plunged 30 percent to $303.8 million. Orders from Hong
Kong increased 1.3 percent to $215.9 million.
Rough imports surged 17 percent to $907.7 million and rough
exports jumped 14 percent to $1.17 billion. Net rough imports, representing
imports minus exports, declined 5.5 percent to negative $260.4 million.
Belgium’s net diamond account, representing total polished
and rough exports less total imports, increased 3.4 percent to $444.4 million.
During the first seven months of the year, polished exports
fell 9.3 percent to $7.71 billion and polished imports slid 10 percent to $7.3
billion. Rough exports increased 6.1 percent to $7.87 billion and rough imports
increased 4 percent to $7.42 billion.
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Tags:
Antwerp, Antwerp World Diamond Centre, AWDC, Belgium, data, imports and exports, polished trading, Rapaport News, rough trade, rough trading, trade data
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