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US Polished Imports Continue to Slide
Sep 30, 2020 4:25 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... US polished-diamond imports fell 50% to $806 million in July, according to data from the Commerce Department. The decline was steeper than June’s 34% drop.
| US Trade Data for July 2020 |
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July 2020 |
Year-on-year change |
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| Polished imports |
$806M |
-50% |
| Polished exports |
$868M |
-25% |
| Net polished imports |
-$62M |
2019: Surplus of $444M |
| Rough imports |
$8M |
-75% |
| Rough exports |
$10M |
-38% |
| Net rough imports |
-$2M |
2019: Surplus of $16M |
| Net diamond account |
-$64M |
2019: Surplus of $461M |
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| Polished imports: volume |
497,420 carats |
-37% |
| Average price of polished imports |
$1,620/carat |
-20% |
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Jan-July 2020 |
Year-on-year change |
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| Polished imports |
$5.73B |
-54% |
| Polished exports |
$5.3B |
-53% |
| Net polished imports |
$429M |
-65% |
| Rough imports |
$80M |
-66% |
| Rough exports |
$108M |
-48% |
| Net rough imports |
-$28M |
2019: Surplus of $30M |
| Net diamond account |
$401M |
-68% |
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| Polished imports: volume |
2.9 million carats |
-50% |
| Average price of polished imports |
$1,964/carat |
-9% |
Source: US Commerce Department data; Rapaport archives
About the data: The US, the world’s largest diamond retail market, is a net importer of polished. As such, net polished imports — representing polished imports minus polished exports — will usually be a positive number. Net rough imports — calculated as rough imports minus rough exports — will also generally be in surplus. The nation has no operational diamond mines but has a manufacturing sector, so normally ships more rough in than out. The net diamond account is total rough and polished imports minus total exports. It is the US’s diamond trade balance, and shows the added value the nation creates by importing — and ultimately consuming — diamonds.
Image: New York City. (Shutterstock)
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Tags:
Commerce Department, net diamond account, net polished imports, Net rough imports, polished exports, polished imports, Rapaport News, rough exports, rough imports, US
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