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US Polished Imports Down as Average Price Falls
Dec 22, 2020 10:39 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Polished-diamond imports into the US slid 8% year on year to $1.34 billion in October as a lower average price outweighed higher carat volumes, according to recent data from the US Commerce Department. The US has now seen 19 consecutive months of decline in the value of polished shipments entering the country. Polished imports slumped 45% year on year to $9.22 billion for the first 10 months of 2020.
US Trade Data for October 2020
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October 2020 |
Year-on-year change |
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| Polished imports |
$1.34B |
-8% |
| Polished exports |
$1.14B |
7% |
| Net polished imports |
$202M |
-47% |
| Rough imports |
$32M |
20% |
| Rough exports |
$11M |
5% |
| Net rough imports |
$21M |
30% |
| Net diamond account |
$224M |
-44% |
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| Polished imports: volume |
849,850 carats |
21% |
| Average price of polished imports |
$1,575/carat |
-24% |
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January-October 2020 |
Year-on-year change |
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| Polished imports |
$9.22B |
-45% |
| Polished exports |
$8.11B |
-46% |
| Net polished imports |
$1.11B |
-39% |
| Rough imports |
$146M |
-49% |
| Rough exports |
$146M |
-43% |
| Net rough imports |
-$70,000 |
2019: Surplus of $33M |
| Net diamond account |
$1.11B |
-40% |
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| Polished imports: volume |
5.3 million carats |
-34% |
| Average price of polished imports |
$1,727/carat |
-17% |
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 it 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: The New York diamond district. (Shutterstock)
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Tags:
exports, imports, polished, Rapaport News, rough, US
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