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US Trade Slowdown Continues
Jan 13, 2020 5:45 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... US diamond shipments fell in November, according to government data. Polished imports declined
19% as lower volumes outweighed an increase in the average price.
US Trade Data for November 2019 |
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Nov 2019 |
Year-on-year change |
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Polished imports |
$1,382 |
-19% |
Polished exports |
$1,362 |
-10% |
Net polished imports |
$20 |
-90% |
Rough imports |
$20 |
-78% |
Rough exports |
$23 |
-21% |
Net rough imports |
-$3 |
2018: Surplus of $65M |
Net diamond account |
$17 |
-93% |
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Polished imports: volume |
547,540 carats |
-24% |
Average price of polished imports |
$2,524/carat |
7% |
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Jan-Nov 2019 |
Year-on-year change |
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Polished imports |
$18,199 |
-16% |
Polished exports |
$16,365 |
-10% |
Net polished imports |
$1,834 |
-47% |
Rough imports |
$309 |
-47% |
Rough exports |
$278 |
-38% |
Net rough imports |
$31 |
-77% |
Net diamond account |
$1,864 |
-48% |
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Polished imports: volume |
8.7 million carats |
-7% |
Average price of polished imports |
$2,103/carat |
-10% |
All numbers in millions unless stated otherwise. |
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: A jewelry display at a store in New York’s diamond district. (Shutterstock)
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Tags:
Government, net diamond account, net polished imports, Net rough imports, new york, polished, Polished Diamonds, polished exports, polished imports, Rapaport News, rough, Rough Diamonds, rough exports, rough imports, trade, trade data, US, US Commerce Department
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