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US Diamond Shipments See April Recovery

Jun 20, 2021 9:54 AM   By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... 
US polished-diamond imports soared to $1.59 billion in April, compared with just $28 million a year earlier, as the market rebounded strongly from the 2020 coronavirus slowdown. Shipments into the country for the first four months of 2021 rose 62% year on year, according to data from the US Department of Commerce.

US Trade Data for April 2021

  April 2021 Year-on-year change
     
Polished imports $1.59B 5574%
Polished exports $1.18B 529%
Net polished imports $413M 2020: Deficit of $159M
Rough imports $29M 2020: < $500,000
Rough exports $25M 314%
Net rough imports $5M 2020: Deficit of $6M
Net diamond account $417M 2020: Deficit of $165M
     
Polished imports: volume 1 million carats 4962%
Average price of polished imports $1,569/carat 12%
     
  January-April 2021 Year-on-year change
     
Polished imports $6.1B 62%
Polished exports $4.53B 24%
Net polished imports $1.57B 1316%
Rough imports $90M 63%
Rough exports $80M 2%
Net rough imports $10M 2020: Deficit of $23M
Net diamond account $1.58B 1692%
     
Polished imports: volume 3.4 million carats 77%
Average price of polished imports $1,778/carat -8%


Source: US Department of Commerce 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: Polished diamonds in cases. (Rapaport News)
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Tags: data, exports, imports, net diamond account, net polished imports, Net rough imports, polished exports, polished imports, Rapaport News, rough exports, rough imports, trade data, US
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