Government data, quoted in Rough & Polished, shows that polished diamond imports to the US fell 8% year-on-year to $2.85 billion in May – marking the eighth consecutive month of a downward trend that began in October 2016. According to the piece, “May is usually one of the busiest months for US imports of polished diamonds as goods enter the country ahead of the JCK Las Vegas show at the beginning of June”.
In volume terms, imports of diamonds fell 12% to 1.2 million carats. Average per carat went up 5% to $2,368 per carat in May.
Polished exports fell 6% to $1.29 billion, and net polished imports dropped 9% to $1.56 billion. Rough imports went up 5% to $139 million, rough exports decreased 16% to $31 million, and net rough imports jumped 13% to $108 million. The net diamond account (calculated as total rough and polished imports minus total exports) fell 8% to $1.67 billion.
