U.S. Polished Imports Jump
The U.S. Department of Commerce reported year-on-year
statistics for May:
- Polished diamond imports rose 22 percent to $3.19 billion.
By volume, polished imports were flat at 1.5 million carats, while the average
price rose 23 percent to $2,117 per carat. - Polished diamond exports grew 13 percent to $1.49 billion as
the price per carat increased 45 percent to $1,787 per carat. - Rough diamond imports decreased 4 percent to $53 million.
- Rough diamond exports fell 44 percent to $15 million in May.
Israel’s Polished Exports Down
Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor reported
year-on-year data for the first half of 2013:
- Polished diamond exports fell 2 percent to $3.23 billion.
- Polished diamond imports declined 5 percent to $2.08
billion. - Rough diamond imports rose 3 percent to $2.04 billion.
- Rough diamond exports increased 8 percent to $1.64 billion.
India’s Polished Exports Soar
India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC)
reported year-on-year data for June:
- Polished diamond exports rose 22 percent to $1.48 billion.
By volume, polished exports grew 7 percent to 2.776 million carats. - Polished diamond imports more than doubled to $695.3
million. - Rough diamond imports increased 15 percent to $1.37 billion.
- Rough exports fell 1 percent to $111.8 million.
- For the first half of the calendar year, India’s polished
exports rose 19 percent to $10.6 billion, while polished imports increased 18
percent to $3.8 billion, according to Rapaport News calculations. Rough imports
increased 11 percent to $8.66 billion and rough exports grew 24 percent to
$1.03 billion.
Belgium’s Polished Exports Rise
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) released
year-on-year statistics for June:
- Polished diamond exports in June rose 3 percent to $1.36
billion. By volume, exports rose 0.7 percent to 641,674 carats. - Polished diamond imports fell 2.3 percent to $1.44 billion.
- Rough diamond imports jumped 17 percent to $1.08 billion.
- Rough diamond exports surged 17 percent to $1.26 billion.
Japan’s Polished Imports Fall
Citing data from the Finance Ministry of Japan, Momozawa
reported that polished diamond imports fell 15 percent year on year to $64.5
million in May.
- By volume, imports grew 31 percent to 180,554 carats.
- The average price dropped 35 percent to $357 per carat.
Dubai’s First Half Rough Trading Up
The Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) reported on rough trading
in the first half of 2013. Published in a trading update by Dubai Multi
Commodities Centre (DMCC), the report did not include news on polished trading.
- Total rough diamond trading, including rough exports and
rough imports, rose 5 percent year on year to $6.2 billion. - By volume, rough trading increased 11 percent to 66.4
million carats as the average price of the goods fell 5 percent to $93.37 per
carat. - Rough diamond exports rose 3 percent to $3.7 billion. By
volume, rough exports grew 12 percent to 34 million carats as the average price
of the stones fell 8 percent to $108.82 per carat. - Rough diamond imports grew 7 percent to $2.5 million.
The DMCC also announced plans to open a diamond control
office at DDE to accurately track and value the country’s trade in polished
diamonds. Slated for the end of 2013, it will operate under the authority of
the DMCC and exist parallel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Kimberley Process
(KP) office.
Rockwell’s Production Falls
Diamond production at Rockwell’s operational mines in South
Africa fell 33 percent year on year to 4,824 carats in the first quarter of
fiscal 2014 that ended on May 31, 2013. The company attributed the decline in
production to operations at the Tirisano mine being placed on care and
maintenance in December 2012 and to the sale of the Klipdam mine at the end of
March.
