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US Diamond Imports See First-Quarter Slowdown

May 30, 2023  |  Joshua Freedman

US polished-diamond imports declined 9% year on year to $2.07 billion in March, rounding off a sluggish quarter at the start of 2023. Polished shipments slid 21% to $5 billion for the first three months. March’s decline was gentler than in January and February, when imports fell 29% and 41% year on year, respectively.

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.

Main image: New York’s diamond district in October 2015. (Shutterstock)

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