Imports of polished diamonds in the US jumped 19% year-on-year in April 2013 to $ 1.71 billion, driven by an increase in the average value of imported diamonds by 20% to $ 1,934 per carat, Rapaport reported. At the same time, polished exports for the month increased by 40% to $ 1.609 billion, while the average price of exported diamonds jumped 47% to $ 1,530 per carat. US net diamond imports fell 64% to $ 101 million.
US rough imports rose 22% to $ 33 million in April, while exports increased 73% to $ 26 million. Thus, net imports of rough diamonds in April were $ 7 million compared to $ 12 million for the same period last year.
In April, the US net diamond account was $ 108 million, down 63% relative to April 2012.
US polished imports increased 9.5% year-on-year to $ 6.839 billion, while polished exports rose 11.6% to $ 6.073 billion. Net polished imports fell 4.5% to $ 767 million.
Import of rough diamonds for the first four months of 2013 decreased by 5.4% to $ 139 million, rough diamond exports fell 24% to $ 95 million, thus, net imports of raw materials increased to $ 43 million compared to $ 22 million a year earlier.