U.S. Rough Diamond imports in July $53 million

147,570 carats of rough diamonds worth $$52.97 million were imported into the United Sates in July, which translates into a low average price per carat (p/c) of $359.

According to official U.S. government figures, 114,505 carats of rough were imported from Russia, with a U.S. customs value of $758,972; an average of $6.63 p/c. Most months, Russian imports range from 1,000–6,000 carats, averaging several hundred dollars p/c.

The exception was in February of this year, when 149,194 carats of rough were shipped from Russia with a total value of a little over $2 million, an average of $13.91p/c.

The majority of rough imports, over 79 percent, arrived from three African countries, South Africa (20,062,058 carats), Botswana (17,755,592 carats), and Angola (4,049,470 carats).