U.S. Rough Imports Sliced by 60% in February

(IDEX Online News) – U.S. trade in rough diamonds declined dramatically in February, according to the latest figures. Gross imports of $33.4 million* are a 59.9 percent year-over-year decline, falling 19.1 percent compared to January.

The volume of gross imports has actually shot upwards, increasing 167.4 percent to 334,293 carats.

Exports of $26.1 million are a 19.1 percent year-over-year decline. Compared to January, the value of exports declined 50.1 percent.

In terms of volume, rough diamond exports from the U.S. fell 40 percent to 139,684 carats.

Imports less exports in February left in the U.S. $73 million worth of rough diamonds.

* In the past, IDEX Online tracked U.S. rough trade based on the SITC custom code. After continued examinations of U.S. government data, IDEX Online is now tracking the HTS custom codes (710210, 710221 &710231), which are also used by the Kimberley Process.

All figures, including those relating to trading in past years, are based on the HTS codes.