Average Value of U.S. Rough Diamond Imports Falls 37% in November

In November  2007, the U.S. imported 115,636 carats of rough diamonds worth $73.45 million, an average value of $635.19 per carat. The average value is 36.93 percent lower than imports in November 2006.

Imports by carat shot up by 66.98 percent year-over-year, while increasing 5.31 percent in value. This follows a similar outcome seen in October, when the value of imports rose 7.55 percent while the volume jumped 30.05 percent.

South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo were the leading sources of rough diamonds, shipping $21.16 million and $20.09 million worth of goods respectively. The average value was $1,109.17 p/c and $2,265.91 p/c.

Some 40 carats with a high average value of $32,500 p/c were imported from Guinea.

No exports of rough diamonds were documented in November 2007.