U.S. Polished Diamond Imports Down in March

Imports of polished diamonds to the United States dropped both in volume by carat and in dollar value for the month of March, as compared to the previous year, Diamond World reported. By value, U.S. imports of polished diamonds dropped by 7.2% to $1.804 billion and by volume they dropped by 14.6% to 1,135,621 carats. The country's net imports of polished diamonds also dropped by 29.7% to $272 million.

Conversely, American trade of rough diamonds in March fared marginally better. Year over year, $52 million of rough diamonds were imported to the U.S. in March 2012, a 40.5% increase. Only $38 million worth of rough diamonds were exported from the U.S. in March, however, which was a 9.5% drop from exports in March 2011. U.S. net imports of rough diamonds were $14 million for the month.

The net diamond account for March was $286 million, according to Diamond World, a decline of 25.1%.

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