WASHINGTON: U.S. polished diamond imports fell 15 percent year on year to $1.62 billion in November, the second-steepest drop of 2015. Diamond imports by weight declined 14 percent to 735,561 carats and the average price dipped 0.6 percent to $2,205 per carat. Polished diamond exports, meanwhile, fell 16 percent to $1.37 billion, driving net imports down 9.3 percent to $253 million.
The largest monthly drop in polished imports out of the 2015 data available to date was in September, when imports fell 23 percent.
Rough diamond imports soared 37 percent to $31.8 million, while rough exports more than doubled to $18 million, leaving net rough imports down 9.4 percent to $13.8 million. The net diamond account, reflecting the difference between net imports and exports, decreased 9.3 percent to $266.8 million.
During the first 11 months of the year, polished diamond imports declined 3.2 percent year-on-year to $21.47 billion and polished exports fell 13 percent to $17.06 billion, resulting in net imports soaring 67 percent to $4.41 billion.
