China saw a sharp increase in diamond imports, which stimulated active consumption of diamonds during the Chinese New Year (Chinese Spring Festival). This indicates a good conjuncture in the Chinese consumer market, Rapaport reports with reference to Xinhua agency.
The latest data on the statistics of trade transactions on the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) show a decline in trade volumes by 63% to 1.26 million carats, but in terms of value, the growth was 50% to $ 317 million.
At the same time, the volume of diamond imports through SDE (the main indicator of domestic diamond consumption) in February jumped 91% year-on-year to 105,800 carats, and its value reached $ 135 million.
According to the results of the first two months of 2014, the volume of diamond trading on the exchange was 2.39 million carats (down 64% compared to the same period last year). However, diamond imports increased by more than 80% to $ 342 million, due to low figures for the same period last year, as well as rising prices during the Chinese New Year.
SDE is the only platform for the implementation of diamond trade - exports and imports - in China. As of the end of February, SDE had 369 members, 66% of whom were foreign.