polished imports in the US jumped by 12.6% year-on-year to $ 1.887 billion, a record high for January, Rapaport reports. The average cost of imported diamonds increased by 12.8% to $ 1,857 per carat in the reporting month. Meanwhile, US polished exports fell 11.8% to $ 1.335 billion, resulting in a net polished imports of $ 552 million in January from $ 164 million in the same month of 2013.
US rough imports jumped 35.9% to $ 53 million in January, while exports grew 128% to $ 57 million, setting a new record for the month.
The net import of rough diamonds fell to a negative value of $ 4 million, compared with a surplus of $ 13 million in January 2013.
The net US diamond account in January (the difference of net imports and exports) rose to $ 548 million compared to $ 177 million a year earlier.