US polished imports jumped 25.2% year-on-year to $ 1.684 billion, Rapaport reports. The average cost of imported diamonds in December increased by 10% to $ 2,034 per carat. US polished exports slightly increased 2.2% to $ 1.273 billion for the month, thus, net polished imports totaled $ 411 million, compared to $ 99 million in the same month of 2012.
Import of rough in the US in December fell by 16.5% to $ 81 million, while exports of rough diamonds fell by 16.7% to $ 45 million. Net imports of diamonds fell 16.3% year-on-year to $ 36 million.
The net US diamond account for December (aggregate net imports of diamonds and rough diamonds) reached $ 447 million, more than tripling from $ 142 million a year earlier.
For the entire 2013, the United States imported diamonds for a record $ 22.85 billion, which is 16.4% more than in 2012. The average cost of imported diamonds increased by 13.5% year-on-year to $ 1,855 per carat. The polished exports increased by 15.1% to a record $ 19.098 billion. The net import of diamonds for 2013 jumped 23.1% to $ 3.752 billion.
US rough diamond imports in 2013 remained unchanged from the previous year to $ 551 million, while diamond exports fell 11.1% to $ 312 million. Net diamond imports for 2013 reached $ 239 million, compared to $ 202 million in 2012. The net diamond account of the USA for 2013 grew by 22.7% compared to 2012 to $ 3.991 billion.