U.S. Reports Sharp Drop in Diamond Trade The U.S. imported $754.9 million in polished diamonds during January 2009, which was a decline of 50 percent from one year ago. Polished exports fell 45 percent to $598 million. Net polished imports — polished exports deducted from polished imports — fell 61 percent to $156.9 million.
Rough imports for January fell 81 percent to $14.2 million, while rough exports fell 69 percent to $14.7 million. Net rough imports fell into the red by $500,000, compared with their positive value of $27.9 million during January 2008. The net diamond account for January 2009 fell 63 percent to $156.4 million.
Home Sales and Durable Goods Orders Both RiseThe Commerce Department reported that the sale of new homes grew 4.7 percent in February to an annual rate of 337,000 after record lows in January when the annual rate was 322,000. The increase was attributed to slashed prices and lower mortgage rates, with the median sales price dropping 18 percent from February of last year.
In other improving economic news, the Commerce Department also noted that orders for durable goods were up 3.4 percent in February in the wake of a 7.3 percent decline in January. This small increase beat economists’ expectations of a 2.5 percent decrease for the month.
Consumer Sentiment Rises UnexpectedlyThe Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers’ preliminary March U.S. consumer sentiment index jumped to 56.6, a slight increase from February’s full-month reading of 56.3, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters. The preliminary index surpassed the expectations of economists surveyed by Reuters, who had anticipated that the early March reading would drop to 55. However, even with this uptick, the consumer sentiment index remains close to its all-time low of 51.7 in May 1980 and the current economic index declined from 65.5 to 62.3, Reuters stated.
Nearly half of all consumers cited uncertainty about future income and job prospects when asked to explain their views on buying furniture, appliances, home electronics and automobiles. The survey noted greater confidence in the Obama administration’s stewardship of the economy. In January, just 7 percent of those surveyed said the government was doing a good job, but this number rose to 23 percent in early March, Reuters reported.
India’s Polished Exports SinkIndia’s polished diamond exports for the month of February dropped 35 percent to $872.9 million, according to provisional data from the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). Polished diamond imports fell 9 percent compared to February 2007 to $512.5 million.
Rough imports to India decreased 77 percent to $210.2 million, while rough exports fell 24.8 percent to $45.4 million. India’s net diamond account, which subtracts net rough imports from net polished exports, improved from one year ago to $195.6 million.
Belgium’s Rough Trade TanksBelgium’s diamond trade continued to slide in February reflecting the “ongoing slump in demand for rough and polished diamonds,” according to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). The country’s rough imports fell 71 percent compared with the previous year to $277.2 million during the month, while rough exports decreased 69 percent to $344.8 million.
Belgium’s polished exports fell 36 percent to $758.7 million in February and polished imports declined 38 percent to $541.3 million, AWDC reported. Belgium’s net diamond account, representing the difference between total exports and total imports, fell 41 percent to $285 million during the month.
During the first two months of the year, rough imports decreased 63 percent compared with 2007 to $738 million and rough exports decreased by 70 percent to $649 million. Polished exports fell 37 percent to $1.3 billion, while polished imports dropped 38 percent to $1.2 billion.
Israel’s Polished Exports PlungeIsrael’s diamond exports continued their dramatic decline in February, according to data published by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The country’s polished exports fell 62 percent to $309.2 million in February compared to 2008, while rough exports declined 76 percent to $80.9 million. Israel’s polished exports have consistently dropped by around 60 percent per month since October 2008.
Israel’s total diamond exports in February — rough and polished combined — dropped 66 percent compared with the previous year to $390.1 million. Diamonds accounted for 14 percent of Israel’s total exports in February, CBS noted.
Total diamond imports — both polished and rough — fell 76 percent to $203.3 million. CBS does not provide separate figures for polished and rough imports. Israel’s February net diamond account, measuring the extent to which total diamond exports exceeded imports, was down 36 percent to $186.8 million.
At the beginning of 2009, Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor announced that it would publish the country’s diamond-trade data on a quarterly basis, rather than on a monthly basis, as it had in the past. The ministry has not reported rough or polished imports since October 2008. RDR will report monthly figures based on the CBS’ monthly foreign-trade data and will provide a quarterly summary excerpted from the ministry’s data.
Japan’s Polished Imports Continue Decline
Japan’s polished diamond imports dropped 8 percent in January to $67 million, compared with $73.1 million in the same month a year earlier, according to data published by the J Club, based on statistics from the Customs Bureau of the country’s Finance Ministry. Japan’s imports by volume decreased 4 percent to 194,763 carats as the average price contracted 4 percent to $344 per carat.
Imports from India, Japan’s largest source in January, increased by 14 percent to $31.3 million, but imports from each of its other major supplier countries sank. Imports from Belgium decreased 15 percent to $16.8 million, imports from Israel slipped by 3 percent to $9.3 million and imports from Hong Kong tumbled 47 percent to $3.1 million.
Japan’s imports of gold jewelry declined 27 percent to $46.4 million in January, according to J Club data, and platinum jewelry imports were down 27 percent to $23.2 million. Silver jewelry imports fell 14 percent to $15.7 million during the month, while imports of jewelry made from other precious metals grew 31 percent to $126,000.
Japan’s imports of rubies, sapphires and emeralds increased 48 percent to $5.6 million, while other colored stones were down by 6 percent to $4.4 million. Pearl imports dropped 23 percent to $15.4 million.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2009. To subscribe click here.