Antwerp Diamond Data - September 2012

The average export price per carat of polished diamonds increased from 1,536 U.S. dollar in August to 2,155 U.S. dollar in September. In volume terms, the export of polished diamonds in September 2012 decreased 15.51 percent compared to September 2011 to 617,783 carats. This equals a drop of 18.87 percent in value terms to 1,331,401,437 U.S. dollar. From January to September this year, 5,248,858 carats polished diamonds were exported. This is a decrease of 21.09 percent in volume terms and a downfall of 9.65 percent in value terms compared to exactly one year ago.

The polished import figures of September also declined compared to September last year. In volume terms, we see a decrease of 21.52 percent, which implies a drop of 22.97 percent in value terms. During the first nine months of this year, 5,760,414 carats polished diamonds were imported. Compared to the exact same period last year, this is a drop of 18.31 percent in volume terms but only a 5.3 percent downfall in value.

When we take a look at the figures of rough diamonds in September 2012, we can see a more positive trend. Compared to September 2011, the export of rough diamonds increased 67.61 percent in volume terms and 8.20 percent in value terms. When we take the first 9 months of 2012 into account, we see a downfall of 12.42 percent in volume terms and a drop of 13.06 percent in value terms compared to the first nine months of 2011.

By studying the import figures of rough diamonds in September 2012, we note a 2.09 percent increase in volume terms and a 4.57 percent rise compared to exactly one year ago. From January to September 2012, Antwerp imported 64,017,915 carats rough diamond, which translates into a 19.85 percent downfall in volume terms and a 15.40 percent decrease in value compared to the first nine months of 2011.