Belgium's Polished Trade Declines in April
May 09, 12 by Edahn Golan
(IDEX Online News) – Polished diamond trade through Antwerp has declined in April, uncharacteristically fallowing below one billion dollars. Belgium exported $942.8 million worth of polished in April, down 31.7 percent compared to March.
Year-over-year, exports declined 6.7 percent, according to figures released today (Wednesday) by the AWDC.
The volume of exports, 588,939 carats, declined 1.9 percent compared to March and 12.5 percent compared to April 2011.
In the past few weeks Antwerp's diamond traders voiced concerned about the quiet market, reporting lower than usual commercial activity. This trend is ongoing.
The average value of exports stood at $1,600.77 per carat, some 10 percent higher than the average value of imports in April.
Antwerp imported 640,304 carats worth $931.2 million, declining 4.2 percent by volume and 7.7 percent by value from the year before.
Month-over-month, the declines in imports are 19.8 percent and 28.6 percent respectively.
The bulk of Belgium's exports, nearly 70 percent of the total, were to the U.S., Hong Kong, Israel and Switzerland.
Two thirds of Antwerp's imports were from the U.S., India, Hong Kong and Israel.
