Japan's Polished Diamond Imports +18% in June.

Japan’s polished diamond imports rose 18 percent to $60.1 million in June 2010, according to data published by Momozawa & Co., based on information obtained from the country's Customs Bureau at the Ministry of Finance. By volume, the imports grew 35.4 percent to 212,235 carats as the average price of the diamonds fell 13 percent to $283 per carat.

Japan’s polished imports rose from all major centers during the month with imports from India increasing 19 percent to $24.9 million, while from Belgium they rose 2 percent to $13 million and from Israel they grew 19 percent to $6.1 million.

For the first half of the year, Japan’s polished imports increased 6 percent to $334.5 million while when measured in volumes, they declined 3 percent to 1.132 million carats. The average price on the stones through the six months increased 8 percent year on year to $295 per carat.

Japan’s gold jewelry imports for the half year grew 12 percent year on year to $301.3 million while the country’s platinum jewelry imports rose 13 percent to $192.4 million. Pearl imports for the period increased 11 percent to $149.7 million.

Source : diamonds.net