Israel turned in a sparkling performance in the month of February, becoming the world's leading supplier of polished diamonds for that period.
Despite the sharp decline in the polished diamond trade that began in January, the Jewish State shipped a net worth of $119.6 million in diamonds in February, the highest volume in the world.
Israel was followed by India, ($106.4 million), Belgium ($74.1 million) and South Africa ($65.2 million) in polished diamond trade.
The United States imported a total of 644,721 carats in polished diamonds, worth $774 million, with an average value of $1,200.57 per carat.
Although the statistics for Israel are postive, when considered in relation to the worldwide trade a year earlier, the economic drop, especially in the United States, becomes more obvious.
The February 2009 U.S. import figures represent a 45.6 percent drop in volume and 53 percent in value compared to February 2008. The average value of imports declined 13.6 percent.
The U.S. continued to export polished goods, but these exports were slashed by half as well. Exports of 1,595,658 carats worth $597.96 million totaled a respective 46.2 percent and 45.4 percent year-over-year decline. The exports carried a comparatively lower average value of $374.74 per carat.