The value of diamond trading in the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) increased 2.4 percent (on y-o-y basis) to $1.98 billion, in the six months closing June 30, 2013, reports say. The volume of the same dropped however, by 37.6 percent to 33.93 million carats, reports suggest..

Imports of polished diamonds dropped 19.3 percent decrease to $726 million, while imports of rough diamonds rose 182 percent to $4.39 million, reports suggest.

For only the month of June, SDE’s diamond trade volume decreased 8.1 percent to over 3.16 million carats, while its value increased 3.8 percent (on y-o-y basis), reports say.