The shrinking of the US jewelry industry slowed in the third quarter, with the number of companies closing down or going bankrupt declining.

Some 192 firms in the US ceased their operations in the three months to September 30, a decline of 51% from the same period a year ago, according to data the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) released this week. Retail closures fell 53% to 146, with terminations of wholesalers down 45% to 31. The number of jewelry manufacturers shutting down fell 35% to 15.

Bankruptcies in the industry also declined slightly, from 10 companies to nine.

However, the US trade still got smaller, with the number of companies listed by the JBT declining 4.5% to 26,246 in the third quarter.