Jewellery demand in China is expected to pick up in September, ahead of a week-long national holiday in early October, according to Thomson Reuters’ GFMS Gold Survey 2016: Q2 Update & Outlook.
Retailers are likely to replenish inventories in preparation for the October 1 holiday, which could boost jewellery consumption figures, the study said.
“We expect the country’s jewellery offtake in the third quarter to improve compared to the second quarter,” Thomson Reuters noted. Jewellery consumption in the second quarter of the year fell 24.1 percent to 83.3 tonnes from 110.4 tonnes during the same period a year ago.
“Many industry insiders believe that the consolidation of the sector will continue, and barring seasonal demand, a full recovery may not develop until 2018 at the earliest,” the study further revealed.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, meanwhile, showed that the country recorded a slight year-on-year increase in the retail sales of gold and silver jewellery to RMB24.1 billion (US$3.61 billion) in June.
From January to June, retail sales from this segment reached RMB147.6 billion (US$22.16 billion).
China’s jewellery retail sales hit RMB306.9 billion (US$42 billion) in 2015, up 7.3 percent from the same period in 2014.
[Source:- jewellerynewsasia]