介绍:
The sale of gold jewelry here in China continue to rise following a boom in sales during the Spring Festival.
Li Dong has the details.
At a gold store at Beijing's Di'anmen, customers are queueing to buy gold, both bars and jewelry.
A salesman at the gold store says their sales have been good for a long time.
"The rising trend has lasted for about half a year--from when gold sold at its lowest price of 238 yuan per gram to the 271 yuan per gram price it is today."
China's gold consumption surpassed the 1,000-tone mark last year, as domestic demand for jewelry and bars surged despite the lackluster global market.
According to data released by the China Gold Association consumption soared more than 41 percent year on year to more than nearly 1,200 tones in 2013, nearly triple the amount of its total domestic gold production.
The figure is likely to mean that China will take the place of India as the world's largest gold consumer, under the backdrop of shrinking gold prices and concerns that the Federal Reserve might withdraw its quantitative easing stimulus had dampened market sentiments last year.
The Chinese traditionally purchase gold jewelry as gifts, which contributes to gold sales rising in the country.
One lady says:
"My mom gave me 1,000 yuan for the new year because the horse is her zodiac sign. I'd like to buy her a piece of gold jewelry, like this horse, to make her happy."
In the second quarter of 2013, the international gold price dropped to around 1,400 U.S. dollars per ounce from 1,600 U.S. dollars, prompting Chinese consumers to go on a shopping spree.
The frenzied purchases nearly exhausted the gold inventory of China's jewelers and coined the word "dama" referring to Chinese middle-aged bargain-hunting women, who've become the country's main gold consumers.
Chinese "dama" contributed greatly to the increase of gold sales in 2013.
Analysts believe sales of gold bars and jewelry will keep rising in the next three to five years, boosted by the increasing income of Chinese citizens.
Data from the China Gold Association shows China produced more than 428 tones of gold in 2013, up 6.23 percent year on year and making it the world's largest producer for the seventh straight year.
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