(Yicai Global) July 21 -- China’s sales of gold jewelry, bars and coins surged in the first six months from a year earlier, buoyed by high prices and the general belief that the precious metal will not decline in value.

Sales of gold and silver jewelry jumped 17.5 percent in the six months ended June 30 from the same period last year to CNY168.9 billion (USD23.5 billion), according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics a few days ago. It was the second-fastest growing of all consumer goods sectors, only behind the catering industry.

And in April and May, sales of gold and silver jewelry lept 37.4 percent and 44.7 percent respectively year on year, becoming the fastest growing of all consumer goods, the bureau said.

Meanwhile, gold bar and coin sales surged 34 percent in the first half year on year and 7 percent quarter and quarter to 66 tons, driven by strong demand and marking the fastest pace of growth since 2019.

The price of gold started to rise at the beginning of the year and some people are optimistic that the price will continue to go up, industry insiders told Yicai Global. People also tend to believe that gold will not depreciate in value, and so they choose to buy it.

China’s jewelry consumption soared 11 percent in the first quarter from the same period last year and 56 percent from the previous quarter to 198 tons, according to a report recently released by the World Gold Council.

Jewelry firms Laofengxiang and Chow Tai Seng logged 76 percent and 26 percent jumps in first-quarter net profit from a year ago to CNY716 million (USD99.7 million) and CNY365 million respectively.

Many Generation Z consumers buy small gold beads online, worth a few hundred Chinese yuan each, which is equivalent to tens of US dollars, and put it in a wishing bottle as a sort of game, gold trader Yao Dong said.

Editor: Kim Taylor