Gold jewelry sales recovering in China

LONDON, June 05 (Reuters): Gold jewelry sales in number one market China are finally picking up after years of decline, but consumers are still shying away from platinum.

Chinese jewelry sales are a key component of global demand for both physical gold and platinum, accounting for 14 per cent and 16 per cent of consumption respectively. Since peaking in 2013, both have fallen by around a third.

Analysts and jewelers report that a lack of trust in platinum, as well as the higher cost of exchanging platinum pieces for cash, make it a less appealing store of value for older buyers.

Meanwhile fashion-conscious young consumers are favoring lower purity gold for day-to-day wear.

"Chinese people traditionally prefer gold," said Mrs Wang, a sales associate in central Beijing at Caibai Jewelry, which has stores across China's northern regions, and who declined to give her first name.