The World Gold Council, in a China gold-jewellery retail trends report
co-published with 12 major retailers, said gold has returned roughly 5%
annualized and that long-term momentum is supported by wealth-storage demand.
WGC China CEO Wang Lixin flagged hard 24K gold as the dominant category with
significant room to grow. China’s gold-jewellery market shows price-driven
growth with volume contraction: 1H2026 jewelery volume fell 30% YoY to 136t
while sales value continues 5% YoY to 143.7 bln yuan. Store consolidation
and self-use/personal-enjoyment purchases have risen for a third consecutive
year, shifting consumption from milestone buying to everyday demand.