Thursday, 21st February 2008 (4549 views)

China has reportedly overtaken the United States to become the second biggest market in the world for gold and gold jewellery, according to new figures from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE).

The country's China Daily news service said that the SGE report showed sales of gold and gold products on the Chinese mainland reached a record high in 2007 at 316.49 trillion yuan (£22.68 trillion).

This was up 62.51 per cent on 2006 and accounted for 326.1 tonnes of gold, it added.

SGE chairman Shen Xiangrong said the gold market had enjoyed "good momentum" in China through the year.

In particular, China has seen a boom in jewellery sales. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry recently reported a 43 per cent rise in demand for luxury watches from China, the biggest increase in the world.

The Chinese market for these items is now worth 577.6 million Swiss francs (£268.1 million), it said.

Earlier this year, China also became the world's top gold producer, ending South Africa's 102-year reign, according to figures from precious metals consultant GFMS.

 

« Back to Gold News stories

 

The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.