On the first day of the New Year holiday, mainstream gold shops on the mainland of China continued to see a decline in the price of foot gold, with many brands substantially lowering their prices. At the same time, small-weight gold bars were sold out, with citizens fervently believing in the saying “buying gold in chaotic times” and flocking to the market.
January 1, 2026 saw several jewelry brands lowering their prices for foot gold. Brands like Chow Tai Fook, Lao Feng Xiang, and Lukfook Jewelry saw a decrease of around 6 yuan per gram, while Lao Miao Gold and Chow Sang Sang lowered their prices by 11 yuan and 10 yuan respectively. Currently, the prices of foot gold of major brands are mostly maintained between 1,345 yuan and 1,361 yuan per gram.
According to a report by “First Financial”, this “price cutting wave” had already started to show signs just before New Year’s Day. On December 30th, there was a rare collective price drop in gold shops, with the highest single gram decrease exceeding 50 yuan.
Despite gold breaking through a historic high of $4,500 per ounce in late December in the international spot gold market, it then reversed course downwards. By the end of trading on December 31st of last year, spot gold had fallen back to $4,318.27 per ounce.
Even with price fluctuations, the popular sentiment towards gold among the public remains strong. At the Beijing Cai Shi Kou Department Store, the counters were crowded with inquiring customers. Many parents entered the market with the mentality of “saving money for their children”, firmly believing that the price of gold will rise in the long term.
According to reports from China News and Jing Jie News, there are investors who cashed out at higher prices making reservations to repurchase 4.37 kilograms of gold at once; there are also individual investors who bought low in the first half of 2025 taking advantage of current prices to liquidate their positions.
Compared to gold, the silver market has experienced even greater fluctuations. On December 29th, after hitting a historic high of $83 per ounce, the spot silver market quickly collapsed, with a single-day drop of over 9%, marking the largest single-day decline in five years.
Just before the significant gold price correction, data from the World Gold Council showed that gold demand for “jewelry consumption” has significantly shrunk since the fourth quarter of last year.
Reported by The Paper and Jiemian News, the 2025 financial report of China’s largest jewelry retailer, Chow Tai Fook, showed a net closure of 905 retail stores on the mainland, averaging 2.5 store closures per day. The financial reports of other jewelry brands also indicate they are facing similar challenges.
As of September 30, 2025, the number of terminal stores of Chow Sang Sang decreased by 560 compared to the same period the previous year; Chow Sang Sang Group saw a net reduction of 74 stores of various brands on the mainland in the first half of 2025; Lukfook Jewelry saw a decrease of 280 franchise stores in the first half of 2025; Lukfook Group’s mainland stores also experienced a decrease.