International gold prices have recently dropped, with mixed reactions in mainland China’s gold consumption market. Older gold shops that experienced long lines and shortages at the beginning of the year in Beijing are now seeing decreased wait times. At the same time, there has been an increase in demand for wedding and celebratory gold jewelry at the Shuibei Gold and Jewelry Market in Shenzhen, while investment gold demand in Beijing has also shown some growth.
According to a report by “Time Finance” on June 13th, as of the morning of June 13th in Beijing time, the London gold price was around $4218 per ounce, a drop of about 25% from the peak of $5598.75 per ounce at the end of January this year, nearing the level at the end of 2025.
Following the drop in gold prices, some older gold shops in Beijing no longer exhibit the previous scenes of long queues as reported. From June 7th to 8th, outside three older gold-themed stores in Dongfang Xintiandi in Beijing, the queues that were previously seen have disappeared. Store staff mentioned that there has been a decrease in foot traffic on-site, but the store’s sales performance remains relatively good, with specific sales figures not disclosed.
Earlier, older gold shops had attracted attention due to queues at some stores and the need to restock popular styles. In comparison to the shortage of popular styles at the beginning of this year, currently at the Dongfang Xintiandi store in Beijing, popular styles like the Cross Vajra and Rose Window are all in stock.
As foot traffic cools down, some older gold shops in Guangzhou, Beijing, Chengdu, Wuhan, and other places have launched promotional activities such as full reductions and giveaways.
During the online promotion period of “618,” the rankings of gold brands’ transactions have changed. According to “Times Finance,” during the first wave of transactions in the unaudited gold category on Tmall in the period from May 21st to 30th, Chow Tai Fook temporarily ranked first, followed by older gold shops and Chow Sang Sang. However, during the “618” period in 2025, older gold shops had held the top spot in the transactions ranking.
With the drop in gold prices combined with e-commerce promotions, many gold brands have introduced discounts or coupons on online platforms. The report mentioned that brands like older gold shops, Chow Tai Fook, Chow Sang Sang, and others participated in the “618” promotion, but the extent of discounts and usage thresholds varied.
Quoting a report from Citigroup, it mentioned that the sales of older gold shops in May were expected to surpass those in April due to holiday promotions, but their performance in the ongoing Tmall “618” event was weaker than expected, possibly related to higher product premiums and the loss of some price-sensitive consumers.
According to the official Chinese media CCTV Finance report, on June 11th, the spot gold price briefly dropped below $4100 per ounce, leading to a price adjustment in mainland China’s gold jewelry market.
In the Shuibei Gold Market in Shenzhen, the displayed prices in several store brands show that the price of gold jewelry fluctuates around 1060 yuan per gram. After the drop in gold prices, there has been an increase in some wedding consumption. The person in charge of a gold sales store mentioned that this week there has been an increase in consumers buying gold in Shuibei, many of which are related to wedding needs.
The person in charge gave an example of a bracelet weighing 47.87 grams, which cost about 1143 yuan per gram the previous week, with labor costs adding up to about 55,900 yuan; currently, the purchase would cost about 51,800 yuan, a price difference of around 4000 yuan.
In Beijing, the demand for investment gold purchases is on the rise. Reporters from mainstream Chinese media found that there are queues in front of the investment gold counter at a gold sales store in Xicheng District, while the demand for selling back gold has decreased. A staff member at a bank branch in Haidian District also mentioned that recently there has been a noticeable increase in customers inquiring about gold prices and buying gold investment products.