Strong Lunar New Year demand fuels China’s gold jewellery market

Tue Feb 17 2026

In the run-up to Lunar New Year, Chinese consumers were busy choosing gold jewellery, a traditional gift with deep cultural connotations, as strong market sentiment overshadowed sharp fluctuations in gold prices and assessments of the sector’s outlook by investment banks remained upbeat.

Jewellers offered small discounts to boost holiday sales. For example, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, China’s largest retailer by store count, launched an 80 yuan (US$12) discount per gram on gold items in its stores nationwide through the end of the Spring Festival. The discount is linked to China’s daily spot gold price.

The jeweller planned to raise prices of some fixed-price gold and gold-inlaid diamond products after the holiday, as gold and raw material prices had increased owing to recent international and domestic market factors, according to social media posts by sales associates of Chow Tai Fook.

“We have been quite busy since the morning of Valentine’s Day, with many customers coming in to select jewellery,” said an associate at a Chow Tai Fook store in Beijing’s downtown Haidian district. “It’s very rare for the Spring Festival holiday to coincide with Valentine’s Day, and I will be working a bit of overtime.”

“Consumers have indicated strong rigid demand, rising investment sentiment, and a notable shift towards younger buyers,” said Fu Yifu, a special researcher at Su Merchants Bank in Nanjing, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province. “The recent rally in gold prices has strengthened the ‘buy on rallies, not declines’ mentality, as consumers are purchasing early on fears of further price increases.”

Spot gold opened at US$4,991.90 on Monday, taking its gains for the year to 15.6 per cent, according to Wind data. Citigroup was bullish about the outlook for Chow Tai Fook and rival retailer Laopu Gold in a report last month, which came before gold dropped from about US$5,600 to about US$5,000 at the end of January.

“We are positive on [Chow Tai Fook’s] strategic focus change from store expansion to brand premiumisation and operating efficiency enhancement to ensure sustainable growth for the longer term,” the bank said in a report last month. It set a target share price of HK$18.20, 28 per cent above the closing price of HK$14.18 on Monday. As for Laopu, Citi said that while long-term gold price trends would bolster gold jewellery’s appeal, short-term price volatility would not affect consumer demand for Laopu’s products. The bank set its target price for Laopu at HK$1,119, representing a 42 per cent gain from the closing price of HK$787.50 on Monday

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Founded in 2009, Laopu positions itself as an aspirational domestic luxury brand, and claims it incorporates traditional methods once reserved for the royal palace. It will join the Hang Seng Index next month following the latest quarterly review by the index compiler. Meanwhile, JP Morgan Private Bank said in a research note on February 6 that it was more optimistic than the market about Laopu Gold’s holiday performance.

The bank said its view was driven by stronger brand equity, new products, new customer acquisition, repeat purchases and favourable gold price trends. Solid group performance should ease investor worries over consumer behaviour amid the high base effect and gold price volatility. The period around the Lunar New Year is traditionally a peak season for gold buying, as it usually sees a surge in weddings, family visits and festive gift giving.

With economic and geopolitical instability showing little sign of retreat in 2026, strong gold demand from last year was likely to continue this year, the London-based World Gold Council said in late January. It noted strong enthusiasm for gold in China, particularly for Year of the Horse commemorative jewellery and coins. Liu Jing, a professor of accounting and finance at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing, said the bull run in gold gained momentum this year amid the shifting geopolitical landscape. He added that demand came from central banks, investors in gold exchange-traded funds and buyers of physical gold like bars and jewellery. Gold production grew only 1 to 2 per cent annually, while surging demand and limited supply drove prices higher, he said.

Source: https://www.scmp.com/