Gold and Silver fell again

With prices for most of its popular products ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 yuan, Laopu now competes more directly with Western luxury brands such as Tiffany and Cartier.

As rising gold prices in 2024 pushed investors toward bullion and coins and gold jewellery sales in China fell 24.69% to 532.02 tonnes, Laopu twice raised prices on its designer jewellery and trinkets. It again upped prices by 5-12% last month.

But analysts say Laopu is a contender to fully break through the luxury glass ceiling.

“It’s not an imminent threat to global luxury groups because to build a luxury brand takes a long time. You need a story, you need a history, you need the craftsmanship, but it’s possible,” said Jonathan Yan, a principal at consultancy Roland Berger in Shanghai.

Source – Reuters

China’s gold reserves rose to 73.61 million fine troy ounces at the end of February from 73.45 million at the end of January, as the central bank kept buying the precious metal for a fourth straight month.

“The PBOC’s purchases are an important factor underpinning gold, so a continuation of its buying in February could help to build further strength behind the gold price,” said Frank Watson, market analyst at Kinesis Money.

“Unlike investors, central banks are relatively price insensitive to gold and tend to buy as part of a restructuring of their reserve holdings,” Watson said.

Source – Reuters