The gold market is ＂ice and fire＂! Jewelry gold consumption cools down, and investment gold is hot.

　　(CCTV Finance "Economic Information Network") Data show that since the beginning of this year, the international gold price has risen by more than 20%. This week, the international gold price continued to fluctuate at a high level. The international spot gold price remained at around $2,500 per ounce, and the domestic spot gold price remained above 572 yuan/gram. At present, what are the new changes in gold consumption?

　　Shenzhen Shuibei is the largest gold and jewelry trading center in China. In a market in Shuibei, although it is not a weekend, the flow of people in the mall is not small. Merchants who operate gold jewelry told reporters that there are more people shopping and fewer people buying, and this phenomenon has been going on for some time.

　　Liu Chaoli, the person in charge of a gold jewelry stall in Shuibei, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province: There are quite a lot of people visiting but not many people buying. The conversion rate, the transaction rate and the unit price of the transaction have all dropped sharply, and the sales volume is estimated to be half less than that of the same period last year.

　　The reporter visited a number of gold sales stalls and learned that among jewelry products, products with low processing fees are relatively more popular with consumers. Some merchants told reporters that at present, the number of consumers who require discounts on work fees has obviously increased.

　　Feng Shuyang, the head of a jewelry company in Shuibei, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province: Last year, consumers chose more products with high technology and design sense, and now they are all bargaining. Everyone hopes to get more discounts on work expenses.

　　Compared with the processing cost of tens or even one or two hundred yuan per gram of gold jewelry, gold bars and coins with lower processing cost are more popular with consumers at present.

　　Song Jiangzhen, a researcher at Beijing Gold Economic Development Research Center: At present, most domestic gold buyers prefer to buy gold bars and coins with lower labor costs for investment purposes. The labor cost of gold bars is between 2 yuan and 10 yuan per gram.

　　Since the beginning of this year, the international gold price has been running at a high level, and consumers’ demand for gold ornaments is weak, while investment enthusiasm is high. According to the latest data released by China Gold Association, in the first half of 2024, the national gold consumption was 523.753 tons, down 5.61% compared with the same period in 2023. Among them, gold jewelry was 270.021 tons, down 26.68% year-on-year; Gold bars and coins were 213.635 tons, up 46.02% year-on-year.