Spot gold prices briefly fell below the $4,000 per ounce mark recently, then saw a tug-of-war between bulls and bears around that level. Amid the price swings, what changes have emerged in the gold consumer market? On October 28, a reporter visited the Shuibei gold and jewelry market in Shenzhen. Although it was a working day, the market was still bustling, with many counters surrounded by consumers trying on jewelry and asking about prices. On pricing, jewelry gold in the Shuibei market was generally around 1,033 yuan per gram, while gold bars were generally around 910 yuan per gram, down about 40 yuan per gram from levels during the National Day holiday.
"Prices were even lower a few days ago, especially on weekends, when the whole market is packed with people," said Manager Lu, who runs a gold jewelry business in Shuibei. "Sales in October rose about 30% from the previous month. In fact, over the past month or two, gold price swings have become larger, and whenever gold prices fall, foot traffic clearly increases." Lu also said that wedding-related demand remains the main driver of market consumption, while younger consumers favor lightweight hard gold jewelry with simple designs.
The rebound in end-consumer demand has not fully dispelled caution in the midstream wholesale segment. A gold wholesaler in Shuibei told the reporter that during this period, customers have basically been restocking "on demand with orders," meaning they replenish gold material only as much as they sell in jewelry, likely still worried that the market could suddenly fluctuate sharply.
A recent World Gold Council report, the "2026 China Gold Jewelry Retail Market Insights," showed that China's gold jewelry demand in tonnage terms fell 30% year on year in the first half of 2026, while consumer spending rose 5% year on year to 144 billion yuan, the second-highest first-half gold jewelry consumption scale on record. At the same time, 45% of surveyed retailers plan to cut gold product inventories going forward, but more than 40% of retailers chose to keep gold inventories unchanged.
On the gold price outlook, some industry insiders said the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision will be the key variable in breaking the current gold price "deadlock," and any change in its wording or dot plot could become a catalyst for gold to break above or below key price levels. Public market information shows that Suki Cooper, global head of commodities research at Standard Chartered Bank, believes $4,000 is a "key threshold," and if gold cannot gain technical support around $3,886 per ounce, downside room will open up quickly. A UBS report shows that technical signals of a bottom have appeared, but traders generally choose to wait and see.
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