China's love affair with gold heating up on property riches

Singapore

CHINA'S growing throng of affluent consumers is driving a rebound in demand for gold rings, bracelets and necklaces as a property boom and high stock market valuations boost wealth in the largest bullion market.

"Things are much more positive than they were this time last year," and the jewellery market has bottomed out after three years of declines, said Nikos Kavalis, London-based director of research firm Metals Focus. Colleagues who visited the southern commercial hub of Shenzhen in early January told him showrooms were quite busy and wholesalers expected clients to return to replenish their stocks before the Chinese New Year in mid-February.