China's nine-month jewellery gold falls 33.86% on year, bars up 26.26%
The China Gold Association put January-to-September consumption at 684.623 tonnes, up 0.28% on the year, in figures carried by Xinhua. Jewellery took 178.612 tonnes and bars and coins 444.576 tonnes.
By Carat Capital
What changed
Bars replaced jewellery. China's gold jewellery consumption fell 33.86% in the first nine months while bars and coins rose 26.26%, the China Gold Association says. Total consumption rose 0.28%.
What it means
- If you supply Chinese jewellers: The third quarter alone took about 46 tonnes, by subtraction. The fall did not ease.
- If you sell investment gold: Bars and coins are 64.9% of nine-month consumption.
- What this is not: A fall in China's gold buying. Total consumption is still up; the metal moved from the counter to bars and coins.
Key figures
| Jewellery178.612 tonnes in nine months, on year | −33.86% |
|---|---|
| Bars and coins444.576 tonnes in nine months, on year | +26.26% |
| Total consumption684.623 tonnes in nine months, on year | +0.28% |
| Domestic mine output220.935 tonnes in nine months, on year | −18.71% |
Source: China Gold Association, January to September 2026, via Xinhua, 4 November 2026 15:25 Beijing.
Jewellery down a third on year.
Jewellery kept falling. Jewellery consumption was 178.612 tonnes in nine months, down 33.86% on the year. At the half it was down 33.88%, so the third quarter did not change the pace.
Higher-value pieces gain. The association says jewellery is moving to higher value-added products. Fixed-price pieces, sold at a set price rather than by weight, are taking a growing share.
| Line | First half 2026 | Q3, by subtraction | Nine months 2026 | Nine months, on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jewellery | 132.13 | 46.5 | 178.612 | −33.86% |
| Bars and coins | 339.34 | 105.2 | 444.576 | +26.26% |
| Industrial and other | n/a | n/a | 61.434 | +1.41% |
| Total consumption | 511.41 | 173.2 | 684.623 | +0.28% |
| Domestic mine output | n/a | n/a | 220.935 | −18.71% |
| From imported material | n/a | n/a | 127.055 | +4.87% |
Nine-month figures as printed by the association via Xinhua. H1 figures are the association's half-year release as reported by Carat Capital on 7 August. The Q3 column is Carat Capital's subtraction and assumes the half-year figures were not revised.
Bars and coins rose on year.
Investment metal leads. Bars and coins reached 444.576 tonnes, up 26.26%, slower than the 28.42% rise at the half.
Direct sales rise. The association says direct sales are replacing distributors for investment products. Domestic gold ETFs added 56.114 tonnes, 28.98% less than a year earlier, to hold 303.965 tonnes.
Total growth nearly stalled.
Q3 was softer. By subtraction, total consumption was about 173.2 tonnes in the third quarter. The implied year-ago quarter is about 177.5 tonnes, so Q3 was roughly 2.4% lower.
Domestic output fell on year.
Safety work cut output. Gold from domestic raw material fell 18.71% on the year to 220.935 tonnes. The association cites safety upgrades at mines and maintenance shutdowns at some key projects.
Overseas mines grew. Mines abroad owned by large Chinese gold groups produced 71.126 tonnes, up 15.77%.
What to watch
- Full-year 2026 figures, date not announcedThe association's annual print. The test: whether jewellery ends the year down by about a third, and whether the total stays above 2025's.
The story so far
Go deeper
What would change this call
If full-year bar and coin tonnage rises by less than jewellery falls, total consumption declines, and the shift becomes a contraction.
How the association counts
Consumption is the association's sum of jewellery, bars and coins, and industrial and other use. Output here is gold produced from domestic raw material; gold refined from imported material is counted separately.
Method
China Gold Association figures in a Xinhua dispatch, '前三季度我国黄金产量同比下降 消费量同比微增', stamped '2026-11-04 15:25:58 来源：新华网', dateline '新华社北京11月4日电', read at news.cn at 06:04 EST 5 November 2026. Text: '黄金消费量684.623吨，同比增长0.28%' (consumption 684.623 tonnes, up 0.28%); '黄金首饰178.612吨，同比下降33.86%' (jewellery 178.612 tonnes, down 33.86%); '金条及金币444.576吨，同比增长26.26%' (bars and coins 444.576 tonnes, up 26.26%); '工业及其他用金61.434吨，同比增长1.41%'; '国内原料产金220.935吨，同比下降18.71%' (gold from domestic raw material); '进口原料产金127.055吨，同比增长4.87%'; '大型黄金集团境外矿山产金71.126吨，同比增长15.77%'; '国内黄金ETF增仓量为56.114吨，同比下降28.98%' and '持仓量为303.965吨'. The association's reasons: '受部分重点项目停产检修等因素影响' (some key projects halted for maintenance), '直营销售逐步替代经销模式' (direct sales replacing distribution), '定价类产品销售份额稳步提升' (fixed-price products' share rising). Translations are Carat Capital's. Half-year figures from the association as printed by Carat Capital on 7 August: jewellery 132.13 t (down 33.88%), bars and coins 339.34 t (up 28.42%), total 511.41 t (up 1.23%). Arithmetic, ours: Q3 jewellery 178.612 - 132.13 = 46.5 t; bars and coins 444.576 - 339.34 = 105.2 t; total 684.623 - 511.41 = 173.2 t. Implied year-ago totals: 684.623 / 1.0028 = 682.7 t for nine months, 511.41 / 1.0123 = 505.2 t for the half, so Q3 2025 about 177.5 t and 173.2 / 177.5 = 0.976, about 2.4% lower. Share: 444.576 / 684.623 = 64.9%. These assume the half-year figures were not revised; the dispatch does not say. No claim is made that Carat Capital reported the figures first.