Jewelry Sales Up in China and Hong Kong

RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items climbed in greater Chinain May, driven by improved consumer sentiment and a higher rate of tourism toHong Kong, according to government sources. In China, retail sales of gold, silver and jewelry increased6% year on year to $3.05 billion (CNY 20.3 billion) for May, the NationalBureau of Statistics of China reported recently. Sales for the January-to-Mayperiod rose 8% to $14.13 billion (CNY 93.9 billion). Meanwhile, Hong Kong recorded a 24% jump in sales ofjewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts to $877.5 million (HKD 6.88billion) in May, according to data the Census and Statistics Departmentreleased Tuesday. Sales in the category grew 23% to $4.65 billion (HKD 36.5billion) in the first five months. Total retail sales in all sectors for China increased 9% to$429.39 billion (CNY 2.85 trillion) in May. In Hong Kong, combined sales grew13% to $5.17 billion (HKD 40.53 billion). "Retail sales continued to post double-digit growth over ayear earlier in May, [driven by] local consumption sentiment and the visibleincrease in visitor arrivals," a Hong Kong government spokesperson said. The retail outlook for Hong Kong remains positive given therobust employment rate and continued growth in tourism levels, the spokespersonadded. However, the government is monitoring "external uncertainties" todetermine how they may affect consumer sentiment moving forward. In May, the total number of tourists to Hong Kong rose 8%year on year to 5 million, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Of thosevisitors, 3.8 million came from mainland China. For the January-to-May period,the number of tourists rose 10% to 25.9 million, with 20.1 million traveling fromthe mainland.Image: IQRemix