Stefania Trenti about the Gold Jewelry Market
Balance time for the jewelry sector. Stefania Trenti, Industry Office Manager for Intesa Sanpaolo Research and Study Management, obliges with data on world jewelry demand performances
The third quarter of 2018 saw a positive increase (+6%) in worldwide gold jewelry demand after unfavorable data in the previous quarters. A theme that, according to the World Gold Council, is directly linked to the weakness of gold, which has made purchases in India and China increase, going on in the area of South East Asia. In the Middle East, they still haven’t been able to reverse the negative trend. «The year that has just closed was not exceptional, even though there were positive signs,» explained Stefania Trenti, Industry Office Manager for Intesa Sanpaolo Research and Study Management, «such as the growth of the industrial production index, which means that companies are doing well, and we are talking about a very fragmented sector mainly made up of SMEs. And Italian companies are performing very well in the US, surpassing the main competitors such as Turkey and India. For 2019, it is a good idea to use caution. The world has changed and the markets are extremely sensitive to the geopolitical happenings and this is reflected in the price of gold, which remains a traditional safe haven. However, Italy may have some surprises in store for us. In fact, it seems to have exhausted the negative trend in domestic consumption, and in foreign tourism as well. In 2018, it saw encouraging data that normally translates, generally, into more buying in our country.» Overall, the first nine months of 2018 saw foreign sales decreased by 4.1% in value, while they increased by 20.8% in quantity, which implies the decrease in average unit value of approximately 20% on average for the different countries. This decrease is relevant everywhere, with the exception of the US, UK and South Africa. In the same way, the expansive trend in quantities touched all countries, with only the United Arab Emirates registering a 15.2% drop, confirming itself as one of the markets in which Italian gold jewelry suffered the most. However, it should be stressed that the upcoming World Fair – being held in Dubai in 2020 – should revitalize the economy of the entire gulf and thus also the consumption of jewelry and its counterparts.
