Chinese retail sales from January 31 to February 6, during the celebration of the Chinese New Year in the lunar calendar, showed the slowest growth rates over the past 10 years, according to the South China Morning Post. Nevertheless, jewelry sales in a number of Chinese provinces increased by more than 30%.
According to the Ministry of Commerce of China, retail sales in the Chinese New Year grew by 13% and exceeded 610 billion yuan ($ 100 billion).
Sales of luxury goods declined significantly, due to the policy of the government of China, aimed at eradicating corruption. However, jewelry trade increased on average by about 30%, showing an increase of 35% in Hubei Province, 31.6% in Liaoning Province and 30.2% in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang