(Bloomberg) -- China’s shoppers and investors lost their appetite for gold this year -- and there’s little expectation of any major improvement in 2020 as slowing growth and higher prices crimp consumer spending.

Jewelry consumption is forecast to drop 4% to about 660 tons this year, according to forecasts from Metals Focus Ltd., while a decline of more than 20% to around 240 tons is seen for investment demand.

Slowing growth and concerns over the trade war have hit consumer sentiment and a rally in prices is keeping some investors away, said Nikos Kavalis, a director at the London-based research firm. He expects demand to stabilize next year.

Economic growth in the world’s biggest gold consumer is sputtering. The official forecast of 6% to 6.5% is the slowest on record, and the 6.2% pace reported in the second quarter is the weakest since the government began releasing data in 1992.

“The economic conditions in the country are throwing a spanner in the works and that’s keeping jewelry consumption under pressure,” said Kavalis. The prolonged trade war and soaring local food prices have crimped consumer spending for discretionary products, he said.

Signs of progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations lifted U.S. equities Friday and sent Treasury yields higher, though sentiment may be capped as investors voiced skepticism on the accord.

Another factor hurting demand has been the weaker yuan. While Chinese shoppers may be shying away from buying gold, investors worldwide are piling in to bullion. That’s pushed spotprices up 16% this year after hitting $1,557.11 an ounce last month, the highest in more than six years.

“Back in 2017 and 2018, you had a boost in demand from more sophisticated type investors buying gold as a hedge against RMB depreciation,” said Kavalis. “Following the rise in the gold price that we’ve seen in the summer, it looks like there is less of that because now a lot of these investors are also worried that the gold price is looking rich.”

The price rally from June saw China’s jewelry demand grinding to a halt, with showrooms reportedly deserted toward the end of the second quarter, the World Gold Council said in its quarterly report. Still, the retail landscape continues to develop as leading brands expand their networks and extend their reach into lower-tier cities, the council said.

“The perspective now, particularly looking at the jewelry market, is moderate growth over the longer run, rather than the sort of massive growth you saw in the past when people were opening stores like crazy,” said Philip Klapwijk, managing director of Hong Kong-based consultant Precious Metals Insights Ltd. “The pace of that growth isn’t going to be what it used to be.”

Klapwijk, who’s also a chief consultant at Metals Focus, will be moderating a panel at the Global Precious Metals Conference in Shenzhen that runs Oct. 13-15. The China Gold Association’s Chairman Xin Song is due to make opening remarks at the annual event organized by the London Bullion Market Association.

The country’s imports will drop sharply this year as many Chinese investors cashed in their purchases made in 2012 and 2013 after prices rallied this year, said Zhang Yongtao, secretary general of the China Gold Association. This has boosted domestic supply and reduced the need for imports, he added.

China’s imports of gold in unwrought forms fell 42% to about 561 tons from February to August in 2019, from the same period a year ago, according to data on the customs website.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Ranjeetha Pakiam in Singapore at rpakiam@bloomberg.net;Winnie Zhu in Shanghai at wzhu4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Phoebe Sedgman at psedgman2@bloomberg.net, Keith Gosman

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