Economy
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Aug- 2019 -8 August
July consumer spending hits record low
UK consumer spending in the month of July fell to a record low despite the good weather, according to the latest statistics from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. On a total basis, sales increased by 0.3% in July, against an increase of 1.6% the previous year, it is…
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Jul- 2019 -18 July
Online retail sales bounce back in June
Online retail sales rose by 8.5% year-on-year, the strongest growth this year, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index. Sales bounced back after a slump in May, which saw online sales suffer their worst growth on record at +1.9%. Clothing recorded the highest growth so far this year…
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17 July
Hallmarking figures slump 4.7% in June
Hallmarking figures fell across all major categories in June 2019, compared with the same period the previous year, with overall volumes decreasing by 4.7% according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. The number of gold pieces hallmarked decreased from 289,377 in June 2018 to 263,881 in 2019, down…
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Jun- 2019 -20 June
Online retail sales in May suffer worst growth on record
May continued the 2019 trend of below-average online sales growth, with a marginal 1.9% year-on-year (YoY) increase, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index. When compared to this time last year, which saw the strongest May growth for online retail since 2010, analysts suggest this means the state…
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13 June
Gold and platinum up in May hallmarking
Both the number of gold and platinum pieces hallmarked in May 2019 increased by 1.4% and 12.4% respectively, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. Gold hallmarked pieces increased from 294,530 to 298,654 and platinum items increased from 24,768 to 27,847 during the month. However, this was offset…
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Apr- 2019 -16 April
Gold and platinum up in March hallmarking
Both the number of gold and platinum pieces hallmarked in March 2019 increased significantly by 4.5% and 19.1% respectively, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. The average volume of silver also grew by 1% from 321,910 to 325,093 however palladium decreased by 36.8%% to 3,458 hallmarked items.…
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Mar- 2019 -26 March
Worldwide jewellery sales rise by 4% in 2018
Global sales of diamond jewellery grew by 4% in 2018 compared with last year and amounted to $85.9bn (£65.2bn). According to Alrosa, the growth rate of the global jewellery market was lower than in 2017 (+5%), mainly as a result of a slowdown in key consumption markets in the second…
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Feb- 2019 -13 February
Gold and platinum up double-digits in January hallmarking
The number of gold and platinum pieces hallmarked in January 2019 increased significantly by 17.9% and 19.1% respectively, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. The average volume of silver also grew by 2.1% from 425,631 to 437,344, however palladium decreased by 31.4% to 4,481 hallmarked items. Overall…
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Jan- 2019 -2 January
Boxing Day footfall falls for third consecutive year
Footfall declined by 3.1% on Boxing Day, the third consecutive year in which footfall on Boxing Day has been lower than in the year before according to the latest figures from Springboard. Springboard said the fall “indicates the lessening in importance of Boxing Day as a trading day”. Over the…
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Oct- 2018 -12 October
Hallmarking drops 11% as silver and platinum struggle
Hallmarking fell by an average of 11.7% in September 2018 compared with the same period the previous year, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. The number of silver and platinum pieces hallmarked decreased by 22.2% and 7% respectively. However, gold did increase 1.5% up from 364,440 to…
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