Today's data selection: Domestic gold jewelry prices fell by 14 yuan per gram overnight; the number of tourists entering Yunnan increased significantly

According to Li Video, international gold prices plummeted, and domestic gold jewelry prices fell by 14 yuan per gram overnight, triggering heated discussions. On April 23, several gold recyclers said that as soon as the gold price fell, many customers came to inquire about withdrawing gold. "The speed of gold recovery cannot keep up with the speed of the drop."

As of 17:00 on April 23, the gold recycling quotation was about 530 yuan/g. The recycling quotation the previous day was about 550 yuan/g, which dropped by about 20 yuan/g in one day. A gold recycler said that he recovered several kilograms of gold on the 22nd and lost hundreds of thousands of yuan in just one day.

According to Qianzhan.com, on April 23, spot gold fell below US$2,300 per ounce, with an intraday decline of 1.32%, and is now at US$2,298.71 per ounce. At the same time, the domestic gold price is affected by the international gold price, and the price also "follows up". The price of pure gold jewelry from Chow Tai Fook was 719 yuan/gram that day, compared with 733 yuan/gram the day before, down 14 yuan/gram overnight.

Analysts from a senior manager of the international department of a state-owned bank in Zhejiang pointed out that the situation in the Middle East has eased, the safe-haven appeal of gold has cooled, the Federal Reserve's expectations of interest rate cuts during the year have continued to cool, and the strong US dollar is unfavorable to the trend of precious metals, which are all the reasons for this drop in gold prices. At the same time, from a technical point of view, gold's technical graphics have formed a head shape, so gold may usher in a period of adjustment.

Why is it difficult to sell iPhone in China?

According to Counterpoint's weekly mobile phone sales report data, China's smartphone sales increased by 1.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, achieving positive year-on-year growth for the second consecutive quarter.

Huawei stood out among all mobile phone brands in the first quarter, with a year-on-year growth of 69.7%.

Huawei's growth is largely due to the booming sales of its 5G-enabled Mate60 series, coupled with its own brand awareness becoming a household name, which has significantly increased its market share in the high-end market above US$600. Although Huawei's strong return has impacted other manufacturers in the market, Honor still achieved 11.5% year-on-year growth in the first quarter thanks to several popular models and its expansion in offline channels.

In addition, it is worth noting that Apple’s sales in the first quarter fell 19.1% year-on-year as Huawei’s comeback changed the pattern of the high-end market. This is the device’s worst performance in China since 2020.

Since the beginning of this year, the number of newborns in hospitals in many places has increased significantly. Some hospitals are experiencing a mini-peak of childbirth, and the utilization rate of obstetrical beds has rebounded significantly.

Since 2024, Kunming Maternal and Child Health Hospital has welcomed a total of 2,608 "dragon babies". Song Ying, director of the Obstetrics Department of Kunming Maternal and Child Health Hospital, said that since January this year, the hospital’s obstetrical beds have been basically full.

According to the report, in response to the small peak, Kunming Maternal and Child Health Hospital made plans in advance, increased the number of beds and medical staff in the obstetrics inpatient department, and carried out painless delivery and doula delivery, which effectively alleviated the pain of maternal labor and significantly shortened the length of hospital stay.

According to a report by "Jiangmen Daily" on April 1, Jiangmen Maternal and Child Health Hospital and Jiangmen Central Hospital, which have the highest number of births in Jiangmen City, had a total of 1,404 patients in the 50 days from February 10 to March 31. The number of births of baby dragons increased by 15% compared with the same period last year. According to the report, based on the current number of medical consultations and the number of pregnancy records, it is estimated that there will be a more obvious birth peak in the future.

"Steel prices have dropped significantly since the beginning of this year, raw and fuel prices are high, corporate profits have declined sharply, and some companies have tight cash flow."

At the "20th Steel Industry Development Strategy Conference" hosted by the Steel Home website recently, Jiang Wei, vice president and secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association, made the above summary of the performance of the steel industry in the first quarter.

According to data from the Bureau of Statistics, from January to February this year, the ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry lost 14.61 billion yuan, an increase of 4.51 billion yuan from the same period last year, making it the worst opening year performance of the steel industry in 25 years.

Many steel mills that have disclosed their first-quarter reports have also reported losses or declining profits: Shougang Co., Ltd. lost 24.3 million yuan in the first quarter, and CITIC Special Steel had a net profit of 1.36 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8.14%.

At the above-mentioned meeting, many steel mills attributed the industry's challenges at the beginning of the year to the lack of demand recovery in traditional steel-using industries such as real estate, as well as the continued high prices of raw materials and fuels. However, many industry insiders pointed out that there is currently serious structural overcapacity in the domestic steel industry. With the expected decline in total steel consumption in the future, new mechanisms are also needed for production capacity management.

On March 1 this year, the China-Thailand Mutual Visa Exemption Agreement officially came into effect. In the past two months, the number of Thai tourists traveling to Yunnan has increased significantly. According to statistics from the border inspection department, more than 28,000 people have entered Yunnan since March 1, an increase of 276% compared with the same period last year. Local specialty snacks, intangible cultural and creative products, folk and ethnic elements, etc. are all favored by foreign tourists.