SHANGHAI is selling platinum jewelry at the lowest price on China's mainland but jewelers in the city complained that they are losing money.

From yesterday, well-known jewelers like Shanghai Laofengxiang Co and Shanghai Lao Miao Jewelry cut their prices for platinum jewelry and started selling them at 385 yuan (US$56.37) a gram at their retail outlets, a decline from 390 yuan.

But Shanghai jewelers are losing money by selling at that price, said Xu Wenjun, secretary-general of Shanghai Gold & Jewelry Trade Association.

"The buying cost for jewelers from stocks is about 380 yuan a gram. With the sharp drop in the prices of the white metal in the global market, retail jewelers are losing by marking down retail prices," said Xu.

There is a long-held practice that when international prices of precious metals fall, the retail prices will also follow suit, according to industry observers.

The retail prices of platinum jewelry hit a record high of 618 yuan a gram in Shanghai in March when global prices of the metal hit a new high. Gold prices have since gone downhill.

The Shanghai Gold & Jewelry Trade Association posted the latest base price for platinum at 275 yuan a gram, indicating the price of the metal.

"It's sell-a-gram, lose-a-gram conditions faced by jewelers now," he added.

Shanghai jewelers are covering the loss with profits gained from sales of gold, gems and diamonds.

Shanghai's retail prices of platinum jewelry are the lowest on the mainland, Xu said. He said that jewelers in Zhengzhou in Henan Province still sell the metal at more than 600 yuan a gram.