Jewelers in Shanghai are cutting their stocks of platinum as the price for the precious metal continues to rise over the past month, said industry insiders.

　　Meanwhile, the precious metal glittered less in the consumers' eyes with the consumption rates shrinking due to increasing street prices for platinum jewelry.

　　"Most jewelers are lowering their stock of platinum, considering that buying a large amount of the precious metal at the current high level may translate into a loss when the price edges down," said Zhao Dehua, vice chairman of Shanghai Gem and Jade Association.

　　Local jewelers have lowered their platinum stock by 20 percent to 30 percent compared with a year-ago, estimated Zhao.

　　Platinum jewelry is currently priced at 271 yuan (US$32.7) per gram in most of the city's jewelry stores.

　　This is approximately 1.1 percent higher than the platinum value on March 5. The price of platinum jewelry surged by 5.9 percent to 268 yuan from its March 4 level.

　　In shanghai Gold Exchange, China's sole gold and platinum exchange, platinum prices roared by 11.36 percent to 248.3 yuan a gram since this year.

　　"We could not survive in the market if we hadn't increased the street price of platinum products in line with the surging cost of the metal," said an official surnamed Wang with Shanghai Lao Miao Jewelry Co Ltd.

　　Sun changyan, a trader with Shanghai Lao Miao, said it's natural for jewelers to lower the stock to some extent when platinum prices are relatively high.

　　The profit margins for platinum jewelry are around 10 percent, while the figure for gold jewelry stands at around 15 percent to 20 percent.

　　"The gaining prices may also deter more consumers from eyeing the precious metal as a good choice for decorating themselves," said Zhao with Shanghai Gem and Jade Association.

　　Shanghai chenghuang Jewelry Center's jewelry sales revenue saw a 20 to 30 percent rise in the first quarter over the same period last year, mainly with rising gold jewelry consumption.

　　The city's other large jewelers, including Shanghai Laofengxiang Co Ltd and Shanghai Lao Miao, are among jewelers that said they saw a nearly 30 percent year-on-year sales gain in the first quarter.

　　But these stores reported that they saw stalled or dropping platinum products demand.

　　"If platinum prices maintain their current momentum, I would rather turn to cheaper types of jewelry such as gold and perhaps some kind of natural jade jewelry," said Zhang Lifang, a woman in her early thirties.