The National Minting Press House of Portugal (INCM) said Monday that the second-hand gold market has declined to about half in the Portugal with over 1,000 jewelry store closings in the country since 2014.

The INCM said that 1,126 used gold shops have closed their doors since January of 2015, while just 521 news shops have opened for business in Portugal in the last two years.

The news came shortly after new regulations meant to clamp down on the industry from Portugal's Food Safety and Economic Authority (ASAE) went in effect on Monday.

Of the several new regulations, shops can no longer offer more than 250 euros (267 U.S. dollars) in cash for jewelry. This means shops must now use electronic bank transfers or checks with the name of the recipient for any piece of jewelry bought over 250 euros.

Shops are now obligated to indicate the price in which they buy gold and other precious metals in storefront windows.

Another major change in regulations is that shops must now keep video cameras in each store and must hold on to the recordings for a minimum of 90 days.

As of the beginning of November, there are 5,741 gold shops in the country, according to the INCM.

Shop owners of the already declining industry face major fines of up to 20,000 euros for individual owners and up to 200,000 for companies that fail to comply with the new regulations. (1 euro=1.07 U.S. dollars)


From Mining 114