China News Service, April 3 (China News reporter Xie Yiguan) In the past March, the price of gold soared like a rocket, shocking many practitioners and consumers.
"When I joined the company, the price of gold was only more than 200 yuan." A clerk at a Chow Tai Fook store told reporters that the price of gold jewelry per gram on April 1 was 693 yuan. He has never seen such a high price since he started working in the industry.
Such a high gold price has caused the gold in the hands of consumers to continue to appreciate. Some people regret not buying more before, and some are thinking about whether to sell it as soon as possible...
rise! rise! rise! Jewelry gold price approaches 700 yuan
In March, international gold prices, which had previously been weak, experienced a surge, with New York gold futures prices rising by more than 9% in a single month. Domestic gold prices have also risen rapidly. In March, the price of AU9999 gold on the Shanghai Gold Exchange rose by 10%.
This wave of gains also continued into April. On April 1, London gold spot and New York gold futures prices hit record highs again. On April 2, the closing price of AU9999 gold reached 533.8 yuan/gram.
The soaring gold price has driven up the price of gold jewelry. The reporter noticed that on April 1, the price of gold jewelry from jewelry brands such as Chow Tai Fook, Chow Sang Sang, Lao Feng Xiang, and Saturday Fook was around 690 yuan per gram, just one step away from 700 yuan.
The picture shows a gold store in a shopping mall. Photo by China News Network reporter Xie Yiguan
In recent years, "fixed price" gold has attracted attention, and this kind of gold jewelry priced on a piece-by-piece basis has also experienced a large increase this time.
The above-mentioned Chow Tai Fook store clerk revealed in an exchange with reporters, "On the evening of April 1, the price of 'fixed price' gold will rise. For example, (gold jewelry) priced at 50,000 to 60,000 yuan, it is estimated to increase by 10,000 yuan."
Although the current price of gold jewelry is approaching 700 yuan, the reporter also found during the visit that many gold store brands have launched discount activities. "The current '100 derogation' is equivalent to less than 600 yuan per gram, which is quite a bargain." A clerk in a Zhou Taisheng store told reporters.
Some people come in and some people leave
The soaring gold price affects the hearts of many people. "Last year, when the gold price was still 462.6 yuan, I spent more than 20,000 yuan to buy a 50-gram investment gold bar. Based on the current gold price, I have made more than 3,000 yuan." Xiaoyu told reporters.
In the past year, Xiaoyu has often looked at the price of gold and said, "I regret not buying more at that time. It is getting more and more expensive now."
Faced with the continued rise in gold prices, consumer psychology has also become divided. Some consumers choose to wait and see, while others "buy more as the price rises."
"Under normal circumstances, the traditional off-season for gold jewelry sales is after the Spring Festival, but in the first quarter of this year, the overall demand for jewelry is relatively strong." Li Yang, a senior gold investment analyst for a gold jewelry brand, told reporters. In addition, in the face of uncertainty in the market , many young people are also paying attention to asset allocation and will purchase some gold bars in batches as a means of investment and financial management. Therefore, investment demand is also growing during this time. "
The picture shows a gold counter of a certain brand. Photo by China News Network reporter Xie Yiguan
This point is also echoed by the above-mentioned Chow Tai Fook store clerk. "There are some financial institutions around our store, and gold bars sell very quickly. Many customers use them for investment and are optimistic about the future gold price."
The high gold price has also promoted the rise of banks' personal gold accumulation business. Recently, many banks have begun to adjust the starting point for accumulation of savings funds.
Judging from the reporter's investigation, the rise in gold prices is not only fueling investment demand, but also driving an increase in gold recycling business.
During the "Double Eleven" period last year, Lingling (pseudonym) bought a 30-gram bracelet on an e-commerce platform. After seeing the recent rise in gold prices, she considered selling the bracelet. "After submitting a recycling order recently, I received payment based on the real-time gold price, making a net profit of 865 yuan."
There are not many people who have made similar choices to Lingling. "There have been a lot of people selling gold recently. We have been too busy these two days. Many customers have made appointments to come to the door for recycling." A clerk at a gold recycling store in Beijing told reporters, "Because the market is relatively good, the recycling price is now around 530 yuan. It’s the highest price point in recent years, and many are considering selling.”
Has a new rising cycle for gold arrived?
In March, gold prices at home and abroad hit new highs repeatedly. According to the industry, the shift in the Fed's monetary expectations is an important factor.
"In June of this year, the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates. In every cycle of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in history, the price of gold has benefited. Market expectations are superimposed on some geopolitical risk factors, which in turn pushes up the price of gold." Li Yang believes that this has also made the price of gold higher. The past March has been the best month for gold prices in the past four years.
In addition, the momentum of global central banks’ gold purchases continues unabated, which also provides strong support for gold prices.
Data from the People's Bank of China shows that as of the end of February this year, China's gold reserves were 72.58 million ounces, an increase of 390,000 ounces from the previous month. This is the 16th consecutive month that the central bank has increased its gold reserves. According to the World Gold Council, in January 2024, global official gold reserves increased by 39 tons. The Central Bank of Turkey, the Reserve Bank of India, the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the Central Bank of Jordan, etc. have increased their official gold reserves.
Faced with the strong rise in gold in the first quarter, Xu Ying, chief analyst of macro strategy at Orient Securities Futures, believes that short-term pricing is sufficient and we need to pay attention to the callback risk caused by profit-taking by speculative funds. In the medium to long term, gold has truly broken through the shock range of the past three years. A new rising cycle has arrived, which will strengthen the market's bullish expectations and attract new capital inflows. Therefore, it is expected that gold prices will still fluctuate upward and move upward. trend. (over)