Young people's consumption of gold is more inclined to jewelry, which is related to the upcoming Lunar New Year Photo/Visual China
"From the initial ridicule of the aunt, to the understanding of the aunt, and now to become the 'aunt', this generation of young people has completed a historic handover with the strongest supporter of gold, 'Chinese aunt', in this rising gold buying boom. Not long ago, a large state-owned bank held the second National Gold Festival in Guangzhou, and Cao Yang, president of the Shenzhen Gold and Jewelry Culture Research Association, said at the event site, which detonated the circle of friends of the participants. In Cao Yang's view, if you don't pay attention to short-term price fluctuations, even the "Chinese aunt" who only bought gold last year has already made money.
Interestingly, in the new round of gold consumption boom at the beginning of 2024, more and more young people have begun to linger in gold stores and be active in social circles. The Yangcheng Evening News reporter conducted a multi-party visit and found that the continuous rise in gold prices has given investors confidence, the improvement of gold craftsmanship and design, and the increasingly prominent cultural attributes of gold, which have become the main factors for contemporary young people to buy gold.
The enthusiasm for buying gold in the new year is high
"Two children in the family, I heard that gold will continue to rise, first of them to hoard 50 grams, I bought a total of 100 grams this time, and then I will consider continuing to buy a little hoarding when the year-end bonus comes down. A few days ago, at the counter of a gold store in Tianhe, Guangzhou, a reporter from Yangcheng Evening News met Mr. Huang, who was buying gold. According to the teller at the counter who served him, in recent years, there are not a few people who have bought gold bars before the Lunar New Year for investment or collection. "Especially on weekends, there can be a lot of people, so I always tell my regular customers to make a reservation. The teller told reporters.
Coincidentally, at the event site of the "National Gold Festival" held by a state-owned bank a few days ago, the reporter also felt Lao Guang's love for gold and gold culture, such as the "CCB Gold" zodiac series products with strong traditional cultural implications, panda gold coins and "great rivers and mountains" and other products, which have attracted many citizens to consult and buy.
According to Chinese the latest data from the China Gold Association, in the first three quarters of 2023, the national gold consumption was 835.07 tons, an increase of 7.32% compared with the same period in 2022. Among them, 552.04 tons of gold jewelry, up 5.72% year-on-year, 222.37 tons of gold bars and coins, up 15.98% year-on-year, and 60.66 tons of industrial and other gold, down 5.53% year-on-year.
He Yiyong, vice president of CCB Guangdong Branch, revealed a set of data, which more intuitively shows the enthusiasm of Guangdong residents to buy gold. "In 2023, the annual sales volume of CCB Gold will increase by 70%. In He Yiyong's view, the current increase in gold sales, in addition to the public is optimistic about the rise in gold prices, but also due to the rapid growth of residents' demand for wealth management, banks take the initiative to transmit the role and value of gold allocation to customers, such as CCB Guangdong Branch through "wealth planning, asset allocation, product optimization, business accompaniment" four steps to provide customers with wealth management full-process professional services.
During the visit, a reporter from Yangcheng Evening News found that the rise in gold prices has become the main reason for stimulating citizens to buy gold. "It is said that 'Chinese aunts' love gold, and if you don't pay attention to short-term price fluctuations, even if you only bought gold last year, you have already earned it. Cao Yang, president of the Shenzhen Gold and Jewelry Culture Research Association, told reporters.
"We have customers who bought 390 yuan at the beginning of last year, and so far this year, they have earned 100 yuan per gram," Cai Cai, an account manager who works in a state-owned bank branch in Yuexiu District, told a reporter from Yangcheng Evening News.
Gold's strongest supporters completed a "historic" handover
"From the initial ridicule of the aunt, to the understanding of the aunt, and now to become the 'aunt', this generation of young people has completed a historic handover with the strongest supporter of gold, 'Chinese aunt', in this rising gold buying boom. The expert's opening remarks at the gold investment event held by the bank struck a chord with many of the customers present. According to the observation of the Yangcheng Evening News reporter, compared with the previous silver-haired people, there are many young people in many gold investment activities recently.
More young people are buying gold at the jewelry counters in shopping malls. Recently, the reporter visited a number of shopping malls in Tianhe City, Merrill Lynch and Link Plaza and found that every weekend, people come and go in the store, among which gold jewelry, gold bars and bracelets with ancient craftsmanship with the theme of the Year of the Dragon are the best-sellers. The price of jewelry listed in some gold stores has exceeded 600 yuan.
In the interview, many gold salesmen told reporters that young people are more inclined to consume gold in the category of jewelry, which may be related to the upcoming Lunar New Year.
In Cao Yang's view, gold, as a symbol of metal culture, is not only the accumulation of wealth, but also the inheritance of culture. For example, in addition to the traditional gourd and zodiac themes, the current best-selling elements of the national tide are also favored by gold consumers.
At present, both the improvement of gold technology and the grasp of the subject matter have "hit the 'heart' of young people", such as the emergence of 3D, 5D hard gold products, ancient gold products, inlaid products and other types, which not only greatly enrich the gold consumer market, but also meet the needs of young Chinese consumers to buy gold to maintain their internal drive.
In the actual interview, the reporter also noticed that social media has also become a big help to promote the popularity of gold among young people. "I want to see what your gold 'dragon boat' looks like", a similar title often appears on a social app, discussing a gold jewelry with the theme of a dragon boat launched by a gold jewelry brand based on the Chinese zodiac in the Year of the Dragon. During the time when the reporter was squatting at the counter, several people appeared in just one store looking for this "Internet hit" gold jewelry at the same time, and the sales staff of the gold store bluntly said that "it needs to be transferred". The clerk also told reporters that she was also happy to display her gold beads in the form of braided ropes on social media to increase sales.
Demand pulls up gold prices, and the central bank takes the lead in "hoarding"
"There is no skill in buying gold, it all depends on buying early", this sentence has become the sales phrase of many gold salespeople. If we look at the gold price, under the influence of multiple factors such as the purchase of gold by many central banks around the world and the rising expectations of the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, the gold price has performed well, and the gold futures price of the New York Mercantile Exchange has risen by more than 13% in 2023.
Behind the higher gold price is the continued expansion of gold demand. On January 7, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released data showing that as of the end of December 2023, the scale of mainland gold reserves was 71.87 million ounces, an increase of 290,000 ounces from the previous month, which was the 14th consecutive month of increase in mainland gold reserves. At the same time, global demand for gold purchases will continue to be strong in 2023, and central banks have shown obvious signs of actively increasing their allocation of gold reserves, and have plans to further increase their holdings.
According to the World Gold Council, more than 70% of central banks surveyed expect global gold reserves to increase in the next 12 months, according to the results of the 2023 Global Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey.
Does the central bank's favor for buying gold mean that gold prices can soar all the way? Institutions have also given different predictions. As an effective hedge against major recessions and geopolitical risks, gold remains a core allocation in Standard Chartered's reported portfolios. As the Federal Reserve begins to cut interest rates, Standard Chartered expects gold prices to rise further within 12 months.
While the market sentiment is bullish, precious metals analysts at HSBC's global research team believe that gold prices could fall in the short term in the absence of major economic or political news due to their high prices. High gold prices have also limited demand for gold jewellery, coins and bars.
Consumption Reminder:
The difference between the gold price of gold shops and banks may exceed 100 yuan, and do not use jewelry as an investment
In the on-site interview, the Yangcheng Evening News reporter also noticed the confusion of some consumers who buy gold, such as why the gold price of the bank is less than 500 yuan a gram, while the gold price of the gold store shows that it has exceeded 600 yuan per gram, how should I buy it? In this regard, the relevant person in charge of the precious metal business of the bank reminded that gold has investment value, and if you want to increase the value of investment and maintain its value, you can choose to buy ordinary gold bars or open a gold account. "The jewelry gold you see in gold stores, due to the exquisite patterns and relatively complex craftsmanship, the price of gold per gram is more expensive, and it focuses more on decorative functions, and often charges additional manual fees. The above-mentioned industry insiders reminded that if you start from the investment demand, do not use jewelry gold for investment, in addition, in the trend, do not blindly chase up. (Reporter Dai Manman, intern Xu Anshi)