"It's up again!"
The price of pure gold jewelry from this Wednesday broke through 700 yuan / gram after continuing to soar, has now approached the 720 yuan / gram mark, its rise so fierce that many consumers call "incomprehensible". Topics such as "large gold hoarders are busy cashing in gold" and "gold prices are soaring, and customers are buying more and more" have also attracted widespread attention recently.
One price per day
International gold prices soared again on Friday, with spot gold rising 1.5% throughout the day to $2,324.15 an ounce, and briefly hitting a record high of $2,330.06 during the session.
Gold prices have soared in the international market, and domestic basic gold prices have also reached high levels. The retail price of pure gold jewelry of many domestic brands is also close to 720 yuan per gram.
On April 7, the retail listing price of Chow Sang Sang's pure gold jewelry has soared to 719 yuan/gram. Chow Tai Fook and Chao Hongji were 718 yuan/gram and 718 yuan/gram respectively, compared with 703 yuan/gram on the 3rd, both of which rose by 15 yuan.
▲Source: Screenshot of Chow Sang Sang's official website
On the morning of April 6, when the reporter asked the salesman about the price of the pure gold necklace in a Lukfook store, the salesman blurted out that it was 703 yuan/gram, and then said: "Wait a minute, this is the price on the 5th, and it has risen again today, and it is being updated." It didn't take long for her to quote the latest price of 718 yuan/gram and said that the labor fee would be charged separately.
"Now it's really one price a day. The sales of a gold store told reporters, "(The price of gold) has risen too high, and they are all waiting and seeing." ”
However, different brand stores will give different degrees of discounts, such as Lukfook and Chow Sang Sang's gold jewelry can currently be discounted by 9-9.2%, and Chow Tai Fook's is about 95% off.
China has become a major consumer of gold.
According to data from the China Gold Association, gold consumption in mainland China will reach 1,089.69 tons in 2023, an increase of 8.78% year-on-year. Among them, the consumption of gold jewellery was 706.48 tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.97%, and the consumption of gold bars and coins was 299.60 tons, a year-on-year increase of 15.70%.
Since the beginning of this year, the price of gold has risen continuously, at the beginning of the year because of the superposition of traditional Lunar New Year consumption factors, many places have set off a rush to buy gold, but now after entering March and April, consumers' enthusiasm for buying has declined.
▲Data map taken by Zhongxin Jingwei
Enthusiasm for gold recycling is high
As the price of gold continues to rise, the repurchase of large quantities of gold raw materials offline has become the "highlight", and many "big gold hoarders" have chosen to sell at the high price of gold. While offline gold raw material repurchase is hot, many gold stores have also opened an online repurchase model.
A person in charge of an online gold repurchase business said, "We have allowed consumers to realize the rapid realization of gold by using subsidized coupons, free mailing, handling fee discounts, etc., of which the maximum amount of online gold recycling in a single day has reached more than 3,000 grams." ”
However, compared to the surge in jewellery prices, the difference in the recycling price of gold has been larger.
Taking Chow Tai Fook as an example, the current gold recycling price is 524 yuan/gram, compared with the selling price of 718 yuan/gram, a difference of 194 yuan per gram, and even according to the discounted price, there is a difference of 145 yuan per gram. If a customer buys a 50-gram bracelet and chooses to sell it, he will lose more than 7,000 yuan.
▲Source: Screenshot of Chow Tai Fook's official website
Industry insiders say that for the average consumer, jewellery consumption and gold investment are completely different.
Investors should first understand the price of gold. Generally speaking, the listed gold price of gold stores is divided into jewelry gold, investment gold, recycling gold and so on. The gram price of jewelry gold is not the same for different brands, but jewelry gold is often the highest gram price. The price of investment gold bars is relatively low. If you want to invest in gold, you first need to have basic knowledge and a full understanding of the precious metals market before you can enter the market.
Therefore, although gold consumption is hot, it is not advisable to blindly hoard goods and follow the trend to "buy gold".
For the market outlook, the China Gold Association said that the resilience of gold prices reflects investors' expectations that the Federal Reserve will eventually cut interest rates this year. In addition, heightened geopolitical uncertainty has also boosted gold's attractiveness as a safe-haven asset. Finally, solid global official buying of gold so far this year has provided solid support for gold's floor price.
"Heading into the second half of 2024, gold prices are expected to resume their rally once the Fed starts cutting interest rates and signals that it will further accelerate the pace of monetary easing in 2025. The China Gold Association said.
What are the recycling channels and how to "avoid pitfalls"?
As the international gold price continues to rise, the domestic retail price of gold also continues to rise. Against this backdrop, many consumers are considering monetizing their gold.
In terms of gold recycling, some branded gold stores will provide recycling services, but the specific recycling rules vary from brand to brand. Some branded gold stores do not support related services, but prefer to offer trade-in services. Some branded gold stores that offer recycling services may only support the recycling of their own brand gold products, and sometimes consumers may need to make an appointment in advance.
In addition, commercial banks are also one of the important channels for gold recycling. In response to customers' physical gold realisation needs, some banks act as agents for third-party physical gold product acquisition enterprises to acquire physical gold products held by customers.
Alternatively, you can opt for an online gold recycling platform. Consumers can complete gold recycling orders through channels such as WeChat official account or platform app, and enjoy door-to-door recycling and other services. It is worth noting that consumers need to choose reliable platforms and beware of merchants lowering prices on the grounds that gold is impure, seriously worn, and there are no invoices.
In the process of gold jewelry recycling, consumers can understand the market by checking the real-time gold price released by authoritative institutions such as the Shanghai Gold Exchange, which can help to obtain a satisfactory price when the gold is recycled.
In addition, the Yangzhou Consumers Association has previously issued an article exposing the five "pits" that gold jewelry recycling is easy to step on:
The first "pit" is the "eight taels scale". Gold should be recovered using a professional high-precision jewellery scale/balance in units accurate to two decimal places.
The second "pit" is "there is wear and tear". Gold has high toughness, and the wear degree will not exceed 0.5 grams in 3 to 5 years.
The third "pit" is "deducting impurities". Merchants will say that there is a problem with the purity of the jewelry, and 20 yuan per gram will be deducted. This statement is generally to deceive those who do not know about their jewelry and are in a hurry to make a move.
The fourth "pit" is the "handling fee". Merchants will say that there is no invoice for the consumer's jewelry, and it is very troublesome to put it away, and a handling fee of 200 yuan will be charged. In fact, gold recycling is mainly based on gram weight, purity, etc., and the brand and invoice are not important.
The fifth "pit" is "aqua regia" stealing gold. The gold will be dissolved when immersed in "aqua regia", and the longer it is soaked, the more it will dissolve, and the merchant will steal the gold without knowing it.