The demand for gold realization is strong, and the bank gold stores have their own "doorways"

Gold prices have repeatedly hit new highs and then there has been a pullback, and the demand for gold realisation is strong. Recently, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily found that in addition to "hoarding gold", there are also consumers who have gold realization needs. Many state-owned banks support the repurchase of gold products sold by themselves, and some have also expanded the scope of repurchase to support the repurchase of other banks or specific gold brand products, while some joint-stock and city commercial banks do not support repurchase, and gold suppliers provide realisation services.

Compared with banks, the gold recycling of branded gold stores is more relaxed, and many brand gold stores provide gold recycling services, and there are no strict restrictions on the brand, variety, and certificate of gold recycling, but the recycling price difference is higher than that of banks, and the fire melting detection method is required when purchasing other brand gold products. In the opinion of analysts, the reason for the recent strong demand for gold realization is mainly due to the rise in gold prices to stimulate high-level selling, and consumers should pay attention to comparing the realization conditions and prices of different channels when cashing out gold, so as to maximize returns as much as possible.

Individual banks have expanded the scope of repurchases

Taking advantage of the high gold price, many consumers are planning to cash in their gold bars or gold jewelry, and consumer Lin Lin (pseudonym) is one of them. Recently, she planned to sell the relatively old gold jewelry she bought ten years ago, and after consulting and comparing with a number of institutions that provide gold buyback business, she finally cashed in the gold at a price of 530 yuan per gram.

It is understood that at present, the main banks and brand gold stores that provide gold realization services are mainly available. A reporter from Beijing Business Daily recently visited various bank outlets as a consumer to inquire about gold repurchases and learned that at present, state-owned banks generally support the repurchase of gold products sold by themselves, and some have also expanded the scope of repurchase to support other banks or gold brands to repurchase.

The account manager of a branch of China Construction Bank said that the bank has gold repurchase business, but only supports the gold sold or sold by the bank, and the gold that has been withdrawn needs to be handled at the bank's designated outlets, and the gold that has not been withdrawn can be handled at any outlet, and the recovery price is the price of gold bought in the bank on the same day minus 16.5 yuan/gram.

In 2024, the bank upgraded its gold repurchase business and launched the repurchase service of "non-ICBC brand gold bars collected by ICBC", in addition to the gold products sold by the bank, the bank also supports the repurchase of gold bars from 14 commercial banks including Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank, China Merchants Bank, Ping An Bank, Everbright Bank and Guangfa Bank, and 2 gold enterprises including China Gold and Shandong Zhaojin.

Different from the self-repurchase of state-owned banks, joint-stock banks and city commercial banks mainly sell gold products on behalf of others, and the service methods are different, some banks support specific outlets to repurchase the bank's gold products, while most banks do not support repurchase, and the realization of gold needs to go to the product supplier for processing.

According to the lobby manager of a branch of Minsheng Bank, the bank only buys back the gold sold by the bank, and needs to go to the designated branch to handle the repurchase business. The account manager of a branch of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank said that the bank does not provide gold repurchase services, and gold liquidity needs to be handled by contacting gold suppliers.

"We are only responsible for the consignment of gold, gold repurchase needs to find a gold supplier, by a professional organization to identify and recycle", a bank of Beijing branch financial manager revealed, the bank consignment sales of physical gold including Caibai, Shandong Zhaojin, need to contact the supplier for gold recycling.

There is a certain "threshold" restriction for banks to repurchase gold, and most banks require the repurchase of gold products of Au99.99 and above, which usually requires consumers to provide product certificates or proof of purchase when repurchasing gold. There are also differences in the price of repurchased gold products of the Bank or non-Bank of China, for example, the repurchase price difference of ICBC branded gold is 4 yuan/gram, and the repurchase price difference of non-ICBC brand gold bars and other gold products is 10 yuan/gram.

The spread of the branded gold store

Compared with bank branches, the gold recycling requirements of branded gold stores are more relaxed. Beijing Business Daily reporter visited and learned that at present, China Gold, Liuliufu, Zhou Dasheng, Laomiao Gold, Liuguifu Jewelry and many other brand gold stores support gold recycling, and there is no restriction on gold brands, and there are no hard requirements for relevant certificates, but the recovered gold needs to be burned to check gold, and the recovery price is usually lower than the selling price of 50-100 yuan/gram on the same day, and if it is pure gold jewelry, the price difference will expand to 200 yuan/gram.

"The price of gold in the past two days is relatively high, it is more appropriate to sell, there are more people who consult, and it is necessary to hurry up when you plan to sell", said the sales manager of a store in Beijing on Saturday, the gold recycling price changes according to the international gold price market, as long as it is pure gold, no brand can be recycled, and the current recycling price is 530 yuan / gram.

"The price of gold recycling is different every day, according to the international gold price," said a sales manager at a Chow Tai Sang store in Beijing, for example, the price of gold recycling on April 14 was 543 yuan/gram, and on April 15 it was 547 yuan/gram. "The recycling price is still quite high, the customer only needs to bring the gold sold to the store, after the initial weighing to determine the recovery, the musket will be re-inspected, if there is no problem, the quotation will be confirmed, the purity is not the same, the loss is not the same, and the general regular brand will not have much problem. ”

The gold realization channel chosen by Lin Lin is also a brand gold store, and the gram weight is reduced by 0.1g after inspection. "I think it's acceptable, after all, the ring has been worn for a long time, and the surface is worn. Lin Lin said.

Due to the high price difference between the price of gold sold and the price of recycled gold on the same day, many gold stores will also provide trade-in services, recommending customers to exchange old jewelry for new jewelry, according to the gold price of the day, in grams for grams, but additional depreciation and new product labor costs need to be charged.

"Gold prices remain high, but the market has been volatile, such as last week's round of sharp rises and falls, last Friday's surge and fall and deep diving, so that some consumers choose to ship at a high level, and settle for safety. Du Juan, a senior researcher at the Sushang Bank Research Institute, said that generally speaking, banks mainly repurchase paper gold, investment gold bars and other financial management gold products sold by the bank, and the repurchase scope of brand gold stores is wider, including gold bars, gold jewelry, etc., which is related to the business characteristics of different types of companies. The repurchase of physical gold involves how to identify the fineness, authenticity and so on of gold, and there must be some verification means and technical indicators to verify it, and it is necessary to identify the weight and condition. Gold stores are more specialized in these areas, while banks, as financial institutions, are not as equipped as gold stores in terms of gold identification, and there will be certain risks in repurchasing physical gold sold by other institutions, so the scope of repurchase is limited.

You must choose a formal institution for monetization

Gold has both investment and safe-haven functions, and the high demand for realisation is inseparable from the soaring gold price. Since March, the international gold price has been like a bamboo, frequently breaking records, the most recent record high occurred on April 12, when COMEX gold and London spot gold broke through the $2,400 mark, of which, COMEX gold was as high as $2,448.8 per ounce, and London spot gold was as high as $2,431.41 per ounce, and then gold prices began to fall back and consolidate. As of April 15, when the Beijing Business Daily reporter went to press, London spot gold was at $2,355.22 per ounce, and COMEX gold was at $2,371.22 per ounce. The "strong" market in the early stage of gold prices drove the price of gold jewelry and gold bars to rise, and the gold price of pure gold jewelry in many gold stores exceeded 700 yuan/gram.

In the short term, gold prices remain highly volatile. Ming Ming, chief economist of CITIC Securities, pointed out that although U.S. inflation is highly sticky, it is still in the process of continuous improvement, and the U.S. labor market is cooling, and in order to maintain the reasonable growth of the labor market, the Federal Reserve is likely to start an interest rate cut cycle this year. After the Fed's interest rate cut cycle begins, US real interest rates may usher in a rapid decline, which in turn will drive gold prices higher. In addition, global central bank demand for gold has been an important factor in the pivot of gold prices in recent years. It is expected that in the context of the slow process of global disinflation and the increased volatility of the international geopolitical situation, the global central bank gold purchase demand will remain strong for a long time, which will also form a strong support for the gold price center, and it is expected that the gold price will have room for further rise, and gold jewellery and gold ETFs are products with strong investment value.

Fluctuations in precious metals trading such as gold prices have also attracted the attention of banks. On April 15, China Construction Bank issued an announcement on the recent market risk warning of precious metal trading business, saying that the recent fluctuations in domestic and foreign precious metal prices have intensified, and the market risk has increased. Investors are requested to improve their awareness of risk prevention in precious metal trading business such as personal gold accumulation, reasonably control positions, pay attention to changes in positions and margin balances in a timely manner, and invest rationally.

In terms of gold realization, "combined with market conditions and gold price trends, whether it is a good time to cash in gold depends on a variety of factors, including market conditions, personal financial situation, investment objectives, etc., consumers should pay attention to avoid pitfalls in the process of gold realization, and fully consider and evaluate the relevant costs and risks." Yuan Xixi, a foreign exchange trader, believes that for the selection of different channels, it is recommended that consumers choose appropriate cash channels according to their actual conditions and needs, such as banks, gold stores, etc., and pay attention to comparing the repurchase conditions and prices of different channels to maximize returns. At the same time, considering that there may be differences in the repurchase policies of various banks and gold stores, it is recommended to keep the proof of purchase so that it can be successfully realized when needed.

The gold recycling market is a mixed bag, and the slightest carelessness can lead consumers into a "trap". A reporter from Beijing Business Daily noticed that in addition to banks and gold stores, some online platforms are also recycling gold on social platforms to attract customers. For example, 10 grams of gold jewellery is recycled at 8 grams, or the weight is reduced on the grounds that the jewellery has been worn for too long and is worn badly, or the jewellery is discounted on the grounds of purity.

Wang Hongying, president of China (Hong Kong) Financial Derivatives Investment Research Institute, said that gold realization is generally divided into two categories, one is the investment gold bars purchased in commercial banks before, it is recommended that such consumers go to the bank they buy to sell, generally speaking, commercial banks have relatively low handling fees for the products they sell, and consumers can save a certain cost of selling; In the case of low measurement weight, the cost of the price difference recovered is relatively high, which will bring a certain cost loss to consumers.

Beijing Business Daily reporter Li Haiyan