During the May Day holiday, the reporter visited and investigated the gold consumer market and found that the terminal gold price fell significantly due to multiple factors such as the decline in international gold prices and the promotion of the May Day holiday. The price of many brands of gold has returned to below 600 yuan/gram after the discount.
The price of gold has returned to the "5 era"?
The reporter visited and saw that many brands of gold, including Zhou Dasheng and China Gold, are currently quoted back to the "5 era". "The discount per gram during the holiday is 100 yuan, and the discount is 599 yuan/gram, and the cost is calculated separately. During the holiday, in addition to store activities, shopping malls also have preferential activities for gold purchases, and there are more gold buyers during the holidays. The sales staff of Zhou Taisheng's store told reporters.
"The turnover of the May Day holiday is about 2 to 3 times that of usual, and the jewelry gold is mainly used for marriage, and some of it is for self-satisfaction. Gold bars have also been sold more recently, but there is no stock in the store, and you need to pay a deposit to transfer the goods. The sales staff of China's gold store told reporters.
In addition to gold, the price discount of some products represented by diamonds and Hetian jade is also relatively large.
"At present, in addition to the gold is a discount of 50 yuan per gram, other categories of products are basically 5% off. The May Day holiday is approaching, and the discounts for other categories of products other than gold are relatively large. Lao Fengxiang store sales staff told reporters.
"The weakest May Day business in 20 years"
However, some merchants said that they had spent the worst May Day holiday in 20 years of business. According to Chao News, on the evening of May 3, Ms. Wang, the manager of a gold store in Hangzhou's Wulin business district, said in an interview that she only did more than 20,000 yuan of business on the lightest day of the first three days of the May Day holiday, and at least 50,000 yuan before. She believes that the high price of gold is the reason why the business of gold shops is light during the holiday.
Mr. Zhang, the owner of a three-store jewelry store in Hangzhou, told the Chao News reporter that this holiday business is indeed not as good as the previous holiday business, and he did not arrange for employees to work overtime, and on May 2, he simply took his family to travel, "There is always an off-season for business, the off-season used to be in May and June of the lunar calendar, and this year it has become a month with high gold prices, and there will definitely be an outbreak after the light." ”
High gold prices dampened jewellery consumer demand
International gold prices fell to a near one-month low on Friday as geopolitical risks in the Middle East showed signs of easing and some investors took profits. The most actively traded June gold futures on the New York Stock Exchange was at $2308.60 an ounce, down 0.04%, down 1.64% for the week.
According to the latest report from the World Gold Council, the surge in gold prices in March more or less affected upstream physical gold demand. In March, gold shipments from the Shanghai Gold Exchange were 124 tonnes, down 3 tonnes from the previous month and 33 tonnes from the same period last year. With the traditional off-season approaching, jewellery consumption is likely to remain subdued. On the other hand, gold's strong performance compared to other domestic assets continues to attract investors' attention, which may mean that China's gold investment demand will continue to strengthen. In contrast, bar and coin sales are expected to be strong as the recent record highs in the gold price have increased investors' attention.
According to the research report of Founder Securities, since March, the soaring gold price has suppressed the consumption of gold jewelry in the short term. From the perspective of the performance of listed companies, the gross profit margin has increased significantly with the rise of gold prices, and profitability has continued to rise.
According to the research report of Everbright Securities, the retail demand for gold jewellery is weak in the short term due to the impact of high gold prices. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the retail sales of gold, silver and jewelry above designated size in March 2024 increased by 3.1% year-on-year, and the growth rate was 1.8 percentage points lower than that from January to February 2024. However, in the long run, gold is still one of the important targets of allocation.
For the market outlook, Guosheng Securities research report shows that the demand for gold purchased by central banks fluctuates greatly. The central bank's purchase of gold is mainly driven by risk aversion and the need for value preservation. Generally speaking, gold, as a general equivalent used worldwide, can be directly used for international trade payment and debt repayment when foreign exchange reserves are insufficient or the use of gold is restricted. As a reserve asset with physical value, gold can enhance the credibility of sovereign currencies and facilitate the internationalization of sovereign currencies. The value of gold is stable, and the demand for gold allocation is expected to continue to increase and gold prices are expected to remain high in the context of global currency over-issuance and flooded liquidity.
(Yangcheng Evening News, Yangcheng Pai Comprehensive China Securities Journal, Chao News)
Editor: Chen Ruizhi
Source: Yangcheng Evening News • Yangcheng School Comprehensive