Domestic gold prices are approaching 1,000 yuan, with Shenzhen Shuibei seeing brisk buying and selling! Some buyers have purchased over a kilo in a single transaction, and silver is also selling like crazy.

　　Every Economic Daily Reporter | Zhao Jingzhi

　　After months of fluctuations, gold prices have recently risen significantly.

　　According to Shanghai Gold Exchange, as of August 21, the midday price for Shanghai Gold has risen to 984.86 yuan per gram, once again approaching 1 thousand yuan.

　　On the morning of August 23, a reporter from Every Economic Daily visited the largest gold jewelry industry cluster in China—Shenzhen Shuibei Gold Jewelry Market. Here, a steady stream of consumers are purchasing gold. “Recently, the price of gold has increased quite a lot. Not long ago, the price per gram was still over 8 hundred yuan. Now, investment gold is selling for 998 yuan per gram,” one merchant told the reporter. Now, there are many buyers and many sellers.

　　The rebound in gold prices has driven gold jewelry consumption. The reporter visited Shuibei market, and several merchants said that both gold buyers and sellers are relatively numerous at present.

　　“We had many customers come to buy gold bars yesterday, and the quantities were quite large,” a gold bar seller told the reporter. Recently, the rise in gold prices has been quite significant, and many investors have chosen to buy gold. Yesterday, some customers bought 500 grams, and even 700 grams in one go, but there are also plenty of sellers. “The price of gold is unpredictable right now—whether to buy or sell, it depends on your own judgment.”

　　Aside from gold, some investors are placing large orders for silver as well. A silver bar vendor showed the recent sales situation for silver. “In the past few days, we've sold dozens of kilograms of silver. Many customers have been watching the market for a while. But comparatively, there are still more investors buying gold.”

　　In the gold jewelry section, the reporter noticed that there were also quite a few consumers selecting jewelry. “There are fewer people on weekend mornings, but more in the afternoon,” one merchant said. Consumers tend to buy when prices rise and avoid buying when prices fall. With the recent surge in gold prices, many people have been coming to Shuibei to purchase gold jewelry.

　　Gold prices are usually influenced heavily by international factors. The reporter noted that the current price of London spot gold has reached 4,602 US dollars per ounce, especially on August 19, when international gold prices soared 4.33% in a single day.

　　With the rebound in gold prices, the reporter observed that inflows into global physical gold ETFs have also improved recently. According to World Gold Council data, in July, global physical gold ETF inflows totaled about 3 billion US dollars, reversing the previous two consecutive months of outflows. In addition, the world’s largest gold ETF—SPDR—has significantly increased its holdings. As of August 21, it held 1,047.21 tons, a clear rebound compared to the 999 tons held on July 17.

　　“International gold prices surged significantly on August 19, and the direct trigger was the US Treasury's announcement to expand the scale of long-term Treasury buybacks, which stabilized the turbulent bond market. This rescue action directly contributed to the spike in gold prices,” explained Yuan Zheng, precious metals researcher at Galaxy Futures. He further stated that, besides this, US employment, inflation, and consumption data for July have all been weak, reducing the urgency for the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates and thus influencing gold prices.

　　However, there are also factors that may lead to gold price declines. “Geopolitics is currently the biggest source of uncertainty,” Yuan Zheng said. Recently, oil prices have rebounded again due to ongoing disputes between the US and Iran. With major countries’ crude oil inventories at low levels, continued closure of the Strait may lead to proactive restocking, driving oil prices up, which would create resistance for gold to rise further.

Editor: Shi Xiuzhen SF183