Jewelry gold prices have soared, and gold trading prices are now at an inflection point. Can consumers still buy them?

The gold market has ushered in a price inflection point in the context of continuous growth. On March 22, according to the Au99.99 market released by the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the closing price on that day was 434.14 yuan/gram, which is also a decline after 10 consecutive days of gains. At the same time, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily visited a number of jewelry brand stores and saw that the current gold price of pure gold jewelry exceeded 570 yuan, and jewelry and investment gold bars all rose significantly compared with the Spring Festival. Many jewelry brands in Beijing have also ushered in peak sales. In some sinking cities, gold salespeople said that due to the high price of gold, business was sluggish. The analysis pointed out that gold has performed strongly as a "hard currency", and with the recovery of consumption, the consumption demand of gold is strong. At the same time, industry experts suggest against buying gold and paying attention to investment risks.

Gold prices rose 7.6% in 10 days.

In mid-March, the price of gold rose all the way. Recently, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily visited various jewelry brand stores and found that compared with before and after the Chinese New Year, the price of jewelry gold of various brands has increased significantly. On March 21, the price of Chow Tai Fook's pure gold jewelry was 576 yuan/gram, Xie Ruilin's pure gold jewelry was 574 yuan/gram, and Lao Fengxiang (600612) was 570 yuan/gram, all of which have exceeded 570 yuan/gram.

A salesperson for Lao Fengxiang told the Beijing Business Daily reporter that "the price of gold in the market has risen significantly recently, including pure gold jewelry and gold bars." He said that the price of pure gold around the Chinese New Year was 498 yuan/gram. After rising to 555 yuan/gram on the eighth day of the new year, it fell back and rose again recently.

"Due to the increase in the price of gold, the price of 18K and 22K gold jewelry has also risen a lot," Xie Ruilin's staff said bluntly, "unless it is a rigid demand, it is not suitable to start recently, and there is no way to predict the future direction."

It is understood that the sale of gold jewelry is divided into two types: settlement by gram weight and one-price price. Purchases by gram weight require an additional handicraft fee on the basis of the price. Generally speaking, the average gold price purchased by gram weight will be lower than the one-price price, but the staff of a jewelry brand introduced that because the price of gold is rising while the price of one-price jewelry remains unchanged, the cost of buying one-price and buying by gram weight is now almost the same.

According to the data released by the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the price of gold Au99.99 began to rise on March 10, closing at 417.73 yuan/gram on March 10, and then soared to March 20, closing at 449.23 yuan/gram, an increase of 7.6% in 10 days. On March 21, the price of gold ushered in an inflection point and closed at 434.14 yuan/gram on March 22.

When it comes to jewelry brands, the price of gold in the past month has also increased significantly. Taking Chow Tai Fook as an example, the gold investment website shows that compared with 533 yuan/gram on February 21, the price of gold on March 22 was 570 yuan/gram, an increase of 37 yuan per gram, an increase of nearly 7%.

Beijing trading is hot

Gold prices have risen, and gold consumption in first-tier cities has attracted a wave of heat. On the morning of March 21, Mr. Chen, who lives in Haidian District, bought two 100g gold bars at the gold brand store in the New Zhongguan Shopping Center. A salesperson at China Gold also said that "a lot of customers have come to spend recently, and several gold bracelets have been sold in the past few days."

The phenomenon of hot gold consumption is also very obvious in the Caibai jewelry that old Beijingers are keen on. According to the China-Singapore Jingwei report, on March 21, the gold counter of general merchandise in Caishikou, Beijing was crowded, and many aunts in their 50s and 60s organized group shopping. There was also a long queue in front of the checkout page of gold bars on the fourth floor, and several stacks of banknotes were stacked in front of the counter.

However, in the lower-tier market, the "skyrocketing" gold price has made gold consumption deserted. Beijing Business Daily reporters noticed that many jewelry brand salespeople posted on Xiaohongshu that after the price of gold rose, the daily trading volume decreased.

"The price of gold has gone up, and the performance is gone," said a "cabinet brother" in Hunan. "It's good to think about being able to open an order every day." In a related post, some consumers left a message saying that "if there is no shortage of one or two kinds of gold jewelry to wear, there is no need to buy in this trend".

Regarding the differences in the performance of different markets, Zhou Ting, president of the VIP Research Institute, said that there are differences between the needs of consumers in first-tier cities and second- and third-tier cities. Consumers in first-tier cities have stronger purchasing power and higher sensitivity to various types of information. Consumers in lower-tier markets may consider practicality more.

Gold consumption is bullish

In the eyes of industry insiders, the rise in gold prices is linked to the moment of international trends. The above-mentioned sales staff of Lao Fengxiang believes that "international developments will have a great impact on the price of gold". Zhou Ting said that as a "currency" that is convenient for storage and carrying around the world, gold is "always valuable", which makes it popular.

In fact, the recovery of the consumer market has also contributed to the growth of gold consumption to some extent. Li Yang, a senior gold investment analyst at Caibai Co., Ltd., pointed out that since the end of last year, consumption in the entire domestic market has recovered, and consumers' demand for investment in gold bars and jewelry gold products and their desire to shop have gradually increased. The fluctuation of gold prices does have an impact on sales in the short term, but in the long run, it is still growing.

"From the perspective of gold jewelry, the brand has increased the promotion and research and development of designer styles, merchandise joint names and ancient gold and other high-tech products, which are sought after by young consumer groups. Many investors in investment gold bars are more optimistic about the future trend of gold prices. At the same time, as an important part of the household asset ratio, investment gold sales are also relatively strong," Li Yang said.

Zhou Ting said that the rise in gold prices will be good for domestic jewelry brands. "Gold is the main business of most Chinese jewelry brands. The increase in gold prices will increase consumers' desire to buy, promote consumer consumption, and the business of Chinese jewelry brands will increase significantly in the short term." Zhou Ting does not recommend that consumers chase up and buy gold at this time. "The current purchase of gold will increase the cost, but I think gold may not continue to rise. Small fluctuations in prices will soon return to normal. It is recommended to invest cautiously."