And the beat goes on:
" It is not just the elderly in China who are buying gold. Given its recent dip, the young and restless in China and coming out in droves and buying bullion, some realizing the precious metal's intrinsic value while others are just being goaded by their mothers to buy...
With more than 200 million people in the country already aged over 60, the aging society in China loves gold. Many bullion companies are actively cultivating the senior consumer demographic. However, with a new clan of young citizens adding to the growing demand for the yellow metal, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society actually ran out of bullion.
The Society was forced to order four times its usual amount of gold bars from Switzerland and London last week, to satiate increased demand.
The Exchange, which was doing about HK$80 billion in sales, had sales jumping to HK$100 billion on Friday April 20. By Monday, April 22, it was up to HK$150 billion. The Exchange sold over one tonne of gold bars over the previous weekend and practically ran out of stock.
Retail demand for gold has clearly gone ballistic, with shelves in the mainland and Hong Kong lying barren. This is especially true of stores across the border from Shenzhen.
Reports indicate that an elderly couple from Guangzhou spent HK$7.53 million on 20 kilogram gold bars on April 15. As a retailer told China Post, it is not only the well-heeled elderly who are lapping up gold. White collar workers, students, and in some cases even butchers and fishmongers are reportedly scooping up 10 and 20 gram gold bars.
The Beijing Legal Times reported that in the North, an old man bought three kilograms of gold bars for 850,000 yuan in cash, which turned out to be the biggest deal that day at the Dongsan outlet in the capital. Overall, in the same area, 20,000 gram of gold bars, worth around 7.6 million yuan, were sold in just two hours on April 20.
Even as middle aged ladies and old men stood patiently in a line outside stores to buy gold last week, a group of 25 and 27-year-old women, working at a state-owned water plant in Shanghai, also turned up at the store, following persuasion from their colleagues to buy."
Though the long established tradition of handing over gold jewellery at weddings and celebrations could be driving purchases, say retailers, in Chongqing, a mother bought 10 gold bars last week for her daughter's upcoming wedding along with her daughter in tow, a local newspaper reported. The next day, the daughter returned with her best friend, to do more shopping. The allure of gold has sparked interest from the old and the young.
AI
