International Gold Price Falls Nearly 5% Within the Month, Investors Who Bought Physical Gold at Higher Prices Are Trapped

Recently, international gold prices have pulled back from a high level. Wind data shows that as of 19:00 on March 17, the cumulative decline in COMEX gold futures prices has fallen by nearly 5% since March.

The reporter visited and learned that with the decline in gold prices. Some consumers who bought investment gold bars at high points were quilted and suffered great losses. Experts remind that the price of gold is already at an all-time high, and ordinary investors need to be cautious when buying gold bars.

The chasing high is a floating loss of nearly 10%

The reporter learned that the total handling fee for the purchase and sale of investment gold bars on sale on the market is basically about 2%, and even if the price of gold does not fluctuate, the original price will lose tens of yuan per gram. Since March, the international gold price has fallen from a high level, and some investors who have bought investment gold bars have lost nearly 10%.

"I bought 20 grams of investment gold bars on March 2, the purchase price was 1210 yuan/gram, and today’s selling price once fell to 1110 yuan/gram, including the handling fee, and the loss was more than 120 yuan per gram. The current price is not very much to make up. A novice gold bar investment told a reporter from China Securities News.

It is worth mentioning that due to the higher premium of products such as craft gold bars and gold medals, investors who buy at high points have more serious floating losses.

"Craft gold bars are more than 200 yuan more expensive per gram than investment gold bars. Investment gold bars have been discontinued, mainly related to the recent rise in gold prices and changes in tax policies related to gold sales. At present, zodiac gold bars, birthday gold bars and other craft gold bars are sold normally. During the visit, a number of gold store salespeople told China Securities News reporters.

Jewelry gold consumption continues to be cold

Although the price of gold has fallen, because the mainstream jewelry gold quotation is still around 1550 yuan/gram, the enthusiasm for buying jewelry gold is still not high.

According to the latest quotation, on March 17, Chow Tai Fook quoted 1551 yuan/gram, Chow Sang Sheng quoted 1550 yuan/gram, and Saturday Fu quoted 1546 yuan/gram.

In addition, the reporter visited and found that most brands have raised the price of “fixed price” products. After the price increase, product sales are relatively light.

On February 28, Laopu Gold launched the first round of price increases of the year, with a price increase of 20% to 30%. The reporter recently visited again and found that the sales of many stores of Laopu Gold were cold.

Statistics from the China Gold Association show that in 2025, China’s gold consumption will be 950.096 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 3.57%. Among them, gold jewelry was 363.836 tons, down 31.61% year-on-year; gold bars and coins were 504.238 tons, a year-on-year increase of 35.14%; industrial and other gold was 82.022 tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.32%.

Institutions pay attention to gold price trends and mergers and acquisition plans

From the perspective of the performance of listed companies, the performance of gold mining listed companies is generally good, while the performance of gold processing companies is clearly differentiated.

It is worth mentioning that recently, many gold listed companies have been intensively investigated by institutions. Judging from the content of institutional research, institutions are generally more concerned about the follow-up gold price trend, merger and acquisition of gold mine plans, and recent sales.

Regarding the company’s project M&A strategy, Zhaojin Gold mentioned in the latest disclosure of the investor relations activity record table that on the domestic side, it focuses on other provinces and cities outside the area involved in Zhaojin Group’s existing mines. Overseas, focus on Africa, Central Asia, and consider South America. In terms of target type, priority is given to projects that are in the production stage or about to be put into production because they are more attractive and easy to arrange financing. Financing channels mainly consider various methods such as own funds, financial institution financing and capital market financing.

On the one hand, it increases exploration investment and accelerates the progress of the conversion of existing mine exploration rights to mining rights; On the other hand, it actively implements domestic and foreign mergers and acquisitions to increase mineral resource reserves for the company’s sustainable development. In terms of domestic resource mergers and acquisitions, the company’s existing mines are mainly mergers and acquisitions, and the resources around Shandong gold are mainly Shandong gold; In terms of foreign resource mergers and acquisitions, mergers and acquisitions are carried out according to the respective characteristics of the company and Shandong Gold.

Regarding the follow-up trend of gold prices, Shanjin International said that the company’s sales strategy was adjusted, and mineral gold sales decreased in the fourth quarter of 2025. In the next three to five years, gold prices are expected to show a core trend of “center upward movement and shock upward”. The current trend of anti-globalization has intensified and global debt continues to expand, promoting the continuous return of gold’s monetary attributes. At the same time, global uncertainty persists for a long time, further strengthening the safe-haven properties of gold. In this context, the central bank’s gold buying boom will continue, institutions will include gold in strategic allocation, and the demand for hedging and value preservation on the residential side will grow steadily, forming an all-round demand support for gold prices. Therefore, in the long run, the core logic of weakening fiat currency credit and the growth of safe-haven demand will continue to provide solid support for the upward trend of the gold price center.

Our reporter Dong Tian

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Keywords:

                                                            Gold price