They buy in small quantities and keep them in piggy banks: Chinese youth join the gold rush

They buy in small quantities and keep them in piggy banks: Chinese youth join the gold rush

This is young people's response to economic hardship, such as youth unemployment and increasingly low wages

They don't buy bullion, because they can't, but they buy small amounts at a time, and they collect them: there are more and more young Chinese people running to stores to buy gold.

So the Chinese gold market is changing. If previously it was the elderly who were most able to attract more, today the demand is no longer limited to them, and young people in their twenties are becoming increasingly interested in this investment, according to Economist.

The youth unemployment rate in Chinese cities is about 15%, and more and more companies are reducing wages. The reaction of these young people is to bet as much as possible on the little savings they have managed to accumulate. Since they do not have the financial means to buy gold in bullion, they buy it in small quantities.

They are a type of small balls (gold grains), each weighing about a gram, and can be purchased in banks or jewelry stores for 600 yuan, or about 77 euros.

This helps raise the price of gold, which despite the economic situation is rising. For example, the price of gold was around €2,170 per gram on April 24 – an increase of 12% since the beginning of the year.

By Andrea Hargraves

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