Costco, a major supermarket chain in the United States, recently said that gold bars have become the company's new favorite online shopping. In the quarter ended Nov. 26, the company sold more than $100 million in gold bars. The company's management believes that the U.S. consumer's enthusiasm to buy gold bars is a prominent trend in the year-end holiday spending season.
Costco started selling gold bars in September this year, and only members can buy them through the online supermarket. The latest craze is a gold bar called "Goddess of Fortune" produced by a Swiss foundry, which weighs 1 ounce, or about 31 grams. On the 15th, it was sold for $2,069.99 (about 15,000 yuan) each. The bars are usually sold out within hours of hitting shelves, according to the supermarket. In order to avoid hoarding, the supermarket has stipulated that each member can only buy two gold bars, and once purchased, there is no refund.
The report said that this gold bar "buying hot" on the one hand from the number of members of the supermarket. During the pandemic, a record number of US consumers signed up for supermarket memberships to make it easier to buy groceries and daily necessities online. On the other hand, the international gold price is currently at a high level. As of the 15th, the most actively traded gold futures price on the New York Mercantile Exchange was $2,035.7 per ounce. Spot gold prices have risen about 12 per cent this year. Jpmorgan believes gold will see a rally in 2024 as the Federal Reserve is likely to start cutting interest rates next year.
