Some banks in Fuzhou tighten the withdrawal of physical gold, small weights are out of stock, large weights require an appointment! Experts warn

N Haidu All-Media Intern Reporter Lu Guangyu

Recently, many bank branches have reported difficulties in withdrawing physical gold, requiring appointment registration. What is the situation in Fuzhou? The reporter visited multiple banks to understand the situation.

The reporter found that some banks in Fuzhou are experiencing an overall tight supply of physical gold, characterized by a lack of small weight gold, the need for appointments and queues for larger weights, and long withdrawal cycles, consistent with the national trend. Among them, the four major banks represented by ICBC and CCB have branches facing tight inventories of small weight gold that require reservations. At a certain ICBC branch, the reporter was informed that small weight gold in the range of 5-20g is out of stock, with only a small quantity of 100g and 500g available, and there is still a daily/single limit on gold accumulation; at a certain CCB branch, the reporter, posing as a depositor, also learned that small weight gold is completely out of stock. Staff also mentioned that recently, this branch had even run out of 50g gold, and purchases of larger weights like 100g require appointments; the nationwide unified limit for CCB’s easy gold is almost “snapped up” within seconds each day.

In response, Lin Binghua, a professor in the Finance Department at Fuzhou University, analyzed that this is mainly due to a sharp drop in gold prices leading to a surge in demand. Banks are taking measures such as tightening inventory, extending logistics, and implementing dynamic limits to cope with price fluctuations. Zhang Wen, a financial analyst at a brokerage firm in Fuzhou, suggested that against this backdrop, priority should be given to making appointments for gold bars weighing 100 grams or more at the account-opening branch, as there is a higher probability of availability and success in reservations; if urgent, one might consider gold ETFs, paper gold, or brand-name gold shops, but will face a premium of 10%-20%. “Gold prices have clearly fallen, and investors, especially households holding gold, should allocate rationally, ideally keeping the investment output ratio between 5%-10%, using a ‘phased, regular, small amount’ investment strategy to smooth costs, abandoning short-term speculation mentality, and returning to long-term asset allocation attributes.”

Editor: Li Huanquan

Reviewer: Song Hui

Supervisor: Straits Urban Daily

【Source: Straits Urban Daily】