Preference for Safe Assets Reflects Concerns Over Economic Recession
"It Means Market and Government Feel Anxiety"
As concerns about a recession grow in the United States, demand for gold bars has surged sharply. As a result, gold bars sold online by the major U.S. retailer Costco sold out within hours.
According to the Associated Press on the 5th (local time), Richard Galanti, Costco's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), recently stated during the company's earnings announcement that 1-ounce (about 28g) gold bars sold out within just a few hours after being listed on their website.
The gold bars are currently marked as "sold out" and no longer display prices as of the previous day. While the prices of the gold bars are only available to Costco members, various media outlets reported that the 1-ounce gold bars, produced in two different designs, are priced close to $2,000 (about 2.7 million KRW) each.
Considering that the gold price was $1,835 (about 2.48 million KRW) per ounce as of the previous afternoon, this is higher than the current market price of gold. However, Costco did not disclose the exact number of gold bars sold.
Experts analyzed that the recent increase in uncertainty has raised investors' demand for gold. David Wagner III, Head of Market and Equities at Aptus Capital Advisors, a U.S. investment advisory firm, interpreted, "If someone goes to buy gold, it means they believe there is structural instability in the market or government."
However, Wagner also said, "Gold is one of the worst things you can own," adding that there are more efficient ways to defend against asset loss, such as derivative-based investments. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has also warned that gold prices can be highly volatile and advised caution when investing.
Meanwhile, Costco's sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023 reached $78.9 billion (about 107 trillion KRW), and net profit was $2.2 billion, representing increases of 1.1% and 17.6%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
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