Customers choose gold ornaments at a shop in Shanghai on October 5, 2025, during the National Day holidays. Photo: VCG

International gold prices extended their upward trend during the Asian trading session on Monday, breaking through the $3,900-per-ounce barrier for the first time and reaching a new high. 

According to GoldPrice.Org, gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit a record high of over $3,960 per ounce on Monday, while spot gold also broke above $3,940, surpassing the $3,900 level for the first time.

Domestic gold prices also rose in line with the international upward trend. Gold ornament prices at several Chinese gold jewelry brands exceeded 1,100 yuan ($154.5) per gram on Monday, according to the CCTV News on Monday.

For example, the 24-karat gold price at Lao Miao Gold reached 1,138 yuan per gram, while that at Chow Sang Sang reached 1,141 yuan per gram, according to their official websites on Monday.

A Beijing-based resident surnamed Cai told the Global Times on Monday that she was lucky to have bought a gold accessory at the price of 975 yuan per gram last Friday.

"Seeing the price surge today, I feel so lucky," Cai said, adding, however, that she also regretted not buying earlier at the beginning of the holidays on October 1.

As an important distribution center for the domestic gold and jewelry industry, Shuibei, Shenzhen's renowned gold and jewelry district in South China's Guangdong Province, witnessed a surge in wedding-related gold consumption during the holiday period, according to the CCTV News.

"The shopping mall saw an average of 30,000 visitors per day during the National Day holidays, up roughly 10 percent from the same period last year and roughly two to three times higher than in September, the report said, citing Deng Liumei, a customer service manager at a gold exhibition hall in Shuibei.

Gold's volatile climb to successive peaks is being driven primarily by three key factors, Yang Delong, chief economist at First Seafront Fund, told the Global Times on Monday. 

According to Yang, gold's rally is being fueled by a trio of forces: investors are flocking to gold as a safe-haven amid global uncertainty, markets are anticipating imminent Fed rate cuts, and central banks continue their steady accumulation of the metal.

According to the latest data from the World Gold Council (WGC), global central banks added 15 tons of gold to their reserves in August.

The WGC said that gold's rapid price rise in 2025 "likely remains a constraint on the level of buying by central banks" following strong purchasing activity earlier in the year.

Global Times