Gold Prices Rebound, Bank Gold Investment Sees Surge
International gold prices have seen a significant rebound of over 12% in about a month, reviving demand for investment in bank gold. The balance of gold banking at three major commercial banks - KB Kookmin, Shinhan, and Woori Bank - rebounded for the first time in seven months to KRW 1.782 trillion as of the 19th.
Sales of gold bars at the five major banks also increased to an average of KRW 1.83 billion per day this month. This growth is attributed to a rebound in international gold prices, which have recently turned upward again.
The biggest advantage of gold banking is that it allows investors to buy and sell gold in small amounts, with units as low as 0.01g available for purchase. However, gold banking is subject to a 15.4% dividend income tax on trading profits, which should be considered when calculating actual investment returns.
GOLD bar sales of the five major commercial banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup) were estimated to be about KRW 201 billion as of the 19th. The average daily sales on a business day basis were 1.83 billion won, up 26.2 percent from last month's average daily sales of 1.45 billion won.