On 9 April at 10pm Beijing time, the topic “#11年前狂购黄金的中国大妈解套了#” (Chinese damas who went on a gold-buying spree 11 years ago are free now) held the top position on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, for nearly 2 hours and gained a total of 190 million views within 24 hours. This online event has been fueled by the recent surge in gold prices, which has become a trending topic of discussion.
The term “Chinese dama,” referring to Chinese middle-aged women, is now reaping the benefits of their gold investments made over a decade ago. Yangtse Evening Post, the first media outlet to report on the matter, said that in April 2013, when the international gold price plummeted, Chinese dama plunged into the gold market and bought 300 tonnes of gold, totalling around 14 billion USD. The Wall Street Journal even coined the term “Chinese dama” in response to this phenomenon.
However, the subsequent four years of bear market left Chinese damas trapped but with recent record highs in gold prices, the tide has finally turned. On 8 April, gold jewellery sold at Chow Tai Fook (周大福) shops for 712 Yuan (98.38 USD) per gram in the morning, rose to 728 Yuan (100.59 USD) in the afternoon, indicating a 2.2% increase in just a few hours. This gold trend demonstrates that the dama’s investment foresight remains keen.
Hu Jie, a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance and a former senior economist at the Federal Reserve, said that the recent record highs in gold prices has two main factors. Firstly, there is the monetary factor, driven by expectations of interest rate cuts and subsequent monetary easing. Secondly, there is refuge sentiment, namely the emotional anxiety brought by the current turbulent global situation.
Additionally, Bank of America has highlighted several areas of strong demand for gold, including purchases by China’s central bank. Gavekal Dragonomics also notes that a significant portion of Chinese household savings is flowing into gold.
As of the early morning of 11 April, the London spot gold price reached 1,862.26 pounds (2,340.23 USD) per ounce, marking a fresh record high. Gold is a stable hedge asset, which holds long-term value that cannot be overlooked. While Chinese damas may lack technical analysis skills, their strong confidence and love for gold makes them stand out in the market.
