At 9 AM sale opened, sold out at 9:01 AM……"Three days in a row, didn't manage to grab a single one"

I set an alarm for 9:00 AM, planning to buy some China Construction Bank Easy Deposit Gold during the big drop in gold prices. However, at 9:01, I received a notification: “Dear customer: The daily transaction limit has been reached. Please try again tomorrow.”

In recent days, international gold prices have been volatile and declining. However, many people have noticed that bank gold bars are becoming harder to buy, with several banks imposing limits on gold savings and some physical gold bars out of stock.

Online “gold accumulation enthusiasts” are facing similar issues. A netizen said, “Gold prices have been rising steadily, but now the threshold for buying gold is getting higher and higher. Delivery takes time, purchase limits are in place. It’s really getting harder for ordinary people to accumulate gold to hedge against inflation.” A customer service representative from CCB responded that the daily quota had been used up and suggested trying again the next day. Despite setting alarms for three days in a row, I still couldn’t get even one gram.

Since the beginning of this year, influenced by multiple factors, gold prices have been fluctuating. Against this backdrop, from online to offline, investment in gold bars is becoming increasingly scarce. Several bank apps show that some banks are out of stock of investment gold and silver bars. A staff member at a bank branch in Hangzhou said that even if you can place an order at some banks’ branches, you need to make an appointment and wait to pick up the gold, with physical gold almost impossible to find. A staff member at a ICBC branch in Jinan said that although the real-time gold prices are updated daily in the lobby, physical gold bars have been out of stock for over 10 days, with no specific restock date known.

Why are physical gold bars always sold out? It is reported that ICBC and CCB have previously tightened their gold investment businesses, implementing dynamic transaction limit management for gold savings, and the delivery times for physical gold bars have been delayed accordingly.

On March 3, CCB issued a notice stating that due to the rapid growth in physical precious metal purchases, starting from March 3, the delivery time for customer orders will be extended to 10-15 working days after the order is placed (no delivery on holidays). At the same time, to further strengthen risk control, the bank has implemented dynamic transaction limits for CCB Gold (including Easy Deposit Gold) from March 4.

This means that once the transaction limit is reached, customers cannot place new orders. A financial advisor at a CCB branch in Hangzhou said that the current quota nationwide is 600 kilograms, with 100 kilograms available on weekends.

In addition, ICBC, ABC, and CCB recently announced that the margin ratio for agency personal precious metal deferred trading has been increased from 80% to 100%. This means that the capital threshold and risk resistance requirements for investors participating in related transactions are further raised, and the banks’ risk control measures are tightening simultaneously.

In fact, before the Spring Festival, many banks had already warned that gold bar sales were too hot, with several banks announcing temporary sell-outs. Experts say that in terms of liquidity, investment gold bars are closer to real-time gold prices. Major banks and gold trading platforms all have gold bar trading businesses, with relatively standardized channels for circulation and liquidation, making them more value-preserving and more suitable for physical gold investment.

Industry experts point out that with gold and silver prices at all-time highs, investors should remain calm and avoid chasing gains or panic selling. It is recommended to diversify investments through low-cost products like gold ETFs and savings gold, build a diversified portfolio, extend investment horizons, and better leverage the long-term hedging function of precious metals.

It is worth noting that last year, domestic consumption of gold bars and coins first surpassed that of gold jewelry. The latest statistics released by the China Gold Association show that in 2025, China’s gold consumption will reach 950.096 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 3.57%. Among them, gold jewelry accounted for 363.836 tons, down 31.61% year-on-year; gold bars and coins totaled 504.238 tons, an increase of 35.14%. The China Gold Association believes this data marks a phased shift in the consumption structure of the gold market.