Many use savings from unutilised vacations to buy gold

GEORGE TOWN: With gold prices plunging about 20% from record highs, many people are using cash saved from vacations that never happened to invest in jewellery.

A jeweller interviewed even said some buyers told him they used their Employees Provident Fund withdrawals through i-Sinar to invest in gold.

Housewife Fatin Mohd Ismail, 32, said she was buying a set of bangles as prices were attractive, compared to six months ago.

“I came to this shop near Kapitan Keling mosque as it has the latest designs.

“Gold is always a good investment and I think many are buying now due to the low prices.

“My relatives are also coming to buy later, ” she said at the store in Ah Quee Street yesterday.

Salimah Abdul Rahman, 42, who was lining up outside the same store for more than 30 minutes, said there had been a longer queue on Saturday and Sunday.

“My sister was here and she had to wait for more than hour just to enter the shop as there were strict standard operating procedures on physical distancing, ” she added.

Store owner Razeem Hamdan Ramzan Ali, 34, said gold prices had fallen from about RM270 per gram a few months ago to RM220, triggering a “gold rush” among buyers.

“People will save between RM45 and RM50 per gram, which is a lot.

“There was a huge crowd at my shop and other jewellery stores nearby over the last two weeks.

“Some said they were using their i-Sinar withdrawals to invest.

“With gold prices down, people with excess cash felt they should invest.

“There is a huge crowd here with almost 100 buyers during the weekends, ” he added.

Another jeweller, Sickandar Shah Ameer Hamzah, 57, whose store is along Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, said shops with the latest designs were preferred by customers as it had become a buyers’ market.

“There will be more people in jewellery stores over the next few weeks because some who made i-Sinar withdrawals will rush to invest in gold jewellery, ” he added.