Source: CCTV.com

03-09-2009 09:55

Affected by the surging gold price, major pawnshops in Beijing have raised the pawn price for gold which is now much higher than that of platinum. And this is a rare occurrence.

Affected by the surging gold price, major pawnshops in Beijing have raised the pawn price for gold which is now much higher than that of platinum.

A pawn shop in Beijing has revealed that the pawn price for platinum has decreased to 155 yuan per gram, while the price for gold remains high at 187 yuan.

The price difference between platinum and gold in Beijing's major pawnshops is about 30 to 80 yuan. Such a reversal of price is unusual.

Zhang Sudong, Outlet manager of Beijing Huaxia Pawnshop co. ltd, says, "concerning the pawn price, gold used to sell at the highest price of more than 230 yuan per gram, while platinum used to sell at between 360 to 380 yuan. For new products, the price of platinum was higher than gold by more than 100 yuan. But now the prices are reversed.

The price of platinum hit its highest of 528 yuan in the first half of 2008, but it fell to 180 yuan by the end of the year, affecting the pawn price for platinum. So gold is comparatively stable among the noble metals.

Platinum is widely used in the auto manufacturing industry,and the shrinking of the car industry has lowered the need for platinum. This means that it's unlikely the price of platinum will rebound in the short term. At the same time, platinum cannot be circulated in the same way as gold, and is therefore not a good investment product.

Click for more news in Biz China>>

Editor:Qin Yongjing