Young retail investors are turning to gold purchasing plans at an unprecedented rate as they seek to protect their finances amid the deepening recession, an official at Japan's largest bullion retailer said.
"We've never seen anything like this," said Noriyuki Abe, an executive in the precious metals division of Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. The company has signed up more than 4,000 customers a month for its gold-accumulation plan since October. Previously "the tally wouldn't exceed 1,000," he said.
Financial turmoil has boosted bullion demand worldwide, increasing sales of Austrian Philharmonic gold coins and driving holdings to all-time highs in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by the metal. Rising interest in long-term investment plans by customers in Japan between the ages of 20 and 40 "stood out," according to Abe at Tanaka Kikinzoku.