The retail price of gold in Japan has jumped to an all-time high as the yen extends its historic slide against the US dollar and cash-laden households rush to find a hedge against inflation.
Buying of yen-denominated gold at the nation’s largest dealer has driven the price of the yellow metal above the ¥10,000 per gramme level for the first time in recent days. It was trading at ¥10,100 on Tuesday, according to retail prices published by Tanaka Kikinzoku, one of Japan’s largest gold retailers.
The retail gold price in Japan — the main reference price for the metal in the country — tracks global spot prices, which have been pushed up by the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine and tensions between China and the US. It also reflects a sharp fall this year in the yen, which recently passed ¥146.5 against the dollar — a level that last year triggered verbal market intervention by the Japanese authorities.