Gold, silver bars sell out as popular 'safe' asset

Lee Jong-won, an office worker in his 30s, visited a bank branch in Seoul last week to buy gold bars, only to be shocked that they had all sold out. “I wasn’t looking to get rich fast. I just wanted something safe,” he said. Lee said he would settle for silver, but they were unavailable as well. “Gold made sense given everything — the economy, still-high borrowing costs and prices of everything going up. I thought silver might be the next best choice. But apparently, I wasn’t the only one thinking that.” Lee is among many who are rushing to buy gold and silver to protect their assets in an uncertain economic environment. The collective move has led to demand outpacing the supply, and as a result many commercial lenders are experiencing a shortage of gold and silver bars. Also surging are gold banking balances at the commercial lenders. Gold banking is a process whereby customers can buy and sell gold using their bank accounts. According to the banking sector, both gold bars and silver bars are selling out, and some banks are reporting delivery delays of over 10 days due to inWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times