Retail Gold Prices Hit Record High above 21,000 Yen per Gram

Tokyo, Oct. 6 (Jiji Press)–Retail gold prices in Japan surged to top 21,000 yen per gram for the first time on Monday, lifted by the yen’s weakening and gains in gold futures in New York. Tanaka Precious Metal Technologies Co., a major precious metals seller, set its tax-inclusive retail gold price at 21,039 yen per gram on Monday afternoon, up 857 yen from Friday afternoon. The yen fell past 150 per dollar on Monday, hitting its lowest levels in about two months, as expectations for an early additional interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan receded following the election of former Japanese economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, an advocate of monetary easing, as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday. The rise in New York gold futures reflects concerns about a prolonged U.S. government shutdown. In Japan, retail gold prices climbed above 20,000 yen for the first time on Sept. 29. Amid a flurry of buy orders, Tanaka Precious Metal Technologies has suspended sales of 20 grams or less of gold bullion at its directly operated stores since Saturday. Gold futures on the Osaka Exchange also jumped on Monday. The August 2026 contract ended 648 yen higher at 19,143 yen per gram, a record high for the most actively traded contract. “Gold prices will continue rising unless uncertainty over the global economy is dispelled,” Kazushige Ogo, chief analyst at Yutaka Trusty Securities Co., said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]