Editor’s Note
Major gold retailers in China, including China Gold and Beijing Caishikou, have announced adjustments to their buyback services. Starting February 7, 2026, the processing of precious metals buyback will be suspended on weekends and statutory holidays, aligning with the non-trading days of the Shanghai Gold Exchange. This change may affect consumers looking to sell gold during holiday periods.
China Gold announced that starting from February 7, 2026, it will adjust the business arrangements for precious metals buyback services. On Saturdays, Sundays, and statutory holidays, which are non-trading days for the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the processing of precious metals buyback services will be temporarily suspended. Beijing Caishikou Department Store Co., Ltd. also announced similar arrangements through its official WeChat public account. Simultaneously, to avoid risks, multiple banks have proactively cleared out “Three-No” (no holdings, no inventory, no margin) clients.
China Gold explained the reasons for this adjustment, stating that recently, influenced by multiple factors, precious metals prices have shown significant and intensified volatility, with uncertainty continuing to rise. To adapt to the risk management requirements of the precious metals market, improve operational efficiency and customer service levels, the company will adjust the rules for precious metals buyback services across all channels (including offline stores and online channels) under the “China Gold” brand.
Reporters found that this adjustment not only imposes restrictions on buyback times but also strengthens quota management. Even on normal trading days of the exchange, related buyback services will implement quota controls, including daily cumulative buyback limits per single customer, single transaction buyback limits, etc., and require advance appointments for processing. The relevant quotas are not fixed but are dynamically adjusted based on market conditions.
Beijing Caishikou Department Store Co., Ltd. also synchronized updates to its buyback arrangements, indicating that starting from February 6, it will adjust precious metals buyback rules. Buyback services will be temporarily suspended on Saturdays, Sundays, statutory holidays, and other non-trading days of the Shanghai Gold Exchange. Simultaneously, the daily gold buyback limit will be adjusted from 200 kilograms to 100 kilograms.
Panpanwang Wealth researcher Dong Dong stated that recently, many gold shops have canceled buyback services, mainly because, against the backdrop of sharp gold price fluctuations, enterprises have made prudent adjustments based on risk control and operational pressure. Rapid gold price increases and intensified volatility lead to a lack of public price references on non-trading days, making buyback pricing difficult and prone to disputes. Simultaneously, concentrated redemption trends cause gold shops to face enormous capital pressure and operational burdens. This move is also seen as helping to guide investors to view market fluctuations rationally and prevent potential price gap losses due to price gaps.
Dong Dong predicts that more gold shops will follow up with adjustments to buyback services, with the overall trend being tightening regulations and strengthening risk control, not a complete cancellation. In the context of high gold price volatility gradually becoming the norm, the industry as a whole faces upward pressure on risk control and operational costs, and similar risk control measures are expected to become more widespread.
As the Lunar Year of the Horse Spring Festival approaches, the domestic market will usher in a 9-day long holiday. To prevent risks from domestic and international market price fluctuations during the long holiday period, the Shanghai Gold Exchange issued a notice on February 9 regarding做好2026年春节期间市场风险控制工作的通知 (Doing a Good Job in Market Risk Control Work During the 2026 Spring Festival Period). According to the arrangement, the market will be closed from February 14 to February 23, with no night market trading on the evening of February 13, and normal market opening from February 24. Starting from the settlement time on February 11, the margin ratios for related contracts will be synchronously上调 (increased) with the涨跌停板幅度 (price limit幅度): The margin ratio for contracts like Au(T+D) will be increased from 18% to 21%, and the price limit restriction from the next trading day will be adjusted from 17% to 20%; The margin ratio for Ag(T+D) contracts will be adjusted from 24% to 27%, and the price limit restriction from the next trading day will be adjusted from 23% to 26%; The margin for CAu99.99 contracts will be increased from 150,000 yuan per lot to 200,000 yuan.
Simultaneously, multiple banks have proactively cleared out inactive precious metals “Three-No” (no holdings, no inventory, no margin) clients. For example, on February 3, Industrial Bank发布的《关于调整代理上海黄金交易所个人贵金属买卖业务交易渠道的公告》 (Announcement on Adjusting Trading Channels for Personal Precious Metals Trading Business Acting as Agent for Shanghai Gold Exchange)显示 (showed) that based on business development needs, the bank will关闭 (close) the personal online banking trading channel for personal precious metals trading business acting as agent for Shanghai Gold Exchange after February 14, 2026, while channels like counter and mobile banking will remain正常开放 (normally open).
Industrial Bank is not an isolated case. Since September 2025, at least 11 banks have陆续发布 (successively issued) announcements adjusting personal precious metals business acting as agent for Shanghai Gold Exchange, mainly involving temporary suspension or cessation of new position opening for related products, buy trades.
In December 2025, ICBC strengthened the management of personal precious metals trading acting as an agent. For clients with no holdings, no inventory, no margin but still having保证金账户余额 (margin account balance), starting from December 19, it will batch transfer the margin account balance to the settlement account bound to the business and关闭相关业务功能 (close related business functions).
In the same month, China Construction Bank also reminded similar clients to transfer their margin balance and handle contract termination as soon as possible.
China CITIC Bank, starting from November 7, 2025, began清理 (cleaning up) long-term inactive personal trading accounts (with available funds, no holdings) acting as agent for Shanghai Gold Exchange.
Furthermore, Postal Savings Bank, Ningbo Bank, and other多家银行 (multiple banks) have announced the cessation of personal precious metals trading business acting as agent for Shanghai Gold Exchange. On December 30, 2025, Postal Savings Bank announced that its personal precious metals trading business acting as agent for Shanghai Gold Exchange will cease from January 12, 2026; On September 30 of the same year, Ningbo Bank stated that starting from October 13, it will停止受理 (stop accepting)代理个人客户上金所现货实盘买入交易 (acting as agent for personal clients’ spot physical buy trades on Shanghai Gold Exchange), with sell trades不受影响 (unaffected).
In recent years, the banking industry’s adjustment efforts for personal precious metals trading business acting as agent for Shanghai Gold Exchange have持续加大 (continued to increase), transitioning from early risk提示 (prompts), temporary suspension of new account openings, to orderly clearing of存量客户 (existing clients). Everbright Bank特约研究员 (special researcher) Liao Ziyan stated that the risks of this business are concentrated in market, compliance, operational, and reputation dimensions, with market risk being the most核心 (core). Sharp fluctuations in precious metals prices can easily lead to个人投资者蒙受损失 (personal investors suffering losses).