China's gold prices hit new highs amid global market rally

As international gold prices continue to climb, gold prices in China have reached record highs.

On Wednesday, several major gold brands reported prices for pure gold jewelry exceeding 1,000 yuan (about 138.63 U.S. dollars) per gram, marking an all-time high.

On Wednesday local time, gold futures for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange surged to 3,332.08 U.S. dollars per ounce, marking a 2.85 percent increase and setting a new all-time high for international gold prices.

Meanwhile, London spot gold prices briefly climbed above 3,310 U.S. dollars per ounce during intraday trading.

Since the beginning of April, gold has gained over 5 percent.

Driven by the momentum, the main gold futures contract listed on the Shanghai Futures Exchange once surged to 782 yuan per gram, setting a new record high. The spot gold price denominated in RMB has risen by about 26 percent so far this year, approaching the total gain for the whole of last year.

Recently, several major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and UBS, have raised their forecasts for gold prices.

Analysts believe that as tariff tensions escalate once again and Asian markets show growing enthusiasm for gold investment, gold prices are continuously reaching new record highs.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 20 pips to 7.0108 against the U.S. dollar Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.