Retail demand surges, CME plans to lower the threshold and launch 1-ounce gold futures

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group announced that it will launch a one-ounce gold futures contract on January 13, 2025. This new product aims to meet the growing demand from retail investors and lower the entry threshold for the gold market, currently awaiting regulatory approval. Lowering Entry Barriers to Attract More Retail Investors Gold prices have soared this year, rising from $2,000 to $2,630, an increase of 32%, repeatedly setting historical highs. This surge has attracted an increasing number of retail investors to take a keen interest in the gold market. Against this backdrop, small-scale gold investment products are becoming increasingly popular, as investors seek to participate in the precious metals market and diversify their portfolios through these products. Jin Hennig, head of global metals business at CME Group, stated, "This one-ounce gold futures contract is an excellent way for us to lower market entry barriers." She also pointed out that with a younger customer base, such small-scale contracts are more feasible for the new generation of investors. In fact, CME Group has previously launched various small-scale gold and silver futures contracts, including 10-ounce micro gold futures and 1,000-ounce micro silver futures, aimed at attracting more ordinary investors to participate in the precious metals market. According to CME Group, these micro contracts have become one of the fastest-growing products in its metal derivatives series, with trading volume reaching a historical high this year. "Paper Gold" Instead of Physical Delivery It is noteworthy that the newly launched one-ounce gold futures contract is a cash-settled futures contract rather than a physical delivery contract. This means that traders will not receive an actual one-ounce gold bar or coin upon contract expiration, which may be a limiting factor for those investors who wish to hold physical gold. The introduction of such cash-settled contracts makes them another form of "paper gold" in the market. Currently, in the market, every one ounce of physical gold corresponds to approximately 133 ounces of paper gold, and this imbalance has raised some market concerns. Analysts indicate that there may be a risk of a run on physical gold in the future, which could lead to a surge in the price of scarce physical gold, while the value of paper gold may plummet, triggering market shocks. Compared to the traditional 100-ounce gold futures contract, the newly launched one-ounce contract allows small and medium investors to participate in gold futures trading with lower capital. Investors only need to pay a few hundred dollars in margin to control the equivalent of $2,700 worth of one ounce of gold. The increase in paper gold products may divert and reduce the demand that would otherwise flow to physical gold. Multiple analysts believe that the increase in paper gold products is one of the key factors leading to gold prices being lower than expected. Vince Lanci, publisher of GoldFix News, jokingly stated on social media that this new contract may lower the premiums on small-sized gold bars, which, while beneficial to consumers, could also erode the profit margins of gold bar dealers