(Yicai) Nov. 17 -- Several major Chinese banks have raised the minimum investment requirements on their gold accumulation plans to address risks from the precious metal's rapid price fluctuations over the past month.

China Citic Bank and China Construction Bank increased gold accumulation plans' monthly minimum investment amounts to CNY1,500 and CNY1,200 (USD211.30 and USD169), respectively, from CNY1,000 (USD140.90) on Nov. 15, the two lenders announced.

Gold's spot price has surged over 60 percent this year as of Nov. 12. However, after hitting USD4,244.94 per ounce at one point on Nov. 13, the highest since late last month, it closed at USD4,171.22 that day and fell another 2.1 percent to USD4,082 per ounce the day after.

"Banks' collective increase in gold accumulation plans' investment barriers reflects heightened investment risks due to gold prices being at elevated levels with increased volatility," said Lou Feipeng, a researcher at Postal Savings Bank of China. They are actively matching market risk changes and curbing irrational inflows by raising entry requirements and optimizing trading rules, he added.

Gold accumulation plans allow customers to accumulate gold through regular monthly investments by weight or value, with options to withdraw physical gold or redeem for cash.

Such plans were previously some of the most popular bank gold products due to their low entry barriers and physical gold redemption options. However, multiple lenders, including Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, have raised their investment thresholds since last month due to prices repeatedly hitting record highs this year.

Recent gold price fluctuations have put pressure on banks' liquidity and risk exposure, noted Dong Ximiao, chief researcher at Merchants Union Consumer Finance. Higher thresholds and redemption restrictions help screen for customers with stronger risk tolerance while preventing concentrated redemptions and maintaining business stability in volatile markets, Dong pointed out.

Most institutions maintain bullish long-term outlooks for gold, with UBS strategists predicting prices could reach a record high of USD5,000 per ounce over the next two years.

In addition, hedging demand in global financial markets is unlikely to drop significantly, analysts from GAIN Capital Holdings pointed out, citing persistent fiscal deficit and debt pressures in the United States and other developed economies, including Japan, France, and the United Kingdom.

Editor: Martin Kadiev