Recently, the expected yields on gold-linked structured deposit products offered by several banks have declined compared to previous periods, with some even experiencing inverted yield curves. Industry analysis indicates that shifts in gold price volatility patterns and the overall downward trend in interest rates are the primary contributing factors.

Information released by Jiangsu Bank Wuxi Branch on May 26 shows that its gold-linked structured deposit products offer expected annualized yields of either 1%, 1.8%, or 2% for both the 3-month and 6-month tenors. For the 1-year product, the expected yields are 1.1%, 1.75%, or 1.95%, presenting a case of term inversion. In contrast, from March to April this year, the same series of 3-month and 6-month products had expected yields of 1%, 1.9%, or 2.1%.

The China Merchants Bank App shows that at the beginning of the year, the expected annual interest rates upon maturity for its 7-day bullish and 14-day bullish gold-linked structured deposits were 1%, 1.38%, or 1.55%. For products of the same tenor issued on May 25, these expected rates have decreased to 1%, 1.18%, or 1.38%.

Xue Hongyan, a special researcher at Sushang Bank, stated that the decline in expected yields for such products stems from significant changes in the pattern of gold price volatility, forcing banks to compress the floating income space when designing new products. The inverted yield curve reflects pricing for uncertainty in medium-to-long-term gold prices or indicates that banks' liquidity management currently favors short-term funds. Yang Haiping, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Finance and Law, pointed out that after the mid-May gold price correction, market sentiment towards short-term gold trends has turned cautious. This, combined with the overall decline in interest rates, has impacted the pricing of structured deposits.

Experts advise investors to focus primarily on the minimum guaranteed yield and carefully examine the trigger clauses, avoiding decisions based solely on the top-tier expected return. They also note that structured deposits typically have a lock-up period, so investors should make rational choices based on their fund usage plans.