Indonesians queue overnight to buy gold amid economic uncertainty

Limited places in Indonesia to buy precious metal push hopeful buyers to extreme measures

JAKARTA, Indonesia (MNTV) – With gold hitting an all-time high, an economic slowdown in Indonesia, and concerns about how United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs will affect the world’s economy, many Indonesians have been rushing to buy gold, even if it means queuing the night before the shop opens, Channel News Asia reports.

When Resty Kinanthi arrived at a gold shop in South Jakarta at 8am on a recent weekday eager to buy a few grams of the precious metal, she was quickly turned away. 

The 24-year-old, who is currently unemployed, had heard of the growing gold trend gripping the country in recent weeks so she turned up early, an hour before the shop opened. 

She went back the following day at 6am but it was the same story. 

“I wondered: Why? At what time do people even arrive? I asked around and was told that a lot of people came the night before to get a number to queue for the quota,” she said.

While gold fever has happened before in the country, most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic, the current craze has reached new heights, say experts, as they remind consumers to be cautious of the volatile economic situation.

In Indonesia, the queue to buy gold began slowly months ago when Trump was about to return to power, said economist Eko Listiyanto from the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF). But it has intensified in recent weeks after Trump’s tariff announcement.

The US announced a 32% tariff on imported Indonesian goods on April 2, which Trump declared “Liberation Day” due to the sweeping group of tariff announcements on various countries, before declaring a 90-day-pause on Apr 9 on “reciprocal” tariffs on imports from almost 60 countries. 

After Liberation Day, the gold price globally and in Indonesia soared as it is widely seen as a safe haven hedge against the economic uncertainties caused by Trump’s moves. 

Other countries in the region have also reported seeing symptoms of gold fever. 

In Malaysia, some stores reported a 25 per cent increase in customers, according to local media. Vietnam has also reported long queues outside stores to buy gold. In Thailand, where gold also retains strong cultural significance, younger generations are entering the market through social media-driven financial advice. As a result, gold-trading apps and platforms are flourishing. There were however no reports of people queuing overnight in these countries as seen in Indonesia. 

While some people in Indonesia may understand that the high gold price is related to Trump’s Liberation Day, others may not, said Eko. 

He added that as the cost of living in Indonesia has also gone up, people want to prepare for rainy days. 

Furthermore, some people may still have money left from their Eid religious allowance, which employers handed to their staff towards the end of March, and they think it’s best to spend it on gold.

Eko said that many who queue for gold lately are young people such as Resty, and the high demand may be because Gen Z and millennials are financially more literate than older generations in Indonesia.

“Gen Z and millennials may not have a lot of money, but they are starting to invest earlier than previous generations,” Eko added.  

He also said that because the two generations are digitally connected, they tend to have a heightened fear of missing out (FOMO).

Economist Fithra Faisal from securities brokerage firm Samuel Sekuritas Indonesia shared the same view. He also said that because many Indonesians live from paycheck to paycheck, they want to gain an advantage from the current situation, as a hike in gold price seems like an easy way for them to buy and then resell quickly to profit.