Demands for mini gold bars are surging in South Korea as rumors of imminent North Korea nuclear and missile test this month, and talk of a preemptive or retaliatory strike by the United States have prompted concerns among local investors, driving them to seek investments with less downside risks.

According to Korea Gold Exchange on Sunday, the average number of mini gold bars, which weighs between 10 and 100 grams, sold per day has tripled to 400 units since the beginning of this month as the geopolitical concerns due to North Korea has become more severe.

The spike in demand for mini gold bar largely comes from it being cheaper and easier to carry compared to commonly traded 1-kilogram gold bar, which costs around 54 million won ($47,285) nowadays. At Korea Gold Exchange, 10-gram mini gold bar is traded at around 550,000 won apiece and 100-gram mini gold bar at around 5.4 million won.

There has been a growing demand, especially by those wealthy investors with rich cash hoard, for mini gold bars since last week amid increased geopolitical risks, said a Korea Gold Exchange official.

The demand for 1-kilogram gold bars also has expanded. Usually, the daily sales of the 1-kilgoram gold bar averages at 20 units but the daily sales has edged up to average at 50 units per day since the beginning of last week.

By Choi Seung-jin

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