Gold is one of the most popular commodities in the
world to trade and invest in. It is bought and sold as a safety net against
political and economic influencers, including social crises and the collapse of
the regime. Compared to currency, the value of gold bars is quite stable with
relatively minor fluctuations. There are several factors that can influence the
gold price and supply and demand play an important role.
Annual production plays a small role in how the
price of gold bars changes. This is because the amount of gold stored is high
compared to the amount of new gold mined each year. The World Gold Council has
estimated that the total amount of gold mined annually in recent years has been
2,500 tons, with 2,000 of that going into the production of jewelry and dental
/ industrial products. That leaves 500 tons for retail investors and commercial
funds. It has been estimated that there is demand for another 1000 tonnes of
gold bullion for investment purposes.
The success of investing in gold bullion is highly dependent on the world's major central banks
and the International Monetary Fund, as they play a significant role in price.
of gold. In 2004 central banks and other official organizations held 19% of all
ground gold as official reserves, and are restricted to the amount of gold they
can sell Washington Gold Agreement (WAG). WAG member states include the United
States, Europe, Japan, Australia, the Bank for International Settlements, and
the International Monetary Fund. They are prohibited from selling more than 400
tons of gold each year, limiting the amount of gold available to independent
investors.
China and Russia, which are not members of WAG,
have shown interest in increasing their gold reserves, which has added another
competitor to the gold bullion
investment market.
What really influences the price of gold in the
market can be separated into three main factors; bank failures, low or negative
real interest rates and social / political crisis.
When banks fail in the eyes of the public, there
can be bank runs across the country, in which citizens quickly remove all their
savings from the bank. When citizens take gold from banks, this can lead to the
price of gold rising, as people worry that the value of paper money is worth
nothing
Demand for gold and other investment commodities
increases when investment returns in the form of stocks, shares, and real
estate are not worth the risk.
There are several examples from history when the
price of gold has skyrocketed in times of national crisis. The fear that
currency will become useless or property will be seized leads to high demands
for gold, because people always see sell gold as a way to buy food or
escape.
So now you have an idea of how the price of gold
is influenced, and that in times of bad economic fortune, gold often increases
in value. So we've seen gold rise to over $ 1000 per ounce during the worst
recession in three decades.
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