QUOTE AND NEWS
Mining Weekly  5 hrs ago  Comment 
Base-metals miner First Quantum on Monday reported adjusted headline earnings for the first three months of the year rose 30% year on year to $153.8-million or $0.32 a share, as the company reported improved copper, nickel and gold sales. Net...
Clusterstock  6 hrs ago  Comment 
After last week's FOMC statement, Dennis Gartman wrote that he had gone "from 'agnostic' to bearish of equities." At the time, he also wrote that he would "punt in the very short term on the short side of gold." Now, Gartman admits he was...
Resource Investor  9 hrs ago  Comment 
The recent declines in the gold and silver markets have prompted some soul searching among even the more dedicated precious metals investors. Any of a handful of events could nullify gold and silver's long-term cases.
TheStreet.com  10 hrs ago  Comment 
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The gold/silver ratio is something I watch closely. This ratio has been on the move in recent weeks, and in my opinion could have further upside to go. Now, many people reading this article have likely seen what the...
TheStreet.com  10 hrs ago  Comment 
NEW YORK (TheGoldAndOilGuy.com) -- How to trade gold and other precious metals related investments is not that complex. But you must be willing to wait for price to provide low-risk entry points before getting involved. Precious metals are like...
Resource Investor  11 hrs ago  Comment 
The usefulness of sentiment's stealth crystal ball is about to be revealed to the litany of unsuspecting precious metal bears and skeptics who have convinced themselves that gold's bull market is either over or, at the minimum, in need of lengthy...
Wealth Daily  May 6  Comment 
As Europe struggles unsuccessfully to free itself from recession, the U.S. economy is showing many signs of improvement. What does this mean for gold in 2013?
Mining Weekly  May 6  Comment 
Most mine injuries and deaths are the result of individual risk-taking behaviour, says Gold Fields nonexecutive chairperson Cheryl Carolus. Carolus, who has been a member of the Gold Fields’ safety and health committee since 2009, spoke to...




 

This article is about investing in the commodity gold. For the article on the company with ticker GOLD, see Randgold Resources (GOLD). For other uses, see Gold (Disambiguation).

Gold is one of the most highly-sought after precious metals in the world. It is used in jewelry, electronics, and coinage. Gold is widely considered to be an effective hedge against inflation, which means that when the dollar depreciates, demand for gold increases. In addition, during times of economic and political uncertainty, the demand for Gold rises due to its high intrinsic value and relative stability. Moreover, the introduction of gold ETFs and the increasing wealth in emerging markets, such as China, India, and Latin America have contributed to rising demand for gold. While demand for gold has been rising, supply has been dropping as many of the top gold producing countries have had decreasing production over the past few years.

Gold has been used as money for more than 3,500 years as it doubles as a currency and a store of value. Gold is one of very few assets that is not the obligation of someone else. It has also proven to be a good hedge as inflation since the experiments with unbacked fiat money began in Europe and the USA in the 18th century.

Prices

Gold futures contracts are traded on the COMEX under ticker symbol GC and are delivered in January, February, April, June, August, October, and December of every year. (For more information on commodity tickers, check out the commodity ticker construction page.)

Investors Gold

A soft metal with a characteristic deep lustrous yellow or yellow-brown color. Au chemical symbol, [1] with the chemical element of atomic number 79, valued for use in jewelry and decoration, and to guarantee the value of currencies. The purest form of money, and the oldest, most durable. Gold, Aurum was already legal tender before the first coins. The oldest gold coins derive from the seventh century BC.

Investors use Gold as a store of value. Gold metal offers the appearance of capital appreciation compared to depreciating currencies. Gold has always had favorable liquidity, but Gold is sterile, it does not provide any current income. [1] Gold does not provide positive cash flow to the owner. Gold owners must pay to maintain, store, and insure Gold, which is an expense. On a cash flow basis Gold a liability, Gold costs you to own it. [2]

As an example, if returns were adjusted for inflation from 1802 to 2001. $1.00 invested in stocks would have returned $599,605.00 while bonds and bills would have returned $952.00 and $304.00. The results for investments in gold and the US dollar would have resulted in losses, since that $1.00 investment in gold would have been reduced to 98 cents and the US dollar only seven cents. [3]

Companies Who Benefit from Rising Gold Prices

Gold Companies

  • DRDGOLD (DROOY) is the fourth largest gold miner in South Africa. South Africa is the world's top gold producer after India.
  • Goldcorp (GG) is a gold mining company based in Canada that has the lowest cash costs of any tier 1 mining company. It is the 5th biggest gold producer.
  • Harmony Gold Mining (HMY) is the 5th largest gold producer in the world, is the largest gold producer in South Africa and also has mines in Papua New Guinea.

For a complete list of companies involved in the gold industry, see Gold Industry

Gold Exchange Traded Funds

Most gold ETFs buy gold as backing for the fund. [4]

Other Gold Exchange Traded Funds

High End Jewelry Companies

High end jewelers actually benefits from rising gold prices because as prices rise, gold jewelry becomes a more valuable and coveted option.[9]

Companies Who are Hurt by Rising Gold Prices

Low to Mid End Jewelry Companies

Low to mid end jewelry companies tend to suffer from increasing gold prices because the company's lower income clientel are less flexible to price changes.

Individual Consumers

In addition, individual consumers are hurt by the rise in gold prices as they are no longer able afford it. This is particularly true for cultures which rely on gold articles as a symbol or key aspect to ceremonies.

Historical Gold Prices

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Whether as the basis for the monetary unit of a country, or in its role in comparison to the currency price of silver, the history of gold price has long been a subject of great interest to both the scholar and the general public.

Below are five series for determining the value of gold price historically:

Gold Futures

References

  1. A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing by Burton Gordon Malkiel ISBN-10: 0393062457 pg359
  2. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki ISBN-10: 0446677450 pg61
  3. Equities: An Introduction to the Core Concepts (Mark Mobius Masterclass Series) ISBN-10: 0470821442 pg 16
  4. Have gold ETFs bottomed
  5. Wikipedia:Gold Exchange-Traded Fund
  6. Wikipedia:Gold Exchange-Traded Fund
  7. Wikipedia:Gold Exchange-Traded Fund
  8. Wikipedia:Gold Exchange-Traded Fund
  9. High Prices as Good as Gold in Jewelry Market
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