This morning the gold price reached a four-month high, $1,345.35/oz, recovering losses from the previous session. The gold price is currently sticking around $1,340 as investors grow increasingly concerned about Ukraine, and corporate debt issues in China.
Holdings in the world’s largest gold ETF are heading for their first monthly gain since December 2012. Since the beginning of the year just three metric tonnes have been sold, compared to the same period last year when 70 tonnes were sold.
The main news stories on gold investment and gold demand all seem to be on China at the moment, as if the banks have identified this as the keystone of the gold market. The latest to look into China and gold is Credit Agricole’s SA private-banking unit. Bloomberg reports, “The market hasn’t quite fathomed the scale of annual Chinese buying just because of the wealth effect in China over the next coming years,” said Davis Hall, global head of foreign exchange and precious metals advisory. “I don’t think gold’s going to come back to $1,000, like many people are suggesting, because I’m seeing what’s happening in China.”
In case you missed it yesterday, I appeared on the Keiser Report to discuss the latest World Gold Council report and our latest research. It was interesting to note that the UK and US consumer gold demand climbed in 2013, for the first time in 12 years. The majority of this climb was seen in the jewellery sector, where higher carat items were being demanded.
Today, further evidence that taking your dog for a walk might be good for you, well, for your bank balance. A California couple stumbled upon some buried treasure, $10 million worth of old coins! The coins were found in various containers in the couple’s yard and were minted between 1847 and 1894. The 1,400 $20 coins are believed to have been new when they were hidden and remain in good condition.
Hmmm, I wonder how much $28,000 in today’s money will be worth in 120 years.
Speaking of coins, the Perth Mint has sold out of four of its top minted gold and silver coins. This comes following the news from the US Mint that gold coin sales were as low as those seen in September 2013.