Gold is definitely the king of precious metals; its value is universally recognized and, since always, this blond metal has an important role in human life, so much so that it has been used for various purposes since 5,000 BC Today it is essentially used as a store of value and investment metal and, as such, it is traded on international markets and is the subject of a thriving second-hand market.
For many years now, physical gold has been bought and sold outside the stock exchange system, on markets that are essentially regulated on the basis of the free play of supply and demand; this implies the inapplicability of the typical rules of the Stock Exchange and the fact that, potentially, we can speak of a sort of global market which, thanks to the various time zones, never closes and allows transactions to be carried out at any time of day. Nonetheless, for economic, political and historical reasons, the market that has always been considered the reference market is the London one, which has been the driving force of negotiations since 1800. The London Bullion Market Association is located on the London Stock Exchange, which brings together all the most important subjects involved in various capacities in the extraction and marketing of precious metals. The most important operators, banks and metal dealers, meet every day to calm the price of gold and, twice a day, at the opening of trading and in the afternoon, they issue a bulletin showing the so-called Gold Fixing, or the price by virtue of which, once the volumes of supply and demand have been analyzed, the market is kept in equilibrium. This value is then used as a reference point in most of the negotiations, even in those involving private individuals, but it is not in any case comparable to a list price.
The price of gold in fact, as mentioned, is determined by the relationship between supply and demand and, in general, depends little on external factors and is susceptible to variations, even sudden ones. What is traded on the markets is pure gold, the so-called 24 carat gold; this means that when you intend to invest in physical gold by buying or selling, it is important to take into account many factors. First of all, the price which, as we have mentioned, is certainly not fixed; secondly, the composition of the gold to be sold or purchased: what is normally found on the market is not pure sell gold; Most jewelry, investment coins and even bars are actually made of an alloy of metals: other elements are added to gold, such as copper or silver, which dilute its purity. This data is clearly expressed through the indication of the carats, marked in punching on an often not very visible portion of the object. The actual price, therefore, will be determined by the price established by the markets at the time of the transaction, by the carats and weight of the gold object.
Investing in precious metals , and in particular in gold, is today a good way to preserve your capital and take advantage of the positive trend highlighted by this material in recent years, even in times of crisis. Doing so has now become so simple and convenient that many have given in and tried the adventure; to open the market also to small investors were the new buy gold and metal bank which, with very well equipped websites, make the whole procedure really simpler and safer. To decide if the time has come to sell or buy, an internet connection is now sufficient: by accessing the buy gold sites it is possible to monitor the trend of the prices and, if the intention is to sell your used gold, it is also possible to block the price by booking it and keeping it effective for 24/48 hours, thus not suffering the effects of changes in value. Simple calculation masks also allow, by selecting the carat weight and indicating the weight of the object, to instantly obtain an evaluation of the asset.
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To invest in gold, on the other hand, by purchasing financial shares or pure gold in the form of bars, ingots and investment coins, you can turn to the metal counter; today they are international players who, by handling large quantities of metal, are able to influence the price of gold and to grant their customers very advantageous conditions.