This web-logger has come to the conclusion that no matter where the current gold spot price resides, there will always be those “never say aye” killjoys who proclaim that the gold bullion market will soon to return to below $400 levels, or lower. Reality is an entirely different animal, and nation’s central banks will always need an ample supply of gold, to bolster their financial leverage in the global market. Presently, the gold spot price (which represents the cost of one troy-ounce of pure gold) is at $1114.10 per troy-ounce, after being down as low as below the $1060 mark less than a month ago.

Experienced investors know that the gold bullion market historically picks up steam when whole nation’s economies become overextended, and hard assets are required to represent actual wealth, when printed (or fiat) currencies struggle to maintain their buying power. When nation’s central banks purchase enormous quantities from the IMF (International Monetary Fund), these gargantuan buys historically tend to stimulate the gold spot price, as a greater perceived need is seen in the market, and the gold spot price typically rises as a result.

The United States and Europe were hoping for a boost in the global gold bullion market from India, since the IMF has 191.3 tons of gold bullion for sale, and India was considered to be a likely buyer. India is the world’s largest gold bullion consumer, but India has just raised her gold and silver import taxes by 50%, so India may only purchase 28-32 tons of bullion, according to Suresh Hundia, President of the Bombay Bullion Association.

Investors who complete their research, are encouraged to contact one of our friendly specialists, who offer expert consultation on precious metals investing, as well as institutional discounts on bullion, and certified rare gold coins.

Jonathan Monroe

Experienced investors know that when the price of gold bullion falls, it is usually a minor fluctuation that is brought on by profit taking from bullion sellers, as well as from possible gains by our U.S. dollar on the Index. Gold prices and dollar values historically move in opposite directions, but the dollar is presently competing with a comparably hemorrhaging euro, and not really gaining strength on its’ own merit. Greece’s fledgling economy is weighing down the euro, so investors shouldn’t place too much emphasis on the greenback’s reaching 81.2 on the Index today.

The gold spot price was $1114.40 at around noon EST, so even though mainstream media headlines may read that gold bullion falls, investors must maintain an objective perspective over economic developments, and decide for themselves where financial safety is optimal. Just last week, the gold spot price was below $1100 per troy-ounce levels, yet our Federal Reserve has yet to implement any notable action toward real economic recovery. Their latest strategy is to raise overnight lending rates between banks by .25% by the third quarter of this year, but such a measure will hardly mark the advent of a US economic turnaround.

Short-term profit seekers also know that when gold bullion falls, it is also an opportunity to capitalize on potential rebounds that the spot price invariably makes. 15 of 22 analysts surveyed at Bloomberg project gold to hit $1300 by year-end, so prospective bullion buyers are encouraged to thoroughly review their research.

Investors can also avoid paying outrageous retail prices for their bullion bars and coins by contacting one of our friendly specialists, who offer institutional discounts on these, and other precious metal items to household investors like you.

Jonathan Monroe

The manner in which an investor stores his or her gold bullion is a matter of personal preference, but experienced investors recommend keeping a comfortable portion of bullion within your own physical reach. In a real emergency, cold hard bullion is an invaluable resource, as well as genuine independence from banks and the government. Bullion bars and coins don’t occupy much space, so holders should use a small safe, gun case, or other secure designation for their gold bullion storage.

Some individuals aren’t comfortable with the notion of personally storing their gold bullion bars and coins, and use safety deposit boxes. This type of gold bullion storage is quite common, and depositors have thirty days to retrieve their gold bullion storage in the event of a bank closure. Still, it is wise to have at least a small amount of bullion within arm’s reach, as well as two or three locations designated for liquidating the bullion, if need be. If the investor does need to suddenly liquidate his or her metal, they should be abreast of the current gold price, as bullion prices are slightly higher than the ever-fluctuating spot price.

Investors who use IRAs for their gold bullion storage often have their bullion holdings secured at Wilmington Trust in Delaware, which is used by both Sterling Trust, and Gold Star, who are the two government-approved precious metal IRA custodians.

Prospective buyers can avoid paying mind-bending retail prices for their bullion bars and coins by contacting one of our friendly specialists, who offer institutional discounts on these, and many other items to household investors like you.

Jonathan Monroe

Growing interest in precious metals investing has inspired many industrious individuals to brave the gold market through more obscure avenues, such as accumulating scrap gold (old or damaged jewelry, eyeglass frames, or collectables, as well as industrial gold that can be extracted from mechanical, and electronic components). These “scrappy” individuals may have accumulated substantial amounts of precious metal discard over a long period of time, or have obtained an abundance of scrap gold through inheritance, other circumstances. Individuals with sufficient scrap holdings, who seek to convert his or her second hand gold into Comex gold bullion, are encouraged to log onto comex.com, or to contact one of their authorized refineries.

Investors should be able to convey the approximate weight of their scrap, as well as the specific type of scrap that they wish to refine. Comex (Commodities Exchange) quality bullion bars are 99.999% pure gold (24-karat), and are traded over the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange), so alloys that are contained in your scrap are eliminated during the refining process. Naturally, the weight of scrap gold doesn’t normally translate directly into Comex gold bullion weight, and there are refining, and various processing fees associated with a scrap gold conversion.

Scrap converters have the option of receiving their very same refined metal, a like quantity of Comex bullion, or a monetary sum that is compatible with the current gold spot price. Investors with questions about precious metal refinement are encouraged to contact one of our friendly specialists, who can assist you with your precious metal needs.

Jonathan Monroe

The IMF (International Monetary Foundation) still has 191.3 tonnes of gold bullion for sale, and is still waiting for formidable gold bullion buyers. The remaining gold equates to about 5% of the annual global demand for the metal, and many have wrongfully anticipated that China would buy up at least a large portion of that sum. Those assumptions were apparently closer to wishful thinking, as China has opted in recent years to also purchase gold from her own domestic producers, rather than from the IMF. By doing so, China has managed to almost double her gold reserves over the past six years, and currently holds 1,054 tonnes of bullion.

The immediate shortage of IMF gold bullion buyers has reflected in a 0.3% increase for the U.S. dollar on the Index today, bringing it up to 80.75. Experts believe that if China bought IMF bullion now, it would reflect negatively on dollar values, which is why despite enjoying a thriving economy, China won’t likely be one of the IMF’s needed gold bullion buyers, since she already owns so much U.S. debt.

Gold investors are eagerly awaiting this Thursday’s testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke before Congress. Bernanke will be speaking about our government’s monetary policies, which could likely act as a strong influence on both gold spot prices, and dollar values. The gold spot price moves oppositely to dollar values, and many anticipate the Fed’s announcement to finally begin raising interest rates. Higher rates historically mean lower dollar values, which bullion investors hope will equate to a rising gold spot price.

Jonathan Monroe

For the benefit of those who whish to either buy or sell, the following is a brief overview on the safest means of shipping gold bullion.

For discrete, insured delivery of gold bullion, it is recommended to transport your precious metal via Registered Mail (not certified mail) with the United States Postal Service. The USPS insures each individual package for up to $25 thousand, and is used by reputable precious metals exchanges nationwide. Registered Mail is a priority service which usually takes two to five days for delivery, and each package receives its’ own tracking numbers, so individuals can effectively monitor the whereabouts of their shipment. However, registered mail packages that do not have priority service attached may take up to 15 days to reach their respective destinations. Private parcel services like Federal Express, and UPS aren’t insured for bullion or coin transport, so shipping gold bullion through these delivery services isn’t recommended.

Investors who are purchasing gold bullion from a reputable precious metals exchange receive their USPS tracking numbers the day their metal is shipped, and take delivery of their package within the aforementioned time frame. Those who are selling their bullion are advised to securely package their bars and/or coins with bubble wrap or the like, and to use only non-glossed tape to seal their box. The Postal Service uses ink-stamped cancellation marks on their registered packages, so paper-packaging tape is recommended so as not to distort these official markings.

Those with questions on shipping gold bullion are encouraged to contact one of our friendly specialists, who not only offer expert consultation on gold investing, but who also offer institutional discounts on bullion bars and coins to household investors like you.

Jonathan Monroe

Gold bullion prices escalated dramatically on Tuesday morning as the dollar index suffered its first major blow of the year against the euro. While a large percentage of economists felt that gold bullion prices would drop until the end of February, the latest surge in gold prices is strong evidence that profit-taking has subsided for the moment.

As of 4:45pm EST on Tuesday, gold had climbed $18.50 to a per-ounce price of $1119. MarketWatch reported that this drastic change was largely due to dollar devaluation, and other news outlets reported that markets profited from new bullish projections on gold coming forth from the analyst teams at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as well as Suisse America. Gold is looking to stabilize for the first quarter between $1150-$1175 per ounce, and experts and technical traders believe that gold’s all-time high of $1226 (which was reached for the first time in December 2009) could be surpassed before summer is over.

The news isn’t all sunny, however, because the Dow and Nasdaq indexes’ early gains were soon replaced by substantial losses for the day. Additionally, the latest housing market news shows that more consumers are walking away from underwater mortgages and this is increasing the number of “ghost neighborhoods,” squatters, and crime. Continued trouble in the real estate market is expected for 2010 and 2011, and the government’s attempts at reviving this slumbering market have largely been unsuccessful thus far.

The lack of parity between our markets is why so many have diversified into gold bullion and other forms of precious metal investments, and you can always track gold bullion prices and trends directly at Gold-Bullion.org.

Simply by landing on this blog, it is fair to say that you have heard how well gold bullion has done since 2001. Yes, the 300%+ return over the past nine years, and the 24% performance of the yellow metal in 2009, has been talked about, written about, and blogged about to death by economists, market experts, and pundits for the last decade. Yet, even though the general consensus is that it is good to own some gold, most “experts” have avoided giving advice on what to do with your gold once you buy it. It seems to me like this is rather important, since 60-75% of investors are buying gold bullion in the current cycle for the first time (not including jewelry purchases or gold that came as part of an appliance).

There are two main schools of thought on what to do as far as possession of gold. Some individuals believe that gold bullion storage is the most appropriate way to conduct your investing, while others say that holding the gold bullion yourself is the only way to go. The truth is, both of the opinions CAN be correct, it just depends on what your goals are for your gold bullion investing.

If you are using technical trading to play the gold market, or if you plan on making a very large volume purchase that you plan to sell within a short period of time (due to the fact that you foresee a major jump within a relatively short time frame), then gold bullion storage may be the best option. Shipping can sometimes take days or weeks, it can be cumbersome (and dangerous) to hold all that gold by yourself with no long-term storage plan, and when you do plan to sell you want to complete the transaction immediately; this is impossible is you have to box, insure, and ship your gold to the dealer.

If your plan is to hold onto the gold for a longer period of time, or if you are concerned about needing your gold during a national financial emergency (namely, the collapse of the dollar), then you definitely want to take physical delivery of your metals. The best way to store gold privately is in a home fire-safe or a safety deposit box at your nearby bank. Even if the bank or the FDIC fails, your gold is safe. Stay in touch with Gold-Bullion.org to learn more about the recent slew of bank failures and how this situation could affect gold bullion prices in 2010.

Jonathan Monroe

At the risk of leaning on a cliché so close to Valentine’s Day, gold’s relationship with the U.S. dollar can accurately be described as a “love/hate”, since gold does back the value of the dollar, but dollar values and gold prices generally behave oppositely to each other. This inverse correlation is repeatedly reflected in economic developments on a daily basis, but it requires stealthy interpretation, as U.S. dollars are scattered throughout virtually every economy on the globe.

For example, Greece’s suffering economy has been in the international limelight over the past few days, as European Unions are working to aid their Mediterranean neighbor. This consolidated effort, along with Germany’s stalled economy, has applied downward pressure on the euro. This strain on the euro has assisted our nation’s currency slightly on the Index, but gold’s relationship with the U.S. dollar remains tried yet true, as the spot price climbed to $1092.70 per troy-ounce today, before leveling off to $1086 prices late in the afternoon.

Since there remains so much work yet to be done on our home front’s economy, many U.S. investors remain speculative on our financial markets. Some of these trend savvy investors are looking to capitalize on gold’s relationship with the U.S. dollar, by either using gold bullion as a short-term, potential profit vehicle, as a diversification for long-term, rare gold coin investments, or as government-approved, gold-backed IRA contributions.

Resourceful investors can avoid paying over marked retail prices for their precious metals by contacting one of our friendly specialists, who offer institutional discounts on bullion, and rare gold coin to household investors like you.

Jonathan Monroe

One of the more attractive aspects to buying gold bullion, is its’ relative affordability in comparison to rare coin prices. Unlike long-term, rare coin investments, bullion carries premiums that generally hover slightly above the current gold spot price, which represents the cost of one troy-ounce of pure gold. The spot price is currently hovering around $1070 per ounce levels, and although there remains some debate as to why gold prices have dropped to such affordable levels so quickly, those who are buying gold bullion obviously believe that gold prices won’t remain there for very long. As a result, short-term profit seekers can now use bullion for what may be a wide-open window for potential gold spot price gains, while others are opening government-approved, bullion-backed IRAs, for long-term financial safety. (www.usagold.com)

Bullion-backed IRAs are an especially attractive option among our nation’s “baby-boomers”, since certified rare coin prices are so high, and long-term financial security is among these individual’s primary concerns. The government doesn’t permit rare coins for IRA storage, but acceptable bullion bar brand names include Credit Suisse, Johnson Matthey, Engelhard, and PAMP Suisse. Household investors typically purchase, one-ounce, and/or ten-ounce bars, although kilo bars are available.

Modern American Eagle bullion coins are the only government-approved items for IRAs with 22-karat purity, so holders of 22-karat South African Krugerrands may want to consider converting their metal to modern American Eagles, or various 24-karat bullion coinage, like American Buffalos, or Chinese Pandas.

Those who complete their research, are encouraged to contact one of our friendly specialists, who can facilitate a precious metal IRA transaction, and who also offer institutional discounts on bullion bars, coins, and rare coins to household investors like you.

Danny Burns