Alternative Outlook

Gold has been coveted for millennia because of its beauty, rarity and virtual indestructibility. In the current economic climate gold continues to have merit as a store of wealth. Gold as an investment has grown in popularity in recent years, partly because of the risks posed to our modern global financial and economic systems – it is often seen as a safe-haven in times of crisis. The price of gold bullion fluctuated between $1,500 and $1,800 during 2012.

In the shorter term, economic growth has remained constricted, and deflation is just …

Since 2000, gold has outperformed the S&P 500 each year nine of 12 times. How does gold behave like an investment and what are the fundamentals of investing in gold? What are the different ways investors can get exposure to gold in their portfolios?

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Global gold demand in Q3 2012 was 1,084.6 tonnes (t), down 11% from the record Q3 2011 figure of 1,223.5t.   This dip in demand is in comparison with exceptional demand in Q3 last year. Gold demand remains resilient. Q3 2012 was above the five year quarterly average of 984.7t, according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends Report.

In value terms gold demand was 14.0% lower year on year at $57.6bn and the average gold price of $1,652/oz was down 3% on the record average Q3 2011 price.

The key findings from the report are …

The World Gold Council has provided a summary outlining its statistics for the market in gold through the third quarter of 2012.
Overview
This commentary summarises gold’s price performance in various currencies, its volatility statistics and correlation to other assets, and the macroeconomic factors that influenced gold’s behaviour during the quarter. In this issue, we explore the influences that unconventional monetary policy has on financial markets. In particular we discuss the effect of central bank policy actions on gold.
Q3 in s…

I can’t imagine it means anything cheerful that Vladimir Putin, the Russian czar, is stockpiling gold as fast as he can get his hands on it.

According to the World Gold Council, Russia has more than doubled its gold reserves in the past five years. Putin has taken advantage of the financial crisis to build the world’s fifth-biggest gold pile in a handful of years, and is buying about half a billion dollars’ worth every month.

It emerged last month that financial gurus George Soros and John Paulson had also increased their bullion e…

Currently, gold is at the top of this $1,550 (£987) to $1,620 an ounce range, but market watchers are split on what will happen next, with the gold price bulls and bears both having plenty of fodder to support their case.

A Bloomberg poll of gold analysts released on Friday showed that they are the most bullish on pricing prospects for six weeks. With gold at the top of its trading range, does this signal a breakout? Out of 26 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, 14 expected prices to rise this week, with six expecting a…

Global gold demand in Q2 2012 was 990.0 tonnes (t), down 7% from the 1,065.8t in Q2 2011 according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends report. This dip in demand was partly due to the comparison with exceptional demand last year, and also reflects the challenging global economic climate. In this context, gold performed as expected, acting as both a store of value and a source of liquidity.

In value terms gold demand remained relatively stable year on year at US$51.2 billion, compared to US$51.6 billion in Q2 2011. During t…

This report on the recent trends in the gold price also covers the role of gold within a portfolio along with both short term and long term analysis on gold performance. The report was prepared by Luke Jackson who recently joined Intelligent Partnership as an Account Executive with a specific focus on product research and due diligence.

Gold Price Update & Outlook
Compiled by Luke Jackson, Account Executive at Intelligent Partnership

Recent Gold Demand Trends

2011 was a record year for gold demand with total value exceeding the…

Juan Carlos Artigas of the World Gold Council talks to The Telegraph’s Emma Wall
Given the economic uncertainty you’d have thought that the price of gold would be flying. It has done nothing of the sort. The gold price fell 6pc over the past month as the euro zone crisis intensified – its worst month of May fall since 1982. This is the fourth consecutive month that the precious metal has fallen in price.

Indeed, after a decade of gold price growth the last six months have seen a sudden about turn, with gold being offic…

Gold enjoyed another year in the headlines in 2011 and was high on the agendas of many professional investors as they sought to navigate stormy markets.

The eurozone crisis proved a stubborn and treacherously difficult obstacle to circumvent, and an unprecedented number of analysts and advisers were drawn to debating the benefits of holding gold at a time of such extraordinary turmoil.

Investors clearly appear to have agreed with those calling for greater allocations to gold in portfolios, as investment demand in 2011 pushed the va…