Is buying gold a good investment?

Great replys, perhaps if one isn't looking to 'double their money' as some lucky folks will have done in 2006, but simply beat the interest an ISA over the same period would bring. Will a plateau last a couple of years?

If I bought now, it rises 10-20% say, the flattens out rather than crashing, it'd be a winner.

I can understand the sharp rise was linked to a crashing economy, so perhaps as the worlds economy comes back online slowly (over 2-3 years, er plateau again really) the gold would still pay off?

It would also be fun to have a few gold coins in the cupboard :) There is always that attraction ;)
 
thepedster said:
Great replys, perhaps if one isn't looking to 'double their money' as some lucky folks will have done in 2006, but simply beat the interest an ISA over the same period would bring. Will a plateau last a couple of years?

If I bought now, it rises 10-20% say, the flattens out rather than crashing, it'd be a winner.

I can understand the sharp rise was linked to a crashing economy, so perhaps as the worlds economy comes back online slowly (over 2-3 years, er plateau again really) the gold would still pay off?

It would also be fun to have a few gold coins in the cupboard :) There is always that attraction ;)
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There's no way to know if gold has peaked or not yet.

For simplicity let's call it £1K an ounce. You'd be butying at £1K an ounce hoping for an annual gain of as much as 25%, £250. But if the price crashed you'd stand to lose 75%, £750
 
for spoon:
goldprice.jpg
 
used to be gold and google but that boat has sailed

at the moment apple are doing well but again you missed that boat

its a topsy turvy world at the moment, good money to be made but lots to be lost
 
Will Gill said:
used to be gold and google but that boat has sailed

at the moment apple are doing well but again you missed that boat

its a topsy turvy world at the moment, good money to be made but lots to be lost
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Purely out of interest will, and a bit of a side track, but where would you be putting your money now?
 
I fancy boys said:
As already stated, buy at the bottom, now isnt a good time, as - given the state of the global economy - the price of gold isnt likely to rise much more.
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I don't know... the price of gold typically rises in a recession.. and given the current instability and as previously mentioned, the fact you're actually losing money putting it in savings accounts due to inflation at 3%, I think there's every chance that the gold prices will continue to rise as more people see this as an attractive way to protect their savings. I agree, we might have missed the initial boom but there's perhaps still the possibility to a) make some money here or at least b) protect your savings from a loss of 3% owing to inflation
 
Bunka said:
I don't agree with this.

The price of gold is set by a body known as the London Gold Fix. The price isn't entirely affected by the quantity of gold in circulation, but more the level of demand there is for gold, in essence it's purely a psychological thing. The general public are learning fast that savings accounts are useless given the level of inflation 3%+ compared to the interest rates offered on savings accounts and are looking for alternative forms of investment. Given that the housing market is also pretty much at a plateau/decline, there's no investment to made there either. So, from what I can see, there's still a large demand for gold and as a result, the price will rise.
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Demand for something isn't psychological!
 
gold2520price2520chart2.png

sorry hard to find good graphs...

Yeah, not looking to get rich or buy tonnes of the stuff. But wondered what advice was out there, helpful thread!
 
It's like any kind of trading/investment, don't matter if its gold, shares, forex, or baked beans.

It's not about what you are buying, its taking advantage of trends, with statistical analysis and some luck.
Choosing when to buy and when to sell.
 
kwerk said:
Buy high sell low. Isn't that what they say?
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Indeed!

The problem is that hindsight is the only thing we can use to see what is low and what is high.

Looking at the graph from the start... buying in 2009 would have been seen as buying high. But by now in 2011 it's seen as buying low.

Buying now is seen as buying high, but it's possible by 2014 the price could be £2K/oz so buying now would be buying low. (I don't think it will be though!)
 
Does anyone know of and iPhone apps that could track gold price?

I'd love something that sent me a notification as soon as the price dipped significantly and allow me to get online and bail out.
 
Bunka said:
Which results in you either making a lot, or losing a lot. Essentially can you afford to lose 10% (if you're quick to sell) on your input for the risk of the gains?
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DANGER : Bad advice!

You will not just lose 10%. You will lose about 30-50% if you try to get out quick.
 
kwerk said:
Buy high sell low. Isn't that what they say?
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True, but how do you know? If your stock starts falling, do you panic sell to minimise loss, or hold out incase it recovers... that's where trending and statistical analysis comes in.

Markets are also driven by hype, if people start selling in fear, or indeed buying with confidence, the effect snowballs and artificially raises or lowers the price.

It gets pretty technical but its basically gambling, with a slight edge provided by various analytical techniques.

Do a Google for forex candlestick charting for an idea, that's just one of many analytical tools.
 
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