“By the New Year, the price of one gram of gold could reach 7 thousand rubles”
Against the backdrop of the unstable exchange rate of the ruble, Russians are increasingly asking the question: where to invest their funds so that they are not eaten up by inflation ? Suddenly I was reminded of gold — the standard of all standards. According to AFP, it updated its historical maximum on world markets, reaching $2,100 per troy ounce. The previous record was set three years ago. Apparently, it is no coincidence that those Russians who have ruble surpluses actively buy gold bars and coins. But how justified are such investments?
Last year, Russians purchased 75 tons of investment gold bars – 15 times more than in previous years. The excitement was primarily due to the fact that in March 2022 the government abolished the 20% VAT on the purchase of precious metals. And from June of the same year, buyers, when making a transaction, are exempt from paying income tax — 13%.
The peak demand for investment gold occurred in March-August 2022, when demand among Russians immediately increased by 350%. The cost of 1 gram then reached 7.5 thousand rubles.
In terms of gold reserves, Russia is in fifth place in the world, having 2.36 thousand tons. Its wealthy fellow citizens also follow the example of the state — making purchases of investment gold in bars or coins. And at the same time believing that it is a fairly reliable means of preserving savings. High demand for gold in Russia is also observed this year, although it is more restrained than in the previous year.
What explains the current sharp rise in precious metal prices? Not least geopolitical factors — in particular, Israel's war with the Palestinian Hamas movement.
How this factor affects the price, we asked Alexey Vyazovsky, vice president of the Zolotaya Plata company.
“The conflict began as a regional conflict, but today it is turning into a full-scale conflict, capturing the main trade routes,” he answered. — This could greatly disrupt global oil and gas traffic. And this is already a very dangerous story. It causes concern among global investors, and they are beginning to shift to gold.
In addition, the head of the Federal Reserve System of the American Central Bank made it clear about a possible reduction in the key rate at the beginning of next year. This measure always works as a plus for gold — proven by practice! Even if the rate does not rise, but stays at the current level, gold prices will creep up.
— Judge for yourself: gold prices in dollars are rising, and the ruble exchange rate is falling. After the mandatory sale of foreign currency earnings, it strengthened for some time, but after the introduction of secondary sanctions on Russian oil exports, it began to weaken again. And oil prices have dropped. The ruble may experience local problems, which will lead to an increase in the price of gold on our market. We have now passed 6 thousand rubles for one gram. I do not rule out that by the New Year we will reach the 7,000 mark.
— As for the dollar, this, it seems to me, is not an option. Sanctions may develop further. Who knows, maybe they will “freeze” the dollar at some exchange rate in rubles, and then we won’t have to talk about profitability.
I’m not an expert on the yuan, but it is known that the bank rate on the Chinese currency is low and the profitability not high.
And there are a lot of instruments for gold — bars, coins, futures, gold bonds… I would recommend the metal so that it is in the hands of the buyer.
< p>— There is a problem here, banks are reluctant to buy them, this is a low-liquid instrument. In addition, the bars are numbered, it is easy to identify the owner, and the database can become public. In my opinion, it is better to purchase coins that are anonymous. Gold is the same as bullion, but coins are easy to sell. In particular, there are small 3-gram coins — the simplest investment solution.
— It can be considered as an option. The rate on it is growing, next year it could reach 19-20% per annum. Despite all the problems of our national currency, this is a good return. Here, of course, it is up to the citizens to choose.