Gold News

Investing for 2013: Why Western Investors are Buying Gold

Self-directed gold investors share their outlook for 2013, and give their reasons for Buying Gold...

WE RECENTLY surveyed a small sample of BullionVault users and asked them why they're buying gold and what they think 2013 might bring.

Among those who added to their holdings last month the principle reason given for buying gold was as part of their long-term savings strategy. Another major reason given was central bank policy.

"Central banks will carry out more quantitative easing to relieve pressure and try to stave off a serious economic setback," one BullionVault user said, "while the economy will slowly stagnate. Expect mediocrity and stagnation (Japan-style), not disaster."

"We are still not over the worse," added another. 

"And the global wallpapering over what are incredibly large economic cracks is extremely worrying."

Although gold prices have retreated from their mid-November highs, the latter part of last month saw the amount of bullion held to back gold exchange-traded funds rise to record levels. The US Mint meantime reported its best month for sales of gold American Eagle investment coins since July 2010.

Western gold investors clearly see good reasons to add to their positions. The Gold Investor Index tracks the buying and selling activity on BullionVault, the vast majority of whose users are in the United States, United Kingdom or Eurozone. 

The Gold Investor Index rose to a six-month high in November, the fourth straight monthly increase. In total, BullionVault users added 559 kilos of gold to their bullion holdings, the second month in a row they've added half a tonne.

The developments cited above suggest Western investors have on aggregate grown more bullish towards gold  in recent weeks –  or perhaps more concerned about what the coming year holds in store.

"Politicians, having wrecked the market mechanisms with ever larger interference and greater levels of debt, now have little choice but to devalue paper money, and probably allow national defaults on sovereign debt," one user replying to our survey said.

"Even a doubling of personal tax on the so-called wealthy will not fix a fundamentally flawed out of control 'entitlement' state let alone pay down the incredibly irresponsible build-up of national debt in the Western world."

"I think 2013 will be a bad year in all markets," another survey respondent added, "but can offer some buying opportunities in gold for the long term."

Another added that they view gold as a "long run strategy for buffering inflation", while a third called gold "monetary collapse insurance".

Those of us who work in gold investment are sometimes accused of being doom and gloom mongers, often with some justification. With this in mind, we'll finish on a positive note with our final quote from our survey:

"I always look forward with hope, because private investors now have options."

Buy gold at a maximum dealing commission of 0.5% on BullionVault...

Editor of Gold News and presenter of BullionVault 's weekly gold market summary on YouTube from 2011 to 2013, Ben Traynor was formerly editor of the Fleet Street Letter, the UK's longest-running investment letter. A Cambridge economics graduate, he is a professional writer and editor with a specialist interest in monetary economics.

See full archive of Ben Traynor articles.

Please Note: All articles published here are to inform your thinking, not lead it. Only you can decide the best place for your money, and any decision you make will put your money at risk. Information or data included here may have already been overtaken by events – and must be verified elsewhere – should you choose to act on it. Please review our Terms & Conditions for accessing Gold News.

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