As hard commodities go, gold is arguably the constant, always in demand and long recognised for its tendency to appreciate when other financial devices like stocks and bonds decline. It is, quite simply, robust both in its physical properties and its economic nature.
According to the World Gold Council (WGC), this has been the case for centuries; since the 14th century gold’s purchasing power has maintained a broadly constant level.
It is a source of demand not only for aesthetic applications like jewellery, but also for investment, central bank reserves and the technology sector – affirming both its strength and independence.
An independent research report from PwC and commissioned by the WGC highlighted the consistently positive contribution that supply and demand for gold has on global economic growth. In 2012 for example, at least $210bn of value was created by the gold industry and added to global GDP, the report found. For the developing nations this is particularly significant, with the report estimating that gold mining made an economic contribution of over $78bn to the economies of the top 15 mining countries in 2012.
... to continue reading you must be subscribed
