This story was originally published here.
Fears of a global recession stemming from the coronavirus panic, coupled with a dip in commodity prices, sparked an overwhelming flight to gold and safe-haven assets.
Investors looking to buy physical gold right now will find themselves in a market of unusually low inventories and extraordinarily high prices.
Today, we'll briefly look at the gold bullion market, and I'll show you the most affordable ways to own physical gold bullion right now.
Flight to Safety
The market sell-off beginning in February spilled into gold and precious metals, quickly pushing the metal down to six-month lows of under $1,500 an ounce. As a result, the demand for physical bullion became so high, many retail dealers actually sold out of their most popular products.
Major bullion dealers began a series of “pre-sale” options and noted shipping delays ranging between three to 15 days. Many also implemented temporary purchase minimums of $300. Bullion dealer Provident Metals wrote to its customers:
Our website is sold out of almost all bullion products across all metals. We have secured several million ounces of silver and tens of thousands of ounces of gold to arrive in the coming weeks. We are being conservative about preselling these future deliveries, given the current uncertainty in the supply chain. As products arrive to our vault, we will relist them on our website.
As I write to you now, many bullion dealers have, in fact, restocked some of their bullion products. However, prices for gold bullion are extraordinarily high.
Expensive Gold
The spot price for gold closed yesterday at just over $1,610 an ounce. But if you went to buy one, you'd most likely pay over $1,800. Depending on how you pay and your purchase size, you could even pay closer to $1,900.
Now, a premium for precious metal bullion is standard. Regardless of world events, you're always going to pay a premium for any kind of bullion.
But due to disruptions in dealer supply chains right now, premiums for gold bullion are outrageous.
In a normal environment, investors can expect to pay a premium of between 5% and 9% for a one-ounce American Gold Eagle.
Right now, comparing prices across multiple dealers, you should expect to pay a premium of between 11% and 19% for the same coin.
Unfortunately, there's no great way of avoiding higher gold premiums. The premium for all gold bullion products has increased dramatically — and that's if they are even available at all. As mentioned, many popular products, including the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, are still difficult to find available from bullion dealers.
But if you were looking to buy gold as close to spot price as possible right now, you've come to the right place.
Click here to continue reading. But keep reading for a key tip in this bear market…
Reliable Income in Uncertain Times
You’re probably hearing the talking heads say that the market is down so much because cash is king. But what does that really mean?
It means that some investors are taking huge losses just to have cash on hand. That’s creating opportunity, if you know where to look.
The thing is, life will return to normal. It might be weeks, it might be months. And the moves you make right now, — today — could set you up for a lifetime of steady income.
The year after the financial crisis, nearly 750,000 new millionaires emerged. This virus crisis will do the same. Here’s what you need to know.
