Gold Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === History === Historically gold [[Mint (coin)|coinage]] was widely used as currency; when [[paper money]] was introduced, it typically was a [[receipt]] redeemable for gold coin or [[bullion]]. In a [[monetary]] system known as the [[gold standard]], a certain [[weight]] of gold was given the name of a unit of currency. For a long period, the United States government set the value of the US dollar so that one [[troy ounce]] was equal to $20.67 ($0.665 per gram), but in 1934 the dollar was devalued to $35.00 per troy ounce ($0.889/g). By 1961, it was becoming hard to maintain this price, and [[London Gold Pool|a pool of US and European banks]] agreed to manipulate the market to prevent further [[devaluation|currency devaluation]] against increased gold demand.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Elwell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztHyT2ew3QUC&pg=PA11 |pages=11β13 |title=Brief History of the Gold Standard (GS) in the United States |isbn=978-1-4379-8889-5 |first1=Craig K. |date=2011| publisher=DIANE }}</ref> The largest gold depository in the world is that of the [[Federal Reserve System|U.S. Federal Reserve Bank]] in [[New York City|New York]], which holds about 3%<ref name='ISAMPE 2006-11-22'>{{cite web |first2=Christian |last2=Perwass |url=http://sinai.apphy.u-fukui.ac.jp/gcj/publications/gold/gold.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127152357/http://sinai.apphy.u-fukui.ac.jp/gcj/publications/gold/gold.pdf |archive-date=27 January 2012 |title=The hidden beauty of gold |access-date=10 May 2011 |last1=Hitzer |first1=Eckhard |date=22 November 2006 |website=Proceedings of the International Symposium on Advanced Mechanical and Power Engineering 2007 (ISAMPE 2007) between Pukyong National University (Korea), University of Fukui (Japan) and University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (China), 22β25 November 2006, hosted by the University of Fukui (Japan), pp. 157β167. (Figs 15,16,17,23 revised.)}}</ref> of the gold known to exist and accounted for today, as does the similarly laden [[United States Bullion Depository|U.S. Bullion Depository]] at [[Fort Knox]]. In 2005 the [[World Gold Council]] estimated total global gold supply to be 3,859 tonnes and demand to be 3,754 tonnes, giving a surplus of 105 tonnes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gold.org/value/stats/statistics/gold_demand/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060719111349/http://www.gold.org/value/stats/statistics/gold_demand/index.html |archive-date=19 July 2006 |title=World Gold Council > value > research & statistics > statistics > supply and demand statistics |access-date=22 July 2006}}</ref> After 15 August 1971 [[Nixon shock]], the price began to greatly increase,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=kitco |url=http://www.kitco.com/charts/historicalgold.html |title=historical charts:gold β 1833β1999 yearly averages |access-date=30 June 2012}}</ref> and between 1968 and 2000 the price of gold ranged widely, from a high of $850 per troy ounce ($27.33/g) on 21 January 1980, to a low of $252.90 per troy ounce ($8.13/g) on 21 June 1999 (London Gold Fixing).<ref>[http://kitco.com/LFgif/au75-pres.gif Kitco.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714081628/http://www.kitco.com/LFgif/au75-pres.gif |date=14 July 2018 }}, Gold β London PM Fix 1975 β present (GIF), Retrieved 22 July 2006.</ref> Prices increased rapidly from 2001, but the 1980 high was not exceeded until 3 January 2008, when a new maximum of $865.35 per [[troy weight|troy ounce]] was set.<ref name="LBMA statistics">{{cite web |url=http://www.lbma.org.uk/2008dailygold.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210035134/http://lbma.org.uk/2008dailygold.htm |archive-date=10 February 2009 |title=LBMA statistics |publisher=Lbma.org.uk |date=31 December 2008 |access-date=5 April 2009}}</ref> Another record price was set on 17 March 2008, at $1023.50 per troy ounce ($32.91/g).<ref name="LBMA statistics" /> On 2 December 2009, gold reached a new high closing at $1,217.23.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8390779.stm |title=Gold hits yet another record high |work=BBC News |date=2 December 2009 |access-date=6 December 2009}}</ref> Gold further rallied hitting new highs in May 2010 after the European Union debt crisis prompted further purchase of gold as a safe asset.<ref>{{Cite news |title=PRECIOUS METALS: Comex Gold Hits All-Time High |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=11 May 2012 |url=https://www.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100511-717954.html |access-date=4 August 2010}} {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-prices-resume-rise-as-eu-plan-pondered-2010-05-11 |title=Gold futures hit closing record as investors fret rescue deal |last1=Gibson |first1=Kate |last2=Chang |first2=Sue |date=11 May 2010 |website=[[MarketWatch]] |access-date=4 August 2010}}</ref> On 1 March 2011, gold hit a new all-time high of $1432.57, based on [[Gold as an investment|investor]] concerns regarding ongoing [[Arab Spring|unrest]] in [[North Africa]] as well as in the [[Middle East]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/markets-global-idUSN0115419520110301 |title=Gold hits record, oil jumps with Libya unrest |work=Reuters |date=1 March 2011 |access-date=1 March 2011 |first=Caroline |last=Valetkevitch |archive-date=15 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015231151/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/markets-global-idUSN0115419520110301 |url-status=live }}</ref> From April 2001 to August 2011, spot gold prices more than quintupled in value against the US dollar, hitting a new all-time high of $1,913.50 on 23 August 2011,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-25/cash-gold-may-advance-after-dropping-most-in-18-months-as-shares-rebound.html |title=Gold Extends Biggest Decline in 18 Months After CME Raises Futures Margins |publisher=Bloomberg |date=23 August 2011 |access-date=24 February 2021 |first=Glenys |last=Sim |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110002029/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-25/cash-gold-may-advance-after-dropping-most-in-18-months-as-shares-rebound.html |archive-date=10 January 2014}}</ref> prompting speculation that the long [[secular bear market]] had ended and a [[bull market]] had returned.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ameinfo.com/75511.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421094351/http://www.ameinfo.com/75511.html |archive-date=21 April 2009 |title=Financial Planning{{!}}Gold starts 2006 well, but this is not a 25-year high! |publisher=Ameinfo.com|access-date=5 April 2009}}</ref> However, the price then began a slow decline towards $1200 per troy ounce in late 2014 and 2015. In August 2020, the gold price picked up to US$2060 per ounce after a total growth of 59% from August 2018 to October 2020, a period during which it outplaced the Nasdaq total return of 54%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.efgbank.com/it/coronavirus/14-October-2020.html|date=14 October 2020 |title=Gold, monetary policy and the US dollar|first=GianLuigi |last=Mandruzzato|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106083115/https://www.efgbank.com/it/coronavirus/14-October-2020.html|archive-date=6 November 2020 }}</ref> Gold futures are traded on the COMEX exchange.<ref name="PortaraCQG">{{Cite web |title=Historical Gold Intraday Futures Data (GCA) |url=https://portaracqg.com/historical-futures-data/gold-intraday-data-gca/ |access-date=28 April 2022 |website=PortaraCQG |language=en-US}}</ref> These contacts are priced in USD per troy ounce (1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 grams).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Troy Ounce |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/troyounce.asp |access-date=28 April 2022 |website=Investopedia |language=en}}</ref> Below are the [[CQG]] contract specifications outlining the futures contracts: {| class="wikitable" |+Contract Specifications<ref name="PortaraCQG" /> !Gold (GCA) ! |- |Exchange: |COMEX |- |Sector: |Metal |- |Tick Size: |0.1 |- |Tick Value: |10 USD |- |BPV: |100 |- |Denomination: |USD |- |Decimal Place: |1 |} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page