The super-rich are looking to protect their wealth through buying record numbers of “Italian job” style gold bars, according to bullion experts.
The
number of 12.5kg gold bars being bought by wealthy customers has
increased 243pc so far this year, when compared to the same period last
year, said Rob Halliday-Stein founder of BullionByPost.
“These
gold bars are usually stored in the vaults of central banks and are the
same ones you see in the film ‘The Italian Job’,” added David Cousins,
bullion executive from London based ATS Bullion.
The bars which are made from pure gold and are worth more than £300,000 each at today’s prices of $1,223 (£760) an ounce.
Mr
Cousins added that he has seen more confidence from gold buyers this
year as prices remain stable after sharp falls in the price of gold last
year.
The
sales of 1kg gold bars, worth about £25,000 each, has doubled during
the three months ended August, when compared to the same period last
year, according to ATS Bullion sales figures.
Sales of the more
popular gold coins such as the quarter ounce sovereign and one ounce
Krugerrand have also doubled this year, according to figures from
BullionByPost.
Mr Halliday-Stein said that while most customers
arrange for secure storage of the larger bars in secret vaults operated
by Brinks, some customers have taken physical delivery of the 12.5kg
bars. The small coins can also be sent in the post.
.
As the independence vote takes place, Scottish investment in physical gold has surged by 42pc in the past fortnight – on top of the traditional rise in gold demand at this time of the year.
The figure, which comes from Bullionvault.com,
the world’s biggest online platform for private investors who want to
trade physical gold and silver, suggests that anxious Scotland-based
investors are turning to gold as a means of insuring against the
uncertainties posed by a Yes vote in Thursday’s referendum.
Bullionvault
analysed customer data over the year, stripping out those of 50,000
customers who lived in the UK and then dividing this group further into
postcodes north and south of the border.
It then averaged the
proportion of transactions typically undertaken by Scotland-based
traders out of the whole of the UK over the past year. That figure was
then compared to the proportion of Scottish transactions undertaken in
the first half of September.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/commodities/11104055/Super-rich-rush-to-buy-Italian-Job-style-gold-bars.html
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