The most direct way to invest in gold is to buy gold and as SchiffGold advises the smart way to buy gold is to buy gold coins or billions. Sometimes investors bullish on the long-term prospects of gold take a look at the stocks of gold mining companies. Stocks of course lack some of the most attractive features of gold such as physical portability, and its finite amount (stocks always be diluted). Plus, mining companies can go bankrupt and are at greater risk from new regulations.
Gold prices have been on a tear, with bullion prices ripping upward since the outbreak of war in the Middle East late last year. While mining stocks have gone up as well, physical gold has been leaving them in the dust:
Silver demand set a record in every category in 2022 and is expected to continue growing. Meanwhile, silver production flatlined. Record global silver demand and a lack of supply upside contributed to a 237.7 million ounce market deficit in 2022.
The trends indicate that this deficit will expand in the next several years as demand continues to surge as supply begins to shrink, and there are some concerning trends indicating supply may contract rapidly in the coming years.
Who produces the world’s gold?
Gold mine production was up modestly in 2022, but it remains below the prepandemic peak.
Gold mine production was up modestly in 2022 as mining operations normalized post-pandemic. But mine output still hasn’t returned to the peak we saw in 2018, boosting speculation that we have possibly reached “peak gold.”
How much gold is there in the world?
The simple answer — not much!
Scarcity is one of the characteristics that give gold value.
Who produces the world’s gold?
Gold production fell again in 2020. According to the World Gold Council, gold production came in at 3,478 tons last year. That compares with mine output of 3,597 tons in 2019.
It’s been a crazy, volatile week for precious metals. The Reddit Raiders pushed silver to over $29 an ounce and the white metal took gold up with it. But the run was short-lived and we saw a big sell-off in both metals later in the week. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey tries to cut through all the smoke and mirrors and talks about the underlying fundamentals in both the gold and silver markets.
Total gold supply fell 4% year-on-year in 2020 to 4,644 tons. It was the largest annual decline since 2013, according to data from the World Gold Council.
The decline was primarily driven by disruptions in mine production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gold mine output fell 4% on the year. More significantly, it marked the second straight yearly drop in mine production and continued a trend of flatlining gold mine output.
World gold production dropped by 5.4% in 2020 according to preliminary estimates released by GlobalData last week.
Global data projects gold production came in at 108 million ounces last year. The sharp decline was largely due to mine closures during the coronavirus pandemic. But it also fits into a broader trend of declining mine output we’ve seen over the last several years.
