Gold demand in the technology sector grew for the seventh consecutive quarter according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends Q2 2018 report.
Demand for gold in tech grew 2% overall to 83.3 tons last quarter.
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A new tech development using gold could help doctors diagnose and manage health issues in real-time.
Scientists at Australian National University developed the tiny, wearable optical sensors. The device is 50 times thinner than a human hair. Researchers told Printed Electronics World that the sensors combine very small gold nanostructures with semiconductors. Scientists say the sensors’ unique properties enable it to detect gas molecules at very low concentrations.
It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie – tiny robots zipping around through your veins zapping dangerous microbes. Except this isn’t some fictional scenario out of a Star Trek movie. It’s real-life technology thanks to gold.
Scientists have developed gold “robots” coated with a membrane that neutralizes dangerous pathogens such as MRSA.
This is just the latest in a growing list of technological applications for the yellow metal.
According to the World Gold Council, overall global demand for gold was soft in the first quarter of this year. But demand in the technology sector was particularly strong, marking its sixth consecutive quarterly gain.
Overall, demand for gold in technology and industry increased 4% to 82 tons year-on-year.
Industrial silver demand rose, US silver jewelry sales were solid, and mine supply fell in 2017.
The Silver Institute highlighted silver supply and demand trends from its World Silver Survey 2018 along with some new technological innovations utilizing the white metal in its latest edition of Silver News.
In recent years, gold has been increasingly valued for its use in various technological applications. In a report late last year, the World Gold Council reported the demand for gold in the technology sector has been growing since 2016 and that growth is continuing to accelerate due to new innovations.
Some of the most amazing developments utilizing the yellow metal have been in the field of medicine. For instance, researchers at the University of Queensland have developed a blood test using gold nanoparticles that could help oncologists in their treatment of cancer patients. According to the university, the test will provide doctors with an early and more accurate prognosis of how cancer treatment is progressing and help guide ongoing therapy.
Last week, Peter Schiff was a guest with Nicholas Merten of DataDash. In comparing and contrasting Bitcoin and gold, Peter brought up the fact that gold has intrinsic value outside of its use as money. People want to own gold because of its unique qualities.
The reason gold became money in the first place is because everybody wanted gold because of what gold is, because of the tangible, physical properties of that rare element – all of the things that you can do with the metal. It is a luxury good that people have desired for time immemorial.”
And in recent years, gold has been increasingly valued for its use in various technological applications. In a report late last year, the World Gold Council reported the demand for gold in the technology sector has been growing since 2016 and that growth is continuing to accelerate due to new innovations.
Silver had a tough year in 2017, with flat demand and shrinking supply. Even with these headwinds, the white metal still gained more than 6% on the year. With demand growing in key industrial sectors and supply tightening, it appears silver is poised for a strong year in 2018.
In its most recent issue of Silver News, the Silver Institute outlines the 2017 silver market data compiled in the GFMS/Thomson Reuters’s Interim Silver Market Review and highlights a number of technological innovations involving silver.
We think of platinum and palladium as the “industrial metals,” but in 2016, there was more gold used in industrial applications than either of these two metals.
According to a report released by the World Gold Council, demand for gold in electronics has been growing since the fourth quarter of 2016. On top of that, other emerging technologies in the health and energy sectors are also driving up the industrial demand for gold. All of this could have a positive impact on overall gold demand in the future.
