What Are the Best Times to Buy and Sell Gold?

05 Jun
best times to buy and sell gold

What Are the Best Times to Buy and Sell Gold?

We’ve all heard the conventional wisdom on investing: buy low, sell high. Easier said than done, right? Often, it’s hard to tell how low an asset can go, and investors see their hard-earned money disappear almost immediately. When it comes to gold and precious metals, the strategy (and philosophy) can be different. Here are some general guidelines on the best times to buy and sell gold. 

The Best Times to Buy Gold

Though gold isn’t about the quick buck, there are strategies for buying gold that can increase your wealth. Along with ratio trading and COMEX transactions, the timing of your gold investment can help secure your financial future. From long-term strategies to hourly highs and lows, timing is very important. 

Buy gold before a market crash or recession

“We have gold because we cannot trust governments.” -Herbert Hoover

Though the market can be unpredictable, buying gold before a financial catastrophe is one of the best times to buy gold. Historically, the worse the economic downturn, the higher the price of gold. How do you know when a market crash is coming though? That’s the tricky part.

Plenty of the financial elite dismiss the signs of upcoming financial collapse as paranoia. Others regard the signs of imminent collapse as cause for immediate action. The yield curve, explosive national debt, and international economic insecurity are flashing indicators of an impending recession as soon as 2020, with some saying it could be even sooner. 

If you’ve seen more than a few recessions in your day, you know that it’s not if, but when. It’s cyclic. Proactively moving your resources from stocks to precious metals as soon as possible is the only way to ensure you’re investing in gold before it’s too late.

Buy gold in the early months of the year

If you plan to buy low and sell high, the annual lowest price of gold generally occurs around the second week of January. From there, the price often makes a steady  rise through to the end of the year, with a summer dip in price between April and June. Of course, there are broad macroeconomic trends with plenty of complex variables affecting price fluctuations that investors should also focus on. But understanding historic trends is useful in planning a purchase.

Buy gold as a long-term investment

It’s important to remember that gold’s value actually remains the same, while the US dollar depreciates constantly. A century ago, a pound of gold could buy a Ford Model T. Today it could buy a decent mid-sized car or truck. In the words of Lysander Spooner, a19th century American philosopher, “There is no such thing as an inflation of prices, relative to gold. There is such a thing as a depreciated paper currency.” 

The Best Times to Sell Gold

Though holding onto gold for the long haul is the best way to hedge against inflation and secure a future during turbulent times, selling gold can be advantageous in the right situation. 

Sell gold when the gold-silver ratio is high

Gold’s conversion to silver fluctuates with the market, just like it does with US dollars and other commodities. Gold and silver each are subject individually to supply and demand, even though many (not all) of the same market factors drive them. The gold to silver ratio has been as high as 90:1, where ninety ounces of silver was worth one ounce of gold, and as low as 10:1.

To maximize profit with the gold-silver ratio, you should sell gold and buy silver when the ratio is high. Take, for example, the gold-silver ratio in 1991, when silver hit record lows, and the ratio peaked at 100:1. The gold ounce could be traded for one hundred ounces of silver. When the price of silver inevitably rose, the value of 100 ounces of silver far exceeded the initial value of gold. Investors who take advantage of the interplay between gold and silver can experience tremendous profits.

Sell gold when the price is abnormally high

Though gold isn’t a bubble, it experiences some unusual supply and demand behavior, as a response to the market. In late 2011 in reaction to the deepening recession, the price of gold shot to nearly $2000 before settling down to prices comparable to today’s market. Selling gold at those ultra high dollar values can afford you more gold further down the road. The challenge is knowing when to hold on for dear life, and when to cash in your chips, so to speak.

Get an Expert Opinion

When it comes to buying and selling gold, there are plenty of grifters and novices out there. For sound financial planning and strategies that actually make money, contact Republic Monetary Exchange today.