Comex gold live chart

Despite London’s leading role in the physical market, the COMEXderivatives exchange has become an increasingly important. Tradingactivity on COMEX isprimarilyconcentrated on the ‘active month’contract which acts as a proxy for the spot price. Only a small numberof contracts physically settle into the delivery of bars into COMEXvaults but the market is nonetheless tightly linked to physical marketsthrough a very active Exchange for Physical (EFP) market. Notably, a steadily increasing share of COMEX volume is transacted during Asianmarket hours reflecting the exchange’s success of tapping into Asian market growth.

Gold Facts

Gold is extremely valued because of itsbeauty, strength, density and infrequency. It is genuine by air, heat,moisture and most solvents. Gold is a significant industrial commodityas it can conduct both heat and electricity. Gold is normally used injewelry, electronics, and reflective glass. Gold is mined on every landexcept for Antarctica. Nearly all gold that has been mined throughouthistory is still existence in the world today because of itsindestructibility. The UnitesStates is a top producer of gold, behindChina and Australia respectively.From 1792-1971, the United States had abimetallic standard, meaning that allpapercurrency was backed up withits face value in gold. This ensured that a physical asset of valueexisted in conjunction with American currency. The rate of gold continues to remain a bull market in the current climate, with recordhigh prices in the past few years.

Advantages of investing in Gold Futures

Some of the major advantages of Gold Futures are mentioned below.

Hedge against inflation: Goldrepresents a viable way to hedge against weakness in the largest globaleconomy – the United States. US economic weakness is likely to spill over into other economies, and central banks typically react by loweringinterest rates and increasing the money supply. When these remedies
fail to spur demand, they can lead to significant inflation and loss of purchasing power. Unlike fiat currencies, gold maintains its purchasing power in periods of inflation.

Speculate on Rising Gold Prices:
Investors optimistic about the economic prospects of developing nations such as China and India may see gold investing as a way to profit from this view. Gold has played an important role historically in these countries, and more wealth will likely translate into more demand for
gold.

• It excludes the need for immediate
  storage, as a buyer will not have to worry about finding secure storage
  facilities to store the gold.
• Participating in this trade involves
  lower amounts, as a buyer can pay a certain amount at the time of making
  a deal and the remaining on signing the agreement.
• There is considerable liquidity on offer.
• There is a provision to short sell.