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Are gold bars and coins still worth investing in as the price rises?
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The price of gold continues to rise, hitting yet another record this week at $2,439.98 per ounce.
It’s been difficult to keep track of all of the price records the precious metal has surpassed already this year after starting at just $2,063.73 per ounce on January 1. While a rising price will benefit those who have already invested, no matter the type, prospective investors may be wondering about the advantages of getting started now. This particularly applies to those considering a physical gold investment like bars and coins. A rising cost could feel prohibitive but, upon closer inspection, it may still be worth investing in now. Below, we’ll break down why.
Explore your top gold investing options online here.
Are gold bars and coins still worth investing in as the price rises?
Here are four reasons why gold bars and coins can still be worth investing in even as the price rises.
The price may rise even further
Sure, today’s gold price may seem exorbitant, but there’s a high likelihood that it will rise even further, and could hit as much as $3,000 per ounce. So, it makes sense to invest now before the price becomes out of reach.
By getting started with gold bars and coins now, you may be able to turn a quick profit by selling later this year. Or you can get in early and hold it to make even more money with your investment in the future. Just don’t wait or you could get priced out of the market altogether.
Learn more about investing in gold bars and coins here now.
The protection it offers is still valuable
Despite the price volatility as of late, gold is still an effective investment thanks to the hedge it can provide against inflation (by maintaining or rising in value) and the diversification it can offer your portfolio (by buffering other, less steady asset performance). And both of those benefits are still valuable right now, even with gold’s price high. And they’re unlikely to change anytime soon. It makes sense, then, to add both to your portfolio sooner than later.
They’re easy to sell
Some investments may not be easy to buy, sell and buy more of. But gold bars and coins don’t have those same restrictions, particularly at today’s elevated price. With the price rising, there’s an obvious demand for the scarce, precious metal. So if you ultimately decide that gold bars and coins aren’t the right investment for you, you should have little trouble selling them, likely at a substantial profit if the upward price trajectory continues unabated.
They’re easy to find
With some investments, you may need to do extra research or even add a financial advisor to the mix to better guide you. But gold bars and coins won’t require that much involvement as they’re easy to find and buy right now. Whether you want to use a top gold investing company online or just head down to Costco or Walmart, right now gold bars and coins are seemingly everywhere. But with the price as hot as it is now, they may not be available for long (Costco quickly sold out last year). Prospective investors, then, may want to be proactive.
The bottom line
A rising gold price can be intimidating, especially for physical gold investments. But it doesn’t need to be. There are still compelling reasons to choose this type of gold investment now. Considering that the price could rise even higher, the protection is still valuable and that gold bars and coins are both easy to sell and easy to find, many may want to invest in this form of gold today. Just be sure to weigh the benefits against your larger financial goals and avoid the temptation to overinvest as many experts recommend limiting your gold portion to 10% or less of your overall portfolio.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters says workers at seven Amazon facilities will begin a strike Thursday morning in an effort by the union to pressure the e-commerce giant for a labor agreement during a key shopping period.
The Teamsters say the workers, who authorized walkouts in the past few days, are joining the picket line after Amazon ignored a Dec. 15 deadline the union set for contract negotiations. Amazon says it doesn’t expect any impact on its operations during what the union calls the largest strike against the company in U.S. history.
The Teamsters say they represent nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, a small portion of the 1.5 million people Amazon employs in its warehouses and corporate offices.
Amazon is ranked No. 2 on the Fortune 500 list of the nation’s largest companies.
At a warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island, thousands of workers who voted for the Amazon Labor Union in 2022 and have since affiliated with the Teamsters. At the other facilities, employees – including many delivery drivers – have unionized with them by demonstrating majority support but without holding government-administered elections.
The strikes happening Thursday are taking place at an Amazon warehouse in San Francisco and six delivery stations in southern California, New York City, Atlanta and the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Illinois, according to the union’s announcement. Amazon workers at the other facilities are “prepared to join” them, the union said.
“Amazon is pushing its workers closer to the picket line by failing to show them the respect they have earned,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it,” he said.
The Seattle-based online retailer has been seeking to re-do the election that led to the union victory at the warehouse on Staten Island, which the Teamsters now represent. In the process, the company has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board.
Meanwhile, Amazon says the delivery drivers, which the Teamsters have organized for more than a year, aren’t its employees. Under its business model, the drivers work for third-party businesses, called Delivery Service Partners, who drop off millions of packages to customers everyday.
“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers’. They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement. “The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union.“
The Teamsters have argued Amazon essentially controls everything the drivers do and should be classified as an employer.
Some U.S. labor regulators have sided with the union in filings made before the NLRB. In September, Amazon boosted pay for the drivers amid the growing pressure.
NEW YORK — The Teamsters union is launching a strike against Amazon at numerous locations across the country, including in Maspeth, Queens.
The Teamsters are calling it the largest strike against Amazon in United States history, and it’s set to begin at 6 a.m. Thursday. In addition to New York City, workers will be joining picket lines in Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco and Illinois.
In a video announcement released Wednesday night, workers voiced their frustrations.
“Us being strike ready means we’re fed up, and Amazon is clearly ignoring us and we want to be heard,” one worker says in the video.
“It’s really exciting. We’re taking steps for ourselves to win better conditions, better benefits, better wages,” another worker in the video says.
The union says it represents about 10,000 Amazon employees and that Amazon ignored a deadline to come to the table and negotiate. The $2 trillion company doesn’t pay employees enough to make ends meet, the union asserts.
At the height of the holiday season, many are wondering what this means for packages currently in transit.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said, “If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed.”
Amazon says Teamsters are misleading the public
An Amazon spokesperson says the Teamsters are misleading the public and do not represent any Amazon employees, despite any claims.
“The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
An Amazon representative says the company doesn’t expect operations to be impacted.
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