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Investing in 1-ounce gold bars this July? Here’s how to buy them.
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Both new and seasoned investors have been closely monitoring gold since the start of the year, and for good reason. For starters, the precious metal has long been prized for its unique benefits as an investment asset, including its potential to diversify portfolios and act as a hedge against inflation, both of which are crucial in today’s economic environment.
However, the surge in interest that has occurred since the start of 2024 can largely be attributed to gold’s impressive price performance. Early this year, gold prices began climbing, and over the last several months, gold prices have hit a handful of new record highs — even surpassing $2,400 per ounce in late May. Prices have retreated somewhat since then, but they’re still higher than where they started 2024.
And, when it comes to investing in gold, there’s no shortage of options to choose from. From gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and gold mining stocks to gold coins and jewelry, investors have a wide array of assets to buy into. However, 1-ounce gold bars stand out as one of the most accessible forms of gold bullion. For those new to gold investing or gold bullion, though, the process of buying 1-ounce gold bars can seem tricky — but it doesn’t have to be.
Start comparing your top gold investing options online now.
How to buy 1-ounce gold bars this July
If you’re planning to invest in 1-ounce gold bars this July, here’s how to buy them:
Research current market conditions
Before making any investment, it’s crucial to understand the current state of the gold market. Gold prices may have stabilized somewhat from their May peak, but they still tend to fluctuate over the short term. So, if you want to buy in at a good price, be sure to keep an eye on the factors that could influence gold prices, such as inflation rates, geopolitical tensions and central bank policies.
Learn more about how the right gold investment could help protect your portfolio here.
Set a budget
You should also determine how much you’re willing to invest in gold. Remember that while 1-ounce bars are more affordable than larger denominations, they still represent a significant investment — especially now that the spot price of gold is $2,373.86 per ounce (as of July 10, 2024).
But you likely won’t be paying just the spot price when you purchase 1-ounce gold bars. You can expect to pay a premium of about 3% to 5% over the price of gold, so be sure to factor that in, too.
Choose a reputable dealer
Before making a purchase, do your homework and look for established, well-reviewed gold dealers. There are lots of online gold dealers to consider, but you can also purchase from local coin shops if you prefer face-to-face transactions. No matter what route you choose, though, it’s important to ensure the dealer is reputable and accredited.
Verify authenticity and purity
It’s important to verify the authenticity and purity of any 1-ounce gold bars you may purchase. So, look for those stamped with .9999 fine gold, which indicates 99.99% purity. Reputable manufacturers also produce bars with unique serial numbers and anti-counterfeiting features, and some dealers now offer bars with enhanced security features, such as holographic seals or microprinting.
Compare prices and premiums
Demand for gold bars is elevated right now, so it’s important to shop around to find the best deals. After all, while the base price of gold is universal, dealers charge different premiums. And, those premiums tend to be slightly higher when demand ticks up, so it’s worth comparing multiple sources if you’re buying in now.
Consider storage options
Before purchasing, you should also decide how you’ll store your gold bars. Home safes remain a popular choice for small quantities, but many investors will opt for allocated storage in secure vaults instead due to rising concerns about home security. Some online dealers offer integrated storage solutions, which can be convenient if you’re purchasing your gold bars online, but those solutions also come with ongoing fees.
Time your purchase
While timing the market perfectly is impossible, you can strategize your purchase. For example, it may benefit you to watch the price of gold closely and buy during the dips, as gold prices have been somewhat volatile recently. Using strategies like dollar-cost averaging — which is buying fixed amounts at regular intervals — can also help mitigate short-term price fluctuations.
Consider authentication services
For added peace of mind, you may want to consider using a third-party authentication service to verify the authenticity of any 1-ounce gold bars you’re planning to purchase. After all, counterfeit bars can be an issue — and that’s especially true right now, with gold prices as high as they are. Some companies also offer other services, like encapsulation services, which can be particularly valuable if you plan to resell your gold in the future.
The bottom line
Investing in 1-ounce gold bars can be an exciting way to diversify your portfolio and potentially hedge against economic uncertainties. And, by following these steps and staying informed about current market conditions, you can navigate the process of buying gold bars with confidence. Just remember that gold investing, as with all investments, comes with risks, so weigh those before buying in.
A judge in France on Thursday found the former husband of Gisèle Pelicot, who admitted to drugging and raping her repeatedly over the course of almost a decade and inviting dozens of other men to assault her as well, guilty of aggravated rape. Over the course of her trial, Pelicot — who insisted her full name be published and proceedings be made public — has been praised for her courage and become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France and around the world. The judge on Thursday was reading out verdicts for dozens of other men also accused of raping her.
Pelicot arrived Thursday at the court in Avignon, southeast France, where crowds had gathered outside holding signs saying: “Thank you for your courage.”
The trial began on Sept. 2, and almost every day, Pelicot came face to face with her former husband, Dominique, or one of the 49 other men charged with raping her. One other man faced a charge of aggravated sexual assault. She insisted that videos submitted as evidence, made by her ex-husband showing men sexually assaulting her while she appeared to be unconscious, be shown in open court.
The assaults took place between 2011 and 2020, when Dominique Pelicot was taken into custody. Police found thousands of photos and videos of the abuse on his computer drives, which helped lead them to other suspects. Some of the men testified they thought the unconscious woman was OK with it, or that her husband’s permission was enough.
“Gisèle Pelicot thinks that this shock wave is necessary, so that no one can say after this: ‘I didn’t know this was rape,'” her attorney, Stéphane Babonneau, told The Associated Press.
“It’s not for us to feel shame — it’s for them,” Pelicot said in court, referring to the attackers. “Above all, I’m expressing my will and determination to change this society.”
Controversial French laws
Pelicot’s case triggered protests across France, and there was hope among some demonstrators that the case could lead to changes in controversial French laws governing sexual consent.
France introduced a legal age of sexual consent in 2021 after a public outcry over the rape of an 11-year-old schoolgirl by a man who was initially convicted on a lesser charge. Since then, sex with anyone under the age of 15 has been viewed as non-consensual, but French law does not refer to consent in cases involving older victims.
Under French law, rape is defined as penetration or oral sex using “violence, coercion, threat or surprise,” without taking consent into account, according to the Reuters news agency. Prosecutors must, therefore, prove an intention to rape if they are to be successful in court, legal experts told Reuters.
Just 14% of rape accusations in France lead to formal investigations, according to a study by the Institute of Public Policies.
“Why don’t we manage to obtain convictions? The first reason is the law,” legal expert Catherine Le Magueresse told Reuters. “The law is written in such a way that victims must comply with the stereotype of a ‘good victim’ and a ‘true rape’: an unknown attacker, use of violence, and the victim’s resistance. But it is only true for a minority of rapes.”
“I’m trying to understand”
Speaking in court during the trial, Pelicot, who is 72, talked about how she had thought she was in a loving marriage with her husband and would never have guessed that he was drugging her.
“We would have a glass of white wine together. I never found anything strange about my potatoes,” Pelicot told the court.
“We finished eating. Often when it’s a football match on TV, I’d let him watch it alone. He brought my ice cream to my bed, where I was. My favorite flavor — raspberry — and I thought: ‘How lucky I am. He’s a love.'”
She said she didn’t have any sensation of being drugged.
“I never felt my heart flutter. I didn’t feel anything. I must have gone under very quickly. I would wake up with my pajamas on,” Pelicot told the court, adding that she would sometimes wake up “more tired than usual, but I walk a lot and thought it was that.”
“I’m trying to understand,” she said, “how this husband, who was the perfect man, could have got to this.”
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.
