The slowdown of the economy, both globally and nationally, is a fact. The latest figures relating to the growth of the GDP and the increase in unemployment after the summer are worrying indicators. And internationally, the situation is also uncertain, with the trade war and the cooling of key economies such as China or, closer to us, Germany.
In situations like this, investment gold is one of the safest alternatives to deal with the crisis, as could already be seen with the economic depression that occurred since 2008.
The international and national economic situation can be described as worrisome. At the beginning of last September we knew the unemployment data for the month of August, in which almost 213,000 jobs were lost , the worst August since 2008 when the crisis began.
As if that were not enough, Funcas has released its forecasts for GDP and has lowered its growth to 2.2% in 2019 . And from the National Institute of Statistics they have been quick to warn that it is most likely that it will have to be revised downwards again and it will be between 2 and 2.1% .
The international situation does not seem favorable either, with enormous instability generated by the trade war between China and the United States , cuts in interest rates by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, and a slowdown in the German economy that is can be felt in the rest of the European Union.
In recent days, moreover, the events in Saudi Arabia, with the bombing of important oil facilities, have aggravated the situation, causing the biggest rise in oil in 30 years , since the creation of the Brent index (1987) and the biggest cut in supply in history, equivalent to almost half of the Arab oil capacity.
Gold as a store of value
In a worrying economic environment both nationally and internationally, it is essential to know the qualities of investment gold as a means of protecting wealth and avoiding the loss of purchasing power.
Precisely, the nature of gold as a refuge is highlighted at times of international economic crisis. According to data from the World Gold Council , in the last 10 years the metal has increased in value by more than 75% , going from the 987.8 dollars an ounce registered in January 2009 (in the midst of the crisis) to more than 1,300 dollars that he reached last January 2019.
This is one of the main qualities of investment gold, which makes it especially suitable as an asset to invest in situations like the current one: its ability to maintain purchasing power over time .
Comparison with other assets
When looking for investment alternatives for moments of special difficulty in the economic field, gold is presented as one of the best assets to trust. The data supports it: since 1971, the average annual revaluation of the metal in dollars has been 10.45% , in line with other similar assets with which it is usually compared.
In the last 20 years , for example, the comparison is even more favorable for the precious metal, whose revaluation (+8.77%) has been higher than US stocks, US Treasury bonds, raw materials and the dollar.
Only emerging market stocks have outperformed in terms of appreciation over the past two decades.
This low correlation with the investment assets with which it usually competes makes gold the ideal element with which to diversify risks in an investment portfolio, taking advantage of its ability to maintain value (derived from a very limited supply) and its enormous liquidity.
In fact, the experience of the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 shows that other assets that were also considered as safe havens or diversification elements (commodities, the real estate sector or hedge funds) imitated the fall of the capital markets, leaving gold as the only asset that appreciated in those delicate moments.
Experts place between 2 and 10% the ideal percentage of gold that an investment portfolio should contain so that it is properly diversified and protected against risk.
