Russian roulette
In the last week of March, it is worth summing up the whole Q1 2010.
The first three months of this year have been marked by rises in equity markets, the cheapest European currency since December 2008, and the highest gold prices in history quoted in British Pounds and in Euro. It remains to be seen in the next quarter how the current situation in Russia will translate into gold prices.
Such countries as Greece, the US, and also Portugal in the last weeks, had the highest influence on the price of the gold bullion. Due to the terrorist attacks in Russia, the gold price may soar in the coming days. In Q1 2010, the biggest earnings, 8,5%, were made by investors who bought bullion in British Pounds. In Euroland the gold price went up 6,4%. The situation in the US dollars looks different. In January, the average price of an ounce of the gold bullion was USD 1,119.58 and USD 1,090.75 in March, which was a direct consequence of the appreciation of the American currency. Summing up, the changes in quotations of the main currencies in Q1 2010 it can be seen that those who invested in the Euro lost -5,6%; the EUR/USD rate went down by the same percentage. The US dollar gained 0,9% in value.
The investors buying gold in the Mint of Poland in the first week of January and selling it at the end of March could earn about 0.5% on that transaction. When investing in gold in Poland two factors that influence the price of the bullion in PLN need to be remembered: the quotations of the London Bullion Market Association and the US dollar, which has the same influence on the gold price in Poland as the London Exchange. At this moment, due to moderate quotations at the LBMA and a relatively low dollar price which will probably remain at that level until mid-April, it is worth buying gold as a capital investment.
