Gold has been used throughout history as money and has been a relative standard for currency equivalents specific to economic regions or countries, until recent times. Many European countries implemented gold standards in the latter part of the 19th century until these were temporarily suspended in the financial crises involving World War I.[3] After World War II, the Bretton Woods system pegged the United States dollar to gold at a rate of US$35 per troy ounce. The system existed until the 1971 Nixon Shock, when the US unilaterally suspended the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold and made the transition to a fiat currency system. The last major currency to be divorced from gold was the Swiss Franc in 2000.[4] Since 1919 the most common benchmark for the price of gold has been the London gold fixing, a twice-daily telephone meeting of representatives from five bullion-trading firms of the London bullion market. Furthermore, gold is traded continuously throughout the world based on the intra-day spot price, derived from over-the-counter gold-trading markets around the world (code XAU). The following table sets out the gold price versus various assets and key statistics at five-year intervals.[5]

Influencing factors Like most commodities, the price of gold is driven by supply and demand, including speculative demand. However, unlike most other commodities, saving and disposal play larger roles in affecting its price than its consumption. Most of the gold ever mined still exists in accessible form, such as bullion and mass-produced jewelry, with little value over its fine weight — so it is nearly as liquid as bullion, and can come back onto the gold market.[12][13] At the end of 2006, it was estimated that all the gold ever mined totalled 158,000 tonnes (156,000 long tons; 174,000 short tons).[14] The investor Warren Buffett has said that the total amount of gold in the world that is above ground could fit into a cube with sides of just 20 metres (66 ft)[15] (which is roughly consistent with 158,000 tonnes based on a specific gravity of 19.3). However, estimates for the amount of gold that exists today vary significantly and some have suggested the cube could be a lot smaller or larger.[by whom?] Given the huge quantity of gold stored above ground compared to the annual production, the price of gold is mainly affected by changes in sentiment, which affects market supply and demand equally, rather than on changes in annual production.[16] According to the World Gold Council, annual mine production of gold over the last few years has been close to 2,500 tonnes.[17] About 2,000 tonnes goes into jewelry or industrial/dental production, and around 500 tonnes goes to retail investors and exchange-traded gold funds.[17] Central banks Central banks and the International Monetary Fund play an important role in the gold price. At the end of 2004, central banks and official organizations held 19% of all above-ground gold as official gold reserves.[18] The ten-year Washington Agreement on Gold (WAG), which dates from September 1999, limited gold sales by its members (Europe, United States, Japan, Australia, the Bank for International Settlements and the International Monetary Fund) to less than 500 tonnes a year.[19] In 2009, this agreement was extended for a further five years, but with a smaller annual sales limit of 400 tonnes.[20] European central banks, such as the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank, have been key sellers of gold over this period.[21] Although central banks do not generally announce gold purchases in advance, some, such as Russia, have expressed interest in growing their gold reserves again as of late 2005.[22] In early 2006, China, which only holds 1.3% of its reserves in gold,[23] announced that it was looking for ways to improve the returns on its official reserves. Some bulls hope that this signals that China might reposition more of its holdings into gold, in line with other central banks. Chinese investors began pursuing investment in gold as an alternative to investment in the Euro after the beginning of the Eurozone crisis in 2011. China has since become the world’s top gold consumer as of 2013.[24] It is generally accepted that the price of gold is closely related to interest rates. As interest rates rise, the general tendency is for the gold price, which earns no interest, to fall, and vice versa. As a result, the gold price can be closely correlated to central banks[clarification needed] via their monetary policy decisions on interest rates. For example, if market signals indicate the possibility of prolonged inflation, central banks may decide to raise interest rates, which could reduce the price of gold. But this does not always happen: after the European Central Bank raised its interest rate slightly on April 7, 2011, for the first time since 2008,[25] the price of gold drove higher, and hit a new high one day later.[26] Similarly, in August 2011 when interest rates in India were at their highest in two years, the gold prices peaked as well.[27] The price of gold can be influenced by a number of macroeconomic variables.[28] Such variables include the price of oil, the use of quantitative easing, currency exchange rate movements and returns on equity markets.[28]

A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are either 90% gold or 22 karat (11/12 gold), but some have lower or higher content such as the 24 karat Canadian Maple Leaf bullion series. Gold in coins is typically alloyed with silver, copper or both. Traditionally (up to about the 1930s), gold coins have been circulation coins, including coin-like bracteates and dinars. Since recent decades, however, gold coins are mainly produced as bullion coins to investors and as commemorative coins to collectors. While modern gold coins are also legal tender, they are not observed in everyday financial transactions, as the metal value normally exceeds the nominal value. For example, the American Gold Eagle, given a denomination of 50 USD, has a metal value of more than 1,000 USD. The gold reserves of central banks are dominated by gold bars, but gold coins may occasionally contribute. Gold has been used as money for many reasons. It is fungible, with a low spread between the prices to buy and sell. Gold is also easily transportable, as it has a high value to weight ratio, compared to other commodities, such as silver. Gold can be re-coined, divided into smaller units, or re-melted into larger units such as gold bars, without destroying its metal value. The density of gold is higher than most other metals, making it difficult to pass counterfeits. Additionally, gold is extremely unreactive, hence it does not tarnish or corrode over time.


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