Throughout history, the ownership of physical gold has determined various outcomes. It has been a highly effective method of currency for a wide range of countries and civilizations. It has also been the cause of many conflicts. Gold is a precious metal with a rich history and takes a firm place in human history. 

In modern society, you can trade it in several ways. Despite the fact more commodity trading takes place online, much like stocks and forex as well as cryptocurrency, there’s still a multi-billion dollar market for palpable gold investment. It can take the shape of a gold bar, a wedding ring, a necklace or a collectible coin.

Buying gold bars 101

While many other avenues into the gold trading market exist, such as ETFs, investing in stock, and purchasing it as a tradeable currency pair on forex markets, buying gold bars is one of the few ways to own the product physically. If you’re in the market to purchase a gold bar, you should be aware that the trader needs to be licensed. That means that the physical product you invest in has been underwritten and insured by the correct financial bodies.

Finding out how to buy gold bars online is a relatively easy task. However, performing the due diligence to ensure that the company you use is an essential task you must undertake.

Even if you find a reputable company that can facilitate this commodity investment, you must be aware that any investment has substantial risks. If you lay all the groundwork for a successful trade, including ample market research and meticulous chart analysis, you could still lose all of your capital.

Most retailers are flexible and will allow you to choose your weight and quantity. You don’t necessarily need to use an online trader, but they tend to have lower costs and are more popular. However, you must ensure you’re using a reputable trader and that you’re aware of the risks that come with any investment. Your capital is at risk, and you could lose your investment due to the volatility of the market.

Where to buy gold bars

Although purchasing a gold bar on the internet is one of many methods available, it tends to be the cheapest option. Some investors will prefer to have the personable touch of a merchant who operates locally. There are a few beneficial factors, such as having a point of contact to ask questions directly and build rapport.

You will usually face a higher charge to purchase from a local dealer due to the amount of gold available online. However, you may need more research to ensure the online gold merchant is reliable. Regardless of how you obtain your gold bar, it could still lose value, and your capital is at risk. 

Although gold is seen as a reliable hedge against economic uncertainty, if a market regains stability and becomes less volatile, you could be left with a depreciating physical asset. In addition, you could be paying storage costs for an asset that isn’t rising in line with inflation. This is just one of the many variables you need to consider.

How much does it cost to buy one gold bar?

The price of one gold bar at today’s current market price 10/12/22 at 07:50 is $1,808.85 - this is subject to fluctuations. You can check the gold price and trade the commodity on the amana app. As we have touched on already, although not always the case, gold prices tend to rise during times of higher-than-predicted inflation or economic uncertainty. It tends to dip when the market recovers or the overall outlook looks more positive in the long run. 

Is it worth buying a gold bar?

Our world is moving further toward mass digital adoption in today’s climate. This isn’t just the case for trading and finance either. You only need to look at the role the internet plays in our lives to see that the internet is the focal point of most modern economies and how we live our lives. 

While it has made buying gold bars a lot easier and opened up reputable retailers to a global market, it has also created new ways to trade the commodity. Being able to trade gold on foreign exchange markets or via other methods, such as futures trading, are familiar ways to buy and sell gold for many traders. However, the explosion of the online trading industry has fuelled the development of world-class mobile trading apps, such as amana. 

When online trading first developed, many brokers would offer one type of asset or market where you could trade. Since the market has become more flexible due to the inception of mobile trading, you can now trade a multitude of assets on one mobile trading app like amana. This includes a host of choices:

• Forex
• Cryptocurrency
• Commodities (such as gold)
• Stocks 

Due to the versatile nature of online trading, you can now trade gold via ETFs, stocks, and personal, physical ownership. Whether it is worth buying a gold bar depends on your circumstances and preference. We aren’t in a position to make that decision for you, but we have provided some positives and negatives of physical ownership.

In addition, it can depend on how much gold you want to purchase. Due to the overhead costs involved, such as storage and insurance, you may spend more before you have even begun seeing marginal returns on your investment. It’s probably best to keep your gold bar safe and not under your bed or on your fridge.

Last thoughts

Purchasing gold bars in today’s market can be a tricky course to navigate. Some analysts believe that the overhead costs and the tangible ownership mean that it’s a rather dated method of investing. However, some of the biggest ETF funds hold tonnes of physical gold to underwrite their funds. 

The market for gold bars won’t dissipate anytime soon, and in times of economic turmoil, money still flows into gold as an effective hedge against inflation and market turbulence.