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In mid-March, in the middle of a storm on customs duties, the Once d’Or has crossed the 3,000 dollars mark, unheard of for 50 years. Geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties confirm precious metal in its role of refuge value. And if the central banks invest massively, savers see courses the promise to secure their heritage against inflation, and the hope of beautiful capital gains.
Record broken. On March 14, the Gold Prize crossed the $ 3,000 mark on the ounce (28.3 grams), when Donald Trump threatened France and the European Union to unilaterally fix customs duties on champagnes, wines and alcohols.
Pandemic of COVID-19, galloping inflation, war in Ukraine, election of Donald Trump … while global geopolitics worries investors, the course of gold reaches historical levels, reflection of the uncertainties of the world. In five years, the ounce has taken more than $ 1,500, and gold is more than ever the refuge value par excellence in the eyes of many investors. In Europe, gold historically seduces households wishing to secure part of their savings in order to bequeath it to their children, and those who are wary of the traditional banking system. According to the specialized site or.fr, the French would hold between 3,000 and 5,000 tonnes of gold, mainly in the form of pieces that individuals are the aims of their homes.
With an annualized performance over 5 years to 10.8 % per year, gold displays yields much superior to conventional savings products.
Traditionally, the acquisition of gold requires a long-term strategy, because it is not accompanied by annual benefits, but from capital gains on resale. Gold is therefore not a short -term speculative asset and only resells an absolute necessity. Those who buy it aim above all the heritage protection and the transmission to their children, and very rarely resell their ingots, despite an ultra-favorable context. In recent years, the economic situation has shaken this image of Épinal. At the end of the COVVI-19 pandemic, in fact, many investors turned to gold, failing to find interesting yields on the side of financial products, weighed down by monetary recovery policies and by very low interest rates.
Secure capital gains made on crypto
With an annualized performance over five years to 10.8 % per year, gold has yields much higher than conventional savings products, although it is not the same type of investment. “My usual customers continue with a regular and programmed purchasing strategy, but have increased the amount of their monthly purchases to take advantage of the rise in prices”, notes Ignacio Sainz Iglesias, Deputy Managing Director of Veracash, a platform that offers an online account backed by precious physical metals like gold and money.
“Many persons plan to diversify their portfolio with gold. Savers are increasingly easily put gold in their portfolio to secure their heritage, a lesson often learned from the Covid crisis,” says Étienne Dargent, director of gold.fr. “In addition, we receive many new customers, including many thirties who do not see a barbaric relic [terme utilisé par Keynes pour désigner l’or, ndlr] But rather an effective heritage protection solution, “continues the specialist.” We have more and more young people who have made beautiful capital gains in cryptocurrencies and who are now seeking to secure their heritage, “confirms Laurent Schwartz, president of the National Comptoir de l’Or, a network of 57 agencies specializing in purchasing-reventing.
Investing in gold requires not to focus on the short term, but to look at the evolution of courses with hindsight, over two or three years at least, even if the stratospheric levels reached in 2024 and in 2025, coupled with the recent inflationary episode by Europe, pushed some savers to sell part of their stocks in 2024. ” Sainz Iglesias.
$ 3,300 OCE this year?
To adapt to this new demand, the supply is evolving. Completed the dusty image of the gold Louis hidden in woolen stockings, and unaffordable ingots. The gold sellers cut one kilo in investments of 50 grams or an ounce. Solutions like Veracash offer online accounts backed by physical precious metals such as gold and silver.
“It is better to spread your gold purchases over time, and segment them. I advise investors to buy ingotins rather than ingots, which will be easier to resell but also easier to transmit, details Laurent Schwartz. Also be attentive to the quality of the ingots, the best are the Swiss ingots.”
Some long -term forecasts are relying on a spectacular increase and continuous until 2030.
While lessons break all records, is it not too late to invest in gold? Until when will gold continue its dizzying ascent? Some long -term forecasts are focusing on a spectacular increase until 2030. Coin Price Forecast recently announced an ounce of ounce of $ 5,348 by the end of the decade. In the shorter term, Saxo Bank had planned an ounce of $ 3,300 this year, a phenomenon “supported by purchases of central banks”.
-These forecasts are based on certain substantive macroeconomic trends, which seem part to last. To protect yourself from the geopolitical risks linked to the Ukrainian conflict and to the Sino-American trade war, central banks invest massively in gold, largely contributing to getting upwards. The erosion of confidence in the dollar from many countries can only maintain gold purchases of central banks at high levels, and this distrust of the American economy was reinforced by the arrival of Donald Trump in power. Would gold be about to regain its historical role of reserve currency?
Loss of confidence in the dollar
Without going so far, more and more countries are losing confidence in the solvency of the dollar and seek to get rid of it, as the American debt is widening. Globally, central banks made massive gold purchases in 2022 (1,136 tonnes) and 2023 (1,037 tonnes). China, India and Russia derive this global request, largely contributing to the rise in prices. In China, domestic demand explodes. Shaken by an unprecedented real estate crisis, the Chinese population turns away from traditional active workers to take refuge in gold massively, now authorized as alternative placement by the authorities.
By taking height, the evolution of gold can only reassure savers. Since 2008 and the crisis of subprimes, the prices of the precious metal never ceases to panic, fueled by a succession of economic depressions and geopolitical shocks. For the moment, the trend does not seem to have to be reversed.
But for a primary investor, rushing towards gold without established strategy is not necessarily a good idea. “This is not a booklet A. It remains a risky product. We saw it in 2013 when gold lowered by 30 %, remembers Thomas Perret, CEO of my little placement. Despite everything, we believe that invest in gold will still remain relevant about fifteen years, up to 10 % of its heritage.”
Benoît Collet
Étienne Dargent, director of gold.fr
Interview carried out in collaboration with or.fr
Why invest in gold Today?
Since Richard Nixon put an end to the Organ Stone System in the 1970s, governments began to run the quirks and dig their debts, to the unbearable levels that can be observed today. The more the currencies devalue, the more the gold broke records. About twenty years ago, it took 300 dollars to buy a brand costume and the course of the golden ounce was $ 300. Today, the same costume is worth 3,000 dollars, and the Once d’Or is worth $ 3,000. This precious metal is a formidable value conservation tool, when inflation and the crisis of sovereign debts undermine the value of currencies. Everyone should have gold to protect their purchasing power.
What advice would you give to a primary investor?
It is essential to properly select your investment products. You should know that the more the size of a ingot is important, the less its premium (the difference between the price of the metal which constitutes a part and the sale price of it) will be high. This is why the 1 kg strip, worth around 90,000 euros today, is particularly popular with investors. However, if an investor wishes to recover part of his investment to obtain liquidity, he will be forced to sell all of his large lingot, which is not ideal. It is therefore preferable to split your investment with smaller products (5 g, 10 g, 1 ounce, 50 g, 100 g, etc.), allowing them to resell them on a case -by -case basis, according to financial needs.
What storage offer offers or.fr?
We offer a secure storage solution in chests outside the banking system, in customs area, in Zurich, Toronto, Singapore and New York. Our customers open a clean name storage account, thanks to which they benefit from direct access to their trunk, to check or remove their stock. The products are provided according to their value during international gold. Note also that we ensure the liquidity of the investment by buying the precious metals kept in the chests, and this within 48 hours. As an alternative to storage, for those who wish to keep their metals at home, we also offer a delivery service.
For savers attracted by the attractive courses of gold but put off by the technical constraints of this placement – including those linked to its storage – it is possible to turn to financial products that replicate gold courses, without having to physically hold it. These financial products can take the form of etc (Exchange Traded Commodity), kinds of bonds to the bearer whose value is linked to the performance of gold prices.
These products are systematically backed by physical gold: for each gold unit purchased by an investor, there is a quantity of physical gold stored as a guarantee. In this first category, the amundi Physical Gold etc is backed by physical gold allocated, held by the HSBC bank, where each bar is segregated and individually identified. This fund has one of the best performance in the sector with + 86.68 % over five years.
Besides this first category of financial products, it is also possible to invest in ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) specialized in gold. These products offer savers to invest in companies in the gold sector, including mining companies. With the rise in courses, these simple and accessible products to the average saver attract more and more people, and beat records in recent months. In February 2025, the L&G Gold Mining Ucits ETF, worth 239 million euros, was the most efficient ETF of the start of the year, with a yield of 20.18 %. In the past 12 months, he has achieved a performance of 65.08 %, yields that can be dreamed of.
Source : World Gold Council
