SALT LAKE CITY — Got gold? Glenn Beck tells you to buy it. Alleged Russian spy rings have more than a passing interest in the global market for it. So how are Utahns reacting to increasing visibility for the glittering metal?
Interest, and buying, is definitely up over the last two or three years as the economy has soured, says Gaylen Rust, president of Rust Rare Coin in Salt Lake City. "With the information that's out there people are much more familiar with the precious metals markets."
While gold has been in a long-term run-up, it's been on a major hot streak over the past year, increasing more than $300 per ounce. It currently is selling at just under $1,250 an ounce.
And, Rust says, $2,000 for an ounce of gold certainly looks like a very realistic price sometime in the future, especially with world currency issues swirling. But he also cautions buyers that a correction downward in price before the next ascension is definitely possible.
Rust said when gold makes a $100 per ounce jump in price over a relatively short time, people tend to think they either need to buy more or liquidate some of what they have. "Whenever the market takes a swing one way or another, we have people taking profits or buying on dips."
An admitted gold bug, Rust thinks people should strive to keep 5 percent to 10 percent of their portfolios in gold as insurance. "When times are tight, precious metals usually run to the forefront."
Celebrities like Beck promoting gold on the radio don't hurt, either. "It's been healthy for business," says Rust employee Levi Stone.
The one-ounce U.S. Gold Eagle, known for its ease to buy and sell, is the coin dealer's most popular way for people to invest in physical gold, followed by the South African Krugerrand and Canadian Maple Leaf, according to Stone.
Rust Coin sells investment gold coins based on spot-market prices worldwide, which constantly fluctuate. Rust was recently selling American Gold Eagles for $1,298 and buying them for $1,261, although the price of gold has dipped since then.
Rust said his company also enjoys a burgeoning business for buying scrap gold and unwanted gold jewelry. The price being paid for quantities of 14 karat scrap gold currently is running $18.05 per gram for quantities over 20 grams. Quantities less than 20 grams fetch $16.77 per gram.
For those who find gold out of their price range, there's the metal's less heeled cousin, silver, which also has seen solid increases in price while mimicking gold's movement.
e-mail: chuck@desnews.com