Worried Investors Want Gold On Hand
一些投资者是如此担心经济会发生崩溃，以致于不但买进黄金还进行实物交割，而不是以期货合约或其他证券的方式持有黄金。 全球经济衰退和对金融系统稳定性的恐慌情绪已将金价推升至每盎司1,000美元。但更令人惊讶的是，买家们反常的不惜高昂代价要自己保管黄金。美国贵金属交易所(American Precious Metals Exchange)的总裁兼首席执行长斯科特•托马斯(Scott Thomas)说，“我们正处于业务最为强劲的一段时期。业务量最少也要比去年同期翻一倍，而去年本来就非常忙。”这家公司是俄克拉荷马州的一家黄金交易商。 Associated Press美国铸币局今年前两个月出售的“美国之鹰”金币数量增长了1倍有余鲍勃•科尔曼(Bob Coleman)在爱达荷州南帕经营着一家贵金属基金公司。自去年秋季以来他为客户进行了多次黄金和白银的交割。这家名为Dollars and Sense Growth Fund的基金主要为富人进行贵金属投资。科尔曼说：“这更多的是个信心问题。在目睹市场的诸多乱像后，投资者宁愿自己保管黄金。” 投资者还在大量买进金币。美国铸币局(U.S. Mint)今年前两个月售出了14.75万盎司“美国之鹰”(American Eagle)金币，较上年同期猛增176%。纽约商品期货交易所(Comex)的黄金需求也在增长，越来越多的投资者在合约到期后选择进行实物交割而不是套现。纽约商品期货交易所是纽约商品交易所(NYMEX)的金属品种子交易所。实物交割指令增加使得Comex的主要承运商Brink's Inc.业务繁忙。该公司称，过去几个月从交易所运出黄金和白银的客户数量大增。 芝加哥商品期货经济公司Lind-Waldock的业务经理托尼•科兰西克(Tony Klancic)称，自去年9月以来就不断有个人投资者想买实物黄金。科兰西克称，这些人是“那种把钱藏在床垫下的真正乡下人，以及到期货市场一心只想进行交割的有钱人”。交易所的数据显示，去年12月到期的黄金合约中有4.5%进行了交割，相比之下上年同期只有3.4%。投资者也在进行白银的实物交割，到期合约的交割比例由4.7%升至7.3%。12月通常是交割旺季，不过今年1月份的交割量仍比去年同期高。进行黄金和白银交割的买家中包括珠宝制造商和其他贵金属用户。但考虑到珠宝首饰销量下滑和其他行业用户减产的情况，似乎是投资者在推升贵金属的交割量。黄金交割比例在上世纪八十年代初最高曾到过8%以上，当时正值墨西哥无力偿还外债全球经济陷入衰退之际。此后交割量逐渐减少，交割比例在近年来回落到2%的水平。上周，金价自去年3月以来首次突破1,000美元关口。周二，二月黄金合约收于每盎司969.10美元。今年以来金价的累计涨幅已达9.7%。黄金的实物交割不但成本高而且手续复杂。投资者通常在交易所通过期货合约买进黄金，每张合约代表100盎司。也就是说，按照周二的收盘价，投资者必须为每张合约支付96,910美元才能进行实物交割。相比之下，投资者只要投入3,999美元的准备金就可以交易一张黄金期货合约。纽约贵金属研究机构CPM Group的董事总经理杰夫•克里斯蒂安(Jeff Christian)称，这是一种代价昂贵的选择。此外，购买一大堆金属所需要的后勤保障可能会吓倒中小投资者。决定进行黄金实物交割的投资者将面临高昂的储存和保险成本。而且如果买家真的想要自己保管黄金或其他贵金属，就必须安排装甲卡车进行运送。科尔曼最近交割了一批总重10万盎司的白银，从纽约到爱达荷州的运费花了3,000美元。Carolyn Cui / Allen Sykora相关阅读避险功能令黄金脱颍而出 2009-02-24我们信赖黄金 2009-02-23今年可持有黄金 2009-01-27
Some investors are so worried about the prospect of economic collapse that they are buying gold and having it delivered to them, rather than holding the precious metal in the form of futures contracts or other securities. The global recession and worries about the stability of the financial system have sent the price of gold to $1,000 an ounce. But more surprising is that buyers are taking the unusual and expensive step of taking possession of it. 'We're having some of our strongest months ever,' said Scott Thomas, president and chief executive of American Precious Metals Exchange, a precious-metals dealer in Edmond, Okla. 'The bottom line is our numbers are probably double what they were last year, and last year was very busy.' Bob Coleman, who runs a bullion fund out of Nampa, Idaho, has taken multiple deliveries of gold and silver since last fall for his clients. The fund, Dollars and Sense Growth Fund, primarily invests in precious metals for high-net-worth individuals. 'It's more of a trust issue,' says Mr. Coleman. 'Given all the turmoil in the market, people prefer to have access to the metal.' Investors are also flocking to gold coins. At the U.S. Mint, a total of 147,500 ounces of American Eagle gold bullion coins were sold in the first two months this year, a surge of 176% from the same period last year. Demand is rising at the Comex, the metals division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, where investors increasingly are choosing to take physical delivery of gold, rather than cash, once their futures contacts expire. Rising delivery orders have kept Brink's Inc., a major carrier for the Comex, busy. The Richmond, Va., company said it saw a large spike in clients shipping gold and silver from the exchange over the past few months. Tony Klancic, an account executive at Lind-Waldock, a Chicago commodities brokerage, says he has been taking calls since September from individual investors wanting to buy physical gold. These are 'real people in rural America with money under the mattress, and wealthy individuals coming to the futures market strictly intending to take delivery,' Mr. Klancic said. In December, 4.5% of gold contracts ended in delivery, compared with 3.4% a year earlier, according to the exchange. Investors also are taking delivery of silver, with contracts ending in delivery rising to 7.3% from 4.7%. December is typically a big month for deliveries, and in January, deliveries remained higher than the year before. Jewelers and other users of metals are among the buyers who take possession of gold and silver. But with sales of jewelry down and other industrial users cutting back, it appears that investors are causing the increase. Gold deliveries peaked at more than 8% in the early 1980s, when Mexico defaulted on its foreign debt and the world economy was in recession. Deliveries dropped and have gradually fallen back to the range of 2% in recent years. Gold pierced the $1,000 level last Friday, the first time since March 2008. On Tuesday, the February contract closed at $969.10 per troy ounce. So far this year, the precious metal is up 9.7%. Taking physical delivery of gold can be costly and complicated. Investors typically buy gold on exchanges using futures contracts. Since each contract represents 100 ounces of gold, an investor would have to pay $96,910 per contract, based on Tuesday's close, in order to take delivery. By contrast, investors need to put down only $3,999 up front to trade such a futures contract. 'It is an expensive proposition,' says Jeff Christian, managing director at CPM Group, a New York precious-metal research firm. Also, the logistics of buying a big lump of metal might be daunting for smaller players. Investors who decide to take delivery of gold contracts face high storage and insurance costs. And if buyers actually want the gold or other precious metals in their possession, they must arrange for delivery by armored truck. In a recent delivery of 100,000 ounces of silver, Mr. Coleman paid $3,000 to transport the metal from New York to Idaho. Carolyn Cui / Allen Sykora
Some investors are so worried about the prospect of economic collapse that they are buying gold and having it delivered to them, rather than holding the precious metal in the form of futures contracts or other securities. The global recession and worries about the stability of the financial system have sent the price of gold to $1,000 an ounce. But more surprising is that buyers are taking the unusual and expensive step of taking possession of it. 'We're having some of our strongest months ever,' said Scott Thomas, president and chief executive of American Precious Metals Exchange, a precious-metals dealer in Edmond, Okla. 'The bottom line is our numbers are probably double what they were last year, and last year was very busy.' Bob Coleman, who runs a bullion fund out of Nampa, Idaho, has taken multiple deliveries of gold and silver since last fall for his clients. The fund, Dollars and Sense Growth Fund, primarily invests in precious metals for high-net-worth individuals. 'It's more of a trust issue,' says Mr. Coleman. 'Given all the turmoil in the market, people prefer to have access to the metal.' Investors are also flocking to gold coins. At the U.S. Mint, a total of 147,500 ounces of American Eagle gold bullion coins were sold in the first two months this year, a surge of 176% from the same period last year. Demand is rising at the Comex, the metals division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, where investors increasingly are choosing to take physical delivery of gold, rather than cash, once their futures contacts expire. Rising delivery orders have kept Brink's Inc., a major carrier for the Comex, busy. The Richmond, Va., company said it saw a large spike in clients shipping gold and silver from the exchange over the past few months. Tony Klancic, an account executive at Lind-Waldock, a Chicago commodities brokerage, says he has been taking calls since September from individual investors wanting to buy physical gold. These are 'real people in rural America with money under the mattress, and wealthy individuals coming to the futures market strictly intending to take delivery,' Mr. Klancic said. In December, 4.5% of gold contracts ended in delivery, compared with 3.4% a year earlier, according to the exchange. Investors also are taking delivery of silver, with contracts ending in delivery rising to 7.3% from 4.7%. December is typically a big month for deliveries, and in January, deliveries remained higher than the year before. Jewelers and other users of metals are among the buyers who take possession of gold and silver. But with sales of jewelry down and other industrial users cutting back, it appears that investors are causing the increase. Gold deliveries peaked at more than 8% in the early 1980s, when Mexico defaulted on its foreign debt and the world economy was in recession. Deliveries dropped and have gradually fallen back to the range of 2% in recent years. Gold pierced the $1,000 level last Friday, the first time since March 2008. On Tuesday, the February contract closed at $969.10 per troy ounce. So far this year, the precious metal is up 9.7%. Taking physical delivery of gold can be costly and complicated. Investors typically buy gold on exchanges using futures contracts. Since each contract represents 100 ounces of gold, an investor would have to pay $96,910 per contract, based on Tuesday's close, in order to take delivery. By contrast, investors need to put down only $3,999 up front to trade such a futures contract. 'It is an expensive proposition,' says Jeff Christian, managing director at CPM Group, a New York precious-metal research firm. Also, the logistics of buying a big lump of metal might be daunting for smaller players. Investors who decide to take delivery of gold contracts face high storage and insurance costs. And if buyers actually want the gold or other precious metals in their possession, they must arrange for delivery by armored truck. In a recent delivery of 100,000 ounces of silver, Mr. Coleman paid $3,000 to transport the metal from New York to Idaho. Carolyn Cui / Allen Sykora