Users of the world’s largest online gold and silver market, BullionVault, now collectively own more than one million ounces of gold, over 10 times the weight of bullion featured in the iconic film The Italian Job.
Despite the gold price easing from record highs in 2011, growth in BullionVault’s user holdings remains strong, with ongoing economic uncertainty, continued Quantitative Easing and low interest rates leading savers to invest in the precious metal as a store of wealth.
At Wednesday afternoon’s London gold price the one million troy ounces owned by BullionVault’s users worldwide was worth GBP1.068bn. That could buy 6,631 UK houses or pay for 2.5 London Olympic Stadiums. But it would fund only 92 hours of new UK government debt and is equivalent to just four days of the Bank of England’s Quantitative Easing programme.
The one million ounces of gold consist of 2,565 large bars, all conforming to the strict standards set by professional trade body the London Bullion Market Association for purity, size, shape and markings. If cast into a single cube, the 31.1 metric tonnes of gold owned by BullionVault users would measure 1.17 metres along each edge.
BullionVault economist Ben Traynor says: "Record low interest rates mean most people’s savings aren’t keeping up with inflation. As a result, more than 20,000 people in Britain have now formed their own ‘self preservation society’ by buying gold on BullionVault.
"By defending the value of their savings since the financial crisis hit, BullionVault users have also put themselves in a position to invest in growing businesses and support recovery once this crisis finally works itself out."
Fifty per cent of BullionVault users live in the UK. The typical user owns around GBP10,000-worth of gold bullion. Buying and selling starts from one gram at a time, costing GBP34.33 at Wednesday’s 3pm London Gold Fix price.
