Gold Market Primers

Gold is an attractive means of helping investors diversify their portfolios. Its relative scarcity supports its long-term investment appeal. But its market size is large enough to make it relevant for a wide variety of investors, from individuals to institutions and central banks.

Gold plays a prominent role in reserve asset management, being one of the few assets that is universally permitted by the investment guidelines of the world’s central banks. This is in part due to the gold market being deep and liquid – a key requirement of reserve asset managers.

This primer serves as an introduction to China’s gold market. It provides an overview of China’s jewellery and investment markets, key drivers of demand and the gold mining industry.

Price discovery is crucial for any market, and the gold market is no exception. Our gold prices primer gives a comprehensive overview of the LBMA Gold price – an important global benchmark – and looks at the mechanisms determining the local gold price in China and India, the two largest consumer gold markets.

Formal, large-scale gold mining is complex and geographically diverse. Our gold mine production primer explains the life-cycle of a gold mine and the ways in which responsible gold mining can have a significant positive economic impact.

Since their introduction in 2003, gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have transformed the gold investment market. Read our Gold-backed ETF primer for an overview of the history, features and benefits of gold-backed ETFs.

Recycled gold – old gold sold for cash – is a vital part of the market. Our recycled gold primer explains the factors that affect recycling and considers the differences between jewellery and industrial recycling.

The World Gold Council is pleased to announce the release of its "Guidance for Monetary Authorities on the recommended practice in accounting for monetary gold".