Price of Gold on the Rise

In recent years, more investors around the world have been putting their money in gold.

This has led to a dramatic rise in gold prices.

In late June, the price of gold reached over 1,400 dollars per ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

That is about 40 percent higher than the price on the same market in 2015.

This rising price of gold abroad has also affected local markets.

In Korea, the gold price has been especially increasing at a rapid rate since April of this year.

It reached over 5,300 won per gram in June, the highest price in six years.

According to financial experts, the price of gold tends to go up during times of economic insecurity.

When investors feel unsure about the future of the economy, they put more of their money in purchasing gold, which unlike most other investments can be physically owned.

For example, investment in gold spiked whenever political tension heated up between the United States and North Korea in the past several years.

Also, gold prices reached their highest levels during the global financial crisis in 2011 and 2012.

During such times, many people around the world become conservative in their investments and look for the "sure thing."

They believe that the demand for gold will stay consistent despite worldwide economic fluctuations.

Furthermore, some Korean investors may be buying up gold because they are concerned about the possible re-denomination of Korean currency.

This is when the government decides to reset the relative value of the nation's money, which could, in turn, affect other investments.

On the other hand, some financial experts are concerned about this growing interest in the precious metal.

They say it could be a sign that the global economy will remain volatile for the foreseeable future.

 

• lead to  ~로 이어지다  mercantile  |mɜːrkəntaɪl   상업[무역]의  spike  spaɪk     못을 박다, (뾰족한 것으로) 찌르다 (=stab) / 못, (못같이) 뾰족한 것 (→spike heel) ,  스파이크

• conservative  kən|sɜːrvətɪv  보수적인 , 영국 보수당의  conserve   보호[보존]하다 (→conservation)   fluctuation  flʌ̀ktʃuéiʃən  (방향·위치·상황의) 변동, 오르내림, 파동

• currency  |kɜːrənsi  통화 (→hard currency)  통용   current  |kɜːrənt  현재의, 지금의 ,  통용되는

• volatile  ˈvɑːlətl  변덕스러운,  (금방이라도 급변할 듯이) 불안한 (=unstable)   foreseeable  fɔːr|siːəbl  예측[예견]할 수 있는 (↔unforeseeable)