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Thursday, 9th July 2009 (831 views)

Consumers and investors are increasingly looking to gold as a safe haven as the global economic crisis continues.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), gold bullion purchases made by individuals increased by almost 100 per cent in 2008.

Shawn Price, manager of the Touchstone Large Cap Growth fund, told the publication: "When you're in uncharted economic waters, people buy gold."

One such buyer, Ohio orthopaedic surgeon Scott Van Steyn, revealed that he had recently turned to gold coins as a way of combating the threat of inflation.

"There's 2,000 years of history to show that gold is the best thing to own during bad inflation," he remarked.

The comments came after the US Mint revealed that sales of gold coins soared during the first half of 2009.

During the first six months of this year, sales of one-ounce gold American Eagle coins were nearly as high as those for the whole of 2008.

The US Mint intends to release 2009 Buffalo bullion coins later this year, according to the WSJ.

 

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