Gold Surpasses $1,000 Mark
March 16, 08
The long-expected crossing of the $1,000 per ounce mark for gold finally happened Friday, when it closed at $1,002.50 in The runaway gold prices started several months ago, however the rises started over two years ago, from just over $500 per ounce to just over $800 by December 2007 – a 52 percent gain. At the time, IDEX Online analyst Ken Gassman noted that despite the sharp rise, gold jewelry prices at the producer level have risen by only 13 percent in the two year period. At the retail level, the price of gold jewelry was up by an estimated 10 percent. According to Gassman, gold jewelry suppliers have absorbed some of the increased cost of gold. “Retail jewelers have to replace their lower cost inventory with high cost inventory,” Gassman advised. However, rising gold commodity prices are just one factor driving higher retail jewelry prices. “In the same two-year period, silver prices have risen by about 63 percent and platinum prices are up just over 50 percent. “It is important to note, however, that gold jewelry represents about 10 percent of all jewelry sold in the U.S., based on retail sales, and gold mountings and other gold jewelry that include precious stones account for as much as another 20 percent of all jewelry sales. Silver and platinum jewelry together account for 4 percent of the value of all jewelry sold, at most.”