Gold isn't a terribly useful metal. There are some minor electrical applications, a handful of catalyst applications, and of course jewelry. The size of the international investment stocks is a great multiple of the annual usage in all these categories.
So the high value of gold is predicated on the high value of gold -- think tulips, Miami condos, and dot com equity.
However, gold has been in this bubble for a very very long time. Consider the famous investing maxim "the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent" and just stay away is my opinion.
In response to the sibling post on transmuting gold, the minimum possible energy cost is really, really high (due to the necessary gamma rays and the cross section of 198Hg). Unless we figure out a way to produce to nearly free energy it is never going to be worth it.
So the high value of gold is predicated on the high value of gold -- think tulips, Miami condos, and dot com equity.
However, gold has been in this bubble for a very very long time. Consider the famous investing maxim "the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent" and just stay away is my opinion.
In response to the sibling post on transmuting gold, the minimum possible energy cost is really, really high (due to the necessary gamma rays and the cross section of 198Hg). Unless we figure out a way to produce to nearly free energy it is never going to be worth it.