Current:Home > ScamsThe price of gold hit a record high this week. Is your gold bar worth $1 million? -Golden Summit Finance
The price of gold hit a record high this week. Is your gold bar worth $1 million?
View
Date:2025-04-13 11:03:47
The price of gold hit an all-time high this week, driving the price of a standard gold bar up to $1 million for the first time ever.
A typical gold bar as we think of it weighs in at 400 Troy ounces, or 27.5 pounds, according to the U.S. Gold Bureau. As of Friday around noon, a bar of that size sells for a little over $1.3 million, with 1 oz valued at over $2,500.
The record highs reported this week reflect a price that has skyrocketed in recent years and even within months. From the beginning of the year to Aug. 22, 2024, the price of gold rose from $2,066.32 per Troy ounce to $2,500.72, representing a 21.02% increase. At closing on Tuesday, spot gold was valued at $2,514, the highest price record in history.
Even wholesale grocer Costco got in on the modern gold rush beginning in late 2023, launching the sale of 1 oz gold bars and later other precious metals and coins.
Here's what to know about the record-breaking prices.
Costco is selling lots of gold:Should you be buying? How this gold rush impacts the market
What is the price of gold?
The price for spot gold currently stands at $2,515.83 as of early Friday afternoon.
The units of measurement generally used in this valuation are Troy ounces, a unit of measure for precious metals that is heavier than a regular ounce, according to the American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX). One Troy ounce equals 1.097 "normal" ounces or 31.10 grams.
The unit of measurement was first used in the Middle Ages, originating in Troyes, France.
The term "spot" gold refers to the current market price at which gold can be bought and sold for instant delivery, also according to APMEX. It represents the market value of gold at this moment as opposed to in the future or long term.
Gold prices:Track the price of gold over the past year with Blueprint
Why is the price of gold going up and how is it measured?
According to the investing website Investopedia, the price of gold is influenced by a number of market factors including supply and demand, interest rates, market volatility and potential risk to investors.
The precious metal has seen a rise in value over the past five years as it has climbed from a spot price of roughly $1,200 an ounce in 2019.
While research has found that gold doesn't directly seem to correlate with inflation in any meaningful way, Jonathan Rose, co-founder of Genesis Gold Group, told CNBC that people are likely buying more gold in an attempt to own some sense of stability in an economy that is rife with inflation, a tough real estate market and a growing distrust for banks and other financial institutions.
Rose also told the outlet, "The outlook for stability in the market isn’t good and people want a [tangible] asset that’s going to be a safe haven. That’s what gold and silver provide."
Owning a piece of the real stuff is appealing to people looking to build a sense of self-sufficiency that they believe will withstand a turbulent cash market.
Is your gold bar from Costco worth $1 million?
Wholesale grocer Costco made headlines when it began selling gold bars in Oct. 2023, resulting in over $100 million in sales of the precious metal in the first fiscal quarter of 2024.
The Costco gold bars weigh in at one Troy ounce, a far cry from the 400 Troy ounce bars currently being valued at $1 million.
As of early Friday afternoon, one Troy ounce of gold is valued at $2,515.83 If you happen to have about 400 of the Costco bars on hand, then you might be looking at a stash that could sell for roughly $1,006,332.
Considering the retailer has a purchase limit of two bars per customer, however, it's unlikely that investment will make you the next bonified millionaire.
veryGood! (1152)
Related
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Teen boy arrested in connection to death of Tennessee girl reported missing last month
- A Memphis man is now charged with attacking two homeless men in recent months
- MLB power rankings: How low can New York Yankees go after ugly series vs. Red Sox?
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Zac Efron Reveals His Embarrassing First On-Set Kiss
- The Devil Wears Prada Is Officially Getting a Sequel After 18 Years
- For-profit college in Chicago suburbs facing federal review abruptly shuts down
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- MLB power rankings: How low can New York Yankees go after ugly series vs. Red Sox?
Ranking
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Spoilers: How deaths gave 'House of the Dragon' big 'Game of Thrones' energy
- Teen safely stops runaway boat speeding in circles on New Hampshire’s largest lake
- New Jersey forest fire that was sparked by fireworks is 75% contained
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- You don't have to be Reese Witherspoon to start a book club: Follow these 6 tips
- Jennifer Lopez shares 2021 breakup song amid Ben Affleck divorce rumors
- Heather Locklear to Make Rare Public Appearance for 90s Con Reunion With Melrose Place Stars
Recommendation
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
A Missouri fire official dies when the boat he was in capsizes during a water rescue
Rikers Island inmates sue NYC claiming they were trapped in cells during jail fire that injured 20
Department of Education and Brown University reach agreement on antidiscrimination efforts
Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
Child dies after accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound in Georgia store parking lot: reports
Colorado dropped Medicaid enrollees as red states have, alarming advocates for the poor
A Memphis man is now charged with attacking two homeless men in recent months