Gold? There’s An App For That

This story has been updated.

The industry body for global gold producers has just launched a sleek interactive iPad app for -- you guessed it -- all things gold.

The World Gold Council’s "Advanced by Gold" app shares information and data about the world’s favorite precious metal, all on a stylish mobile platform, so gold bugs can get their fix wherever they are.

Launched late Monday afternoon, the app incorporates graphs based on detailed council research as well as pure-gold eye candy. Users can share articles and data, spreading their bullish bullion enthusiasm.

“This new app provides an overview of gold’s global role economically, financially, culturally and technologically,” said council spokesperson Brenda Bates in a statement.

Even she added, though: “Gold is not a new story.”

The council, which is backed by gold mining companies, puts a positive slant on gold in the app. Part of the app’s point is to “demonstrate the best of gold’s unique qualities and uses in today’s world,” said the council in a news release.

Gold prices opened at $1,303/oz. on Tuesday, and fell during trading below the psychologically significant benchmark price of $1,300/oz.

Investors have maneuvered with hesitation in an uncertain and often volatile gold market in recent months, dependent especially on expectations related to the Federal Reserve's bond-buying tapering policy. Gold prices have plunged alarmingly since the start of the year.

For more serious investors, the app also includes an overview of Indian and Chinese gold markets, and the impact of the Chinese renminbi and European sovereign debt on the global gold market.

Ever enthusiastic, the council even contends that gold nanotechnology, in the form of tiny flecks of gold, helps fight malaria and HIV/AIDs by advancing diagnostic techniques. They detail this in the app.

An earlier app, devoted to more specialist research and market data, didn’t fare so well. Few customers rated it, at least not enough to produce an average rating for the app in Apple’s app store. The council didn't release figures on the numbers of users or downloads to Intenrational Business Times.

Once downloaded, this new app will be automatically updated with fresh market data and perspectives.

In a research note from Monday, top HSBC Holdings PLC [LON:HSBA) gold analyst James Steel wrote that regardless of when the Fed starts tapering, likely in September or December 2013, the impact on gold prices will be substantial and negative.

Nervousness on Monday about tapering, after remarks from Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher, contributed to the recent gold price decline below $1,300/oz., said Steel.