Precious metal

A treasure trove worth $23 billion has been unearthed from the secret chambers of an 18th century Indian temple in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the South Indian state of Kerala.

A court ruling opened the secret chambers of the temple which have untold wealth buried under

Chinese gold demand is expected to exceed 700 metric tons in the next several years and sharply outpace domestic production. Annual gold production in China, world’s second largest consumer of precious metal, is expected to reach 400 tonnes by 2014 with demand at 700 tonnes, signaling room for a strong ramp up in imports.

Gold prices may continue to stay at high levels in the coming months as investors seek the metal as a safe haven investment on concerns about faster inflation, slowing global economic recovery and geopolitical crisis, according to China National Gold Group Corporation (CNGGC).

The solid demand for gold is not supported just by private individuals and panicky investors, but countries like China, India and Russia are ramping up investment in the yellow metal.

The Gold Price rose sharply against all major currencies on Wednesday, touching near-two-week highs against the Dollar even as the US currency rose amid fresh European debt and budget concerns.

The best way to buy Gold is to aquire it as cheap as possible. There are several factors influencing the effective price, and one of them is of overpowering importance. Gold, and other precious metals, are the best performing asset class of all over the last decade and multiplied their nominal value by a factor of five.

The dramatic rise in China's interest in silver is evident from the fact that the country imported an unprecedented 14 percent of global silver in 2010, whereas it was net exporter of silver till recently.

As many investors know, gold is a safe-haven asset that can actually increase in value during stock market slides and times of recession. But what else do you really know about this commodity? Are you taking full advantage of it? Do you know how to work it into your overall investment strategy?

Gold fell back slightly toward $1,400 an ounce on Tuesday, breaking a six-session rally, as turmoil in Libya prompted bullion investors to take profits and as sharp losses in equities and other commodities markets prompted margin selling.

Even as precious metal investors seem to be taken in by the superior performance of silver over gold, some analysts have raised the voice of caution, saying gold will soon outperform silver.

More and more investors are flocking to silver, sensing an opportunity. Mark Thomas of the Silver Shortage Report wrote on Tuesday that Soros Fund management has made an investment in Pan American Silver (PAAS).

Gold was little changed on Wednesday as the market was underpinned by a dollar drop and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comment that he had no plans to scrap a massive bond-buying program, indicating interest rates will not rise any time soon.

Gold rose back towards yesterday's 3-week peaks in London on Wednesday, pushing higher against all major currencies as world stock markets slipped.

Gold held close to the previous session's near three-week high in Europe on Wednesday, supported by an increased focus on inflation after China's second interest rate hike in six weeks.