Is It a Good Time to Buy Precious Metals?

Note: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Speak to a qualified financial advisor if you have questions about investing. 

Whether you’re new to investing in precious metals or you’re a seasoned veteran, you may be wondering — is now a good time to buy gold? Or silver, platinum, or palladium for that matter?

These questions are always difficult to answer. “Timing the market”, meaning buying low and selling high, is extremely difficult to do — even for full-time professional investors.

With that said, we can do a few things to gauge any investment, including gold and silver. We can look at historic prices, compared to current prices. We can look at demand outlooks for the various metals, to see how the industry is expected to morph in the coming years. And finally, we can look to the opinions of financial experts.

So, is 2022 a good time to buy gold? Let’s dive in.

Are precious metals a good investment now?

As 2021 draws to a close and 2022 begins, investors are wondering — is now a good time to invest in precious metals?

The answer to this question depends on your goals.

If you are a long-term investor, now is likely a good time to buy precious metals. Prices are below all-time highs across the board, and are around 50% under all time highs for silver and platinum. Plus, there’s plenty of uncertainty in the global economy, and precious metals are often seen as a “safe haven” asset class.

If you are looking for short-term profits, it’s impossible to say whether today is a good time to buy gold. It’s not possible to predict the short-term swings of any market, whether that’s the stock market or the precious metals spot market.

Of course, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the air — particularly with the Federal Reserve changing monetary policy (which can affect gold prices). Ultimately, it’s impossible to predict where prices are heading for any asset class, including precious metals.

Use dollar cost averaging for best results

Not sure when to buy? Statistics show that it may be best to simply buy frequently.

A concept called “dollar cost averaging” is well worth learning about. Essentially, this strategy utilizes consistent, regular purchases over a long period of time.

For example, an investor may purchase 10 ounces of silver each month, or $100 worth of index funds every week.

Using dollar cost averaging, you can maintain a great average price for your investments. You will buy occasionally when the price is high, occasionally when the price is low, and often when the price is about average.

Most financial advisors recommend dollar cost averaging because it helps to spread out your investments — and also helps to reduce regret from buying near an all-time high.

If you believe that precious metals are a good investment and you want to hold them for the long-term, buying consistently is the way to go. And at Bellevue Rare Coins, we stock a wide variety of smaller bullion products that don’t cost a fortune. We have tons of 1oz silver coins and rounds, 1/10oz gold coins, and much more. Check out our Live Pricing page for details.

What is the best precious metal to invest in for 2022?

Another tricky question to answer! Each of the common precious metals has something unique to offer in 2022:

• Gold is considered a safe-haven asset, and the world is very much still in an uncertain place due to the ongoing pandemic and economic fluctuations.
• Silver is another popular investment, with strong industrial demand. And the silver spot price is more than 50% below its all-time high.
• Platinum has very strong industrial demand and is also about 50% below its all-time high. Demand for platinum has been hard hit by the shortage of microchips, which reduces demand for platinum in the automotive industry.
• Palladium has had very strong performance in recent years, with its price roughly quadrupling in the last 5 years. Recently, prices have pulled back substantially, due to decreased demand from the automotive industry (car manufacturers use up to 80% of the annual supply of palladium).

Ultimately, there are solid reasons to buy any of the precious metals for 2022. If you only hold gold, or gold and silver, perhaps this is the year to diversify into platinum or palladium.

What is the best time of year to buy gold?

Here’s a question that we can directly explore via historical data. GoldSilver.com produced an excellent analysis of market data since 1975, exploring this very same topic.

In their analysis, they found that early January, March and early April, were among the best times to buy gold — as was the period from mid-June to early July.

This is based on decades of historic data — but that doesn’t mean that this specific year will have the same results. You can read the full analysis for more information.

Wrapping up

Ultimately, it’s impossible to predict when the perfect time to buy gold is. In fact, it’s impossible to predict the perfect time to buy any investment.

With that said, if you’re in it for the long-run, we believe that just about any time is a good time to invest! Whether you’re buying gold, silver, real estate, stocks, or even cryptocurrencies, the best strategy is to build a diversified portfolio, and just keep on investing whenever you can.

Investment-grade bullion from Bellevue Rare Coins

If you do decide to invest in bullion, we would be honored to help. Bellevue Rare Coins has five convenient Seattle-area locations (West Seattle, Bellevue, Lynnwood, Issaquah and Tacoma), and our friendly staff is standing by to help you six days a week!

We stock a wide variety of investment grade bullion, from American Silver Eagles to gold bars to palladium coins. Stop by today to browse our selection, or call (425)278-9670 to place your order!