#physical-gold

Spot gold just below $4,000. UOB 1oz PAMP gold bar at SGD 5,559. Same metal, completely different products. Spot is wholesale electronic trading. Physical includes fabrication, margin, duties, and GST. One is for short-term speculation, the other for wealth preservation. Know the difference.

Gold loan businesses in Indonesia and Vietnam are seeing a spike. When prices drop sharply, people either buy more at "cheap" levels or pledge existing gold for cash. Both signals tell me the region still has a strong gold culture. Trade spot, own physical.