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Understanding Gold price per gram

In the retail markets, gold price per gram becomes relevant even though standard measure adopted in international bullion or commodity markets is a troy ounce. A troy ounce translates to approximately 31.3 grams. The same measure is adopted for trading in silver too for the purpose of international trade.

However, much of the retail demand for gold comes in quantities less than one ounce, particularly in India and China which are among the largest gold consuming countries in the world and topping the list of most populated nations. Therefore, some mints and large banks do issue gold in smaller denominations starting with as low as one gram. All these offerings are in tamper proof packs and pure gold (24 karats). One troy ounce equals to 31.1034768 grams and when you divide the spot gold price by this denominator you arrive at the price per gram of gold on that day. However, the price you pay to the dealer can potentially be marginally higher to factor in the dealer’s margin and local taxes where applicable.

Gold price per gram always differ with different forms of gold. Another scenario in understanding gold price per gram is when you are buying or selling gold that is mixed with other metals (generally copper) to lend work-ability to pure gold. In its pristine state, gold is brittle and therefore an admixture of other metals is essential to convert fragile gold into firm jewelry and other products.

Therefore, when you are looking at 22 karat gold or 18 karat gold, it becomes essential to determine the value of gold contained in the alloy to arrive at gold price per gram. The other metals added to gold have very little value compared to gold and no resale value will accrue to you. This is one reason why investors looking to buy and sell gold in tandem with market movements always look for 24 karat gold or pure gold.

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In the Indian and Chinese markets, you can buy even a 1 gram gold coin and sell it back when you have accumulated 5 or 10 grams over a period of time. The margins at the point of buying and selling is nominal and when you buy low and sell high, you are likely to make a profit even after setting aside the margins. Jewelry on the other hand is often a losing game though it brings a lot of joy and glamour, particularly for the women folk who go after intricate designs.

If you buy gold as a form of investment, it is recommended not to invest in physical gold, as you will incur loss, even though the resale value may earn more than the cost of purchase.

In modern times, you can use the internet to track the movement of spot gold prices and use that as a guiding point to understand the gold price per gram that you would be paying or receiving. Some websites even provide live gold calculator to make your task easier.