Much is written in the precious metals world about gold’s characteristics, and how the behaviour of the gold price allows gold to play the role of unique financial asset that retains its purchasing power over time, acts as a safe haven, diversifies risk, and provides hedging benefits.

However, much of the material written in this area skips over an explanation of how the simple yet powerful relationships and interactions of the gold price actually work. Yet an appreciation of these simple characteristics and relationships facilitates a far more intuitive understanding of why holding gold - in the form of physical gold - can be so beneficial.