More and more Croats want to buy gold as an investment.
The largest Croatian gold dealer, Auro Domus from Kastav, which holds about 50 percent of the market, sold investment gold and silver in the amount of 30.2 million kunas in the first half of this year, reports Jutarnji List on 2 August 2017.
The company points out that this is an increase of 83 percent, or nearly twice as much as in the same period last year when the company generated income in the amount of 16.5 million kunas. This is proof that the demand for investment gold in Croatia continues to grow and that Croats are buying it more than ever before.
Last year, Auro Domus sold gold worth about 40 million kunas, but at the same time bought from the citizens four times as much. In 2015, sales of investment gold generated revenues of about 28 million kunas. Since the sale of gold is steadily growing, Auro Domus expects this trend to continue and that they will reach 60 million kunas in sales by the end of the year.
The biggest interest of buyers is for golden coins, whose cost ranges from about 1,100 to 4,000 kunas, depending on the size, and for coins worth about 9,000 kunas. Still, there are more and more buyers looking for 100 and 250-gram gold bars, with a price of between 27,000 kunas and 70,000 kunas. The most valuable product in the company’s offer is a gold bar weighing one kilogram, which costs up to 280,000 kunas, depending on the current price of gold in the world market. By the end of the year, Auro Domus expects to offer a series of products made of investment gold and produced by the Croatian Monetary Institute.
In Western European countries, god traders annually buy and sell about an equal amount of gold. In Croatia, the buying side of the business is still much larger, but the difference is getting smaller. Buying gold as an investment in Croatia is a relatively new phenomenon that appeared in 2014 when, after joining the EU, Croatian legislation was aligned with the European regulations, so the VAT and excise duties are no longer paid on gold. That lowered the price of gold coins and bars by 40 percent. Also, individuals do not pay any income taxes on the gold trade income.
Investment gold can be turned into cash at all times. An ounce of gold is sold by large traders for about 9,000 kunas and bought for about 8,300 kunas.
Translated from Jutarnji List.
