Aussies going for gold

This blog is very much in favour of people moving their money into alternative asset classes and while suffering from recent price volatility, the market for over the counter gold bullion in Australia is booming, with high sales reported as in India and China, despite the sharp price falls last week.

... There is an interesting phenomenon happening in the CBD of Sydney: Private Vaulting. Until now the only option for safe deposit boxes was with one of Australia’s four TBTF banks and most of those vaults seem to date from the gold rush era of the 1890′s. But in the space of two months there will be two state of the art private underground safe deposit vaults opening, both with an emphasis on storing physical gold and silver. One has been showcased by Mike Maloney in a national news report and the other vault opens at the end of this month, (here)

... In the face of the worst slump in gold prices in decades, some so called bargain hunters are prepared to buck that trend and dive into the market for gold bullion, believing the precious metal is already bottomed out. 
Dealers in gold bullion and jewellery across Australia are reporting queues outside their shop fronts, as small investors swim against the downward tide driven by the big sellers of gold. 
One stock analyst is warning that anyone who thinks they're getting a bargain today just because gold's more than $200 an ounce cheaper than a week ago, could actually be queuing for fool's gold. (here).

And refiner the Perth Mint has been doing well also:

...Very significant demand is being seen throughout the world for physical bullion – in Japan, India, Australia, the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. The speculative raid by one or two banks which led to the price crash is being seen as a gift by eager buyers internationally.
Gold sales from Australia’s Perth Mint, which refines nearly all of the nation’s bullion, surged after prices plunged, adding to signs that gold’s slump to a two-year low is spurring increased demand.
“The volume of business that we’re putting through is way in excess of double what we did last week,” Treasurer Nigel Moffatt said by phone, without giving precise figures. “There’s been people running through the gate.”
The Perth Mint’s sales of gold coins climbed 49 percent to 97,541 ounces in the three months ended March 31 from a year earlier, according to data from the facility in Western Australia that was founded in 1899.