Gold is not a particularly good investment. It yields no interest and pays no dividend: the only way its owners can earn a return is if other investors value the shiny metal more tomorrow than they did today. For a “haven” asset, which investors can use to preserve capital in times of crisis, it is remarkably speculative: aside from some niche industrial uses, most of the permanent demand comes from jewellery. Its rise in value this week to a near-record high of $2,000 per troy ounce reflects the fact that many other options are even less attractive, rather than any intrinsic merits.
黃金並不是特別好的投資。它不產生利息，也不支付股息：只有在未來其他投資者對這種有光澤的金屬給出比現在更高的估值的情況下，其所有者才能獲得回報。就一種「避險」資產（投資者可以用來在危機時期儲存資本）來說，它頗具投機性：除了某些利基工業用途外，黃金的大部分永久需求來自珠寶。金價在本週上漲至接近每盎司2000美元的創紀錄高位，與其說是因爲黃金具有任何內在優點，不如說反映了一個事實：其他許多選擇的吸引力甚至更低。