HELENA — Although gold and silver have not been a direct target of tariffs, market reactions to trade uncertainty have driven a significant shift in prices.
"Four months ago, the word on our industry was that there are central banks around the world starting to amass and accumulate gold," Grizzly Gold and Silver president says Scott Boulanger.
Gold spot prices have increased by around 11% to more than $3,300 an ounce since December due to the supply and demand of the metal.
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"The thing about gold is it is an international precious metal," Boulanger says. "You can go anywhere in the world, and people know what gold is."
These price increases have also increased the metal's ratio with silver.
Historically, the silver to gold price ratio has been about 16 to 1 and now it is around 105 to 1.
Although an international market, Helena's and Montana's history is deeply connected to gold and other precious metals.
It drew many people to the Montana Territory in the 1800s.
"It is important here in Montana with our mining and traditional gold extraction, but now people are doing a lot of investing in gold rather than mining it," Boulanger says.
With the uncertainty due to tariffs and the high gold prices, businesses like Grizzly Gold and Silver are selling less gold and are buying more.
Boulanger explains that while tariffs may be driving interest in gold, the import taxes have not directly affected the price.
"Where I can make the comparison is a gold buffalo from the U.S. mint versus a gold maple from the Canadian mint," Boulanger says. "They are both selling for the same price right now, so we haven't seen our suppliers pass on any increase in prices."
In these uncertain economic times, many people are selling their jewelry and coins and that's led to increased traffic for shops like Grizzly Gold and Silver.
"What is going to happen tomorrow, you know we don't know," Boulanger says. "Gold went up yesterday (Wednesday) one hundred bucks an ounce, and we don't know why. It is an international commodity whose price changes every few minutes."
