Are you looking to buy gold over the Christmas period? If so you might want to know what the gold price is likely to be, when it’s up or down – and when the best time to buy that all-important Christmas gift could be. We can’t offer any exact predictions, but we can take a quick look at recent trends to offer some answers to the question: Is Christmas a good time to buy gold?

The gold price over Christmas

You’ll probably be unsurprised to hear that people like to buy each other gold over Christmas as a gift. For this reason, demand on gold supplies often increases in December. In line with the increase in demand, there tends to be a slight increase in the gold price, but the situation is not always quite that black and white.

In both 2016 and 2015, for instance, gold lost a significant amount of value over November and the first half of December: 16 per cent between 3^rd of November and 18^th of December 2016, and 4.75 per cent between 1^st November and 17^th December 2015.

In both occasions this was followed by a modest upswing in the latter half of December, leading up to the New Year. By the 3^rd January 2017, gold had reclaimed 4 per cent of its value from 18^th December 2016. By the 1 January 2016, gold had reclaimed 1.79 per cent from its low on the 17^th.

Whilst this is by no means a defined trend, if the gold price continues to follow the pattern of the last few years, it’s likely to drop over the next few weeks and pick up again towards the New Year. Perhaps some people left their Christmas gold shopping a little late last year.

When is the best time to buy gold?

These historic prices would seem to suggest that the best time to buy Christmas gold is around the end of November and early December.

But, of course, there is no guarantee that the prices will continue to follow this pattern, and you should continue to watch the live gold price to monitor trends before making a purchase.

There is however one statement we think we can make without controversy – don’t leave your Christmas gold shopping till December 24^th!

If you’re stuck for Christmas gift ideas, take a look at our extensive range of commemorative gold coins for inspiration.