Gold Metal DNA™
· Atomic #79 · ₹15,885.54/g today
The one metal on this site that is simultaneously a piece of jewellery, a central-bank reserve asset, and a hedge against everything else going wrong at once.
Gold DNA Profile
Each dimension below is either computed live from data this site already tracks, or a manually researched figure with its own source — see how these are calculated.
How is this calculated?
Computed from the 30-day price change already stored in this site's own price history: score = 50 + (30-day % change × 2), clamped to 0–100. A metal flat over 30 days scores 50; every 1% of 30-day move shifts the score 2 points either way.
How is this calculated?
The standard deviation of daily % price changes over the last 10 trading days, scaled ×20 and clamped to 0–100. A purely descriptive measure of recent swing size, not a positive or negative signal on its own.
How is this calculated?
The single largest producing country's share of reported global production (excluding the "Other countries" residual bucket), taken directly from the USGS-sourced figures already powering /metal-reserves. Higher = more concentrated in one country.
How is this calculated?
Summed reported reserves ÷ summed reported annual production, across only the countries USGS reports both figures for (same commodity, same units — never summed across commodities). Scaled: 40+ years of reserve life scores 100, scaled down linearly below that.
How is this calculated?
Manually researched from each metal's primary industry association (see each metal's Sources section) — not computed. Scored as 100 minus the largest single demand sector's share of total demand, so a metal with no single dominant buyer group scores higher than one dependent on one sector.
Source: World Gold Council, Gold Demand Trends — Full Year 2024 — view
Scientific Identity
- Symbol
- Au
- Atomic Number
- 79
- Category
- Precious Metals
Source: IUPAC Periodic Table of the Elements. Further physical/chemical properties (density, melting point, electron configuration) are planned for a future update — not shown until individually verified per metal.
Three Buyers, One Price
Gold demand splits fairly evenly across jewellery, investment (bars, coins, ETFs) and central-bank reserves — a mix no other metal on this site has. That's part of why gold tends to hold value when currencies, stocks and industrial metals are all falling at once: at least one of those three buyer groups is usually still buying.
Mined in a Few Places, Wanted Everywhere
China and South Africa built entire mining eras around gold, and Australia and Canada remain top-tier exporters today — but none of that production stays local. Gold moves through Swiss refineries and London vaults before ending up in an Indian wedding box or a central-bank basement half a world from where it was dug up.
Almost Nothing Is Ever Destroyed
Nearly all the gold ever mined still exists somewhere — melted down, reshaped and resold, but essentially never consumed the way oil or even copper is. Recycled gold (mostly old jewellery) supplies a meaningful share of annual market demand alongside freshly mined metal, which is part of why gold's total "above-ground stock" — everything ever mined, sitting in vaults, jewellery boxes and central banks — dwarfs any single year's new mine production.
Supply Snapshot
Real, USGS-sourced production shares — the same data behind this metal's Geographic Concentration score above. Full breakdown: Metal Reserves →
Demand Mix
Sourced from World Gold Council, Gold Demand Trends — Full Year 2024 (2024 data) — view source.
Did You Know?
Central banks turned into significant net buyers of gold over the past few years, after decades of mostly selling — a genuine shift in who shows up on the demand side of this market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gold Metal DNA™ is MetalsCost's intelligence profile combining scientific identity with market, supply and demand indicators — each indicator is either computed from this site's own stored price and reserves data, or a manually researched, cited figure. See the methodology page for exactly how.
Gold's overall score of 46/100 is a simple average of the individual dimensions currently scored for it below — click any dimension's "Why?" for its exact formula and source.
China accounts for 11.5% of global gold production, per USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries — see the full production breakdown.
The Gold price in India today is ₹15,885.54 per gram as of August 28, 2026. See the live price and chart.
MetalsCost Metal DNA™ is an informational and analytical indicator. It is not investment advice, a price target, or a recommendation to buy or sell any commodity or financial instrument. See the methodology page for data sources and calculation details.
