The United States ended the gold standard in 1971, but the U.S. government still hoards $10 billion in gold bullion to maintain the world's confidence in our economy. Gold is not just essential to own, but it can be hugely profitable for investors too...
In total, the United States is the biggest gold bug in the world, with 8,133.5 tons in gold holdings as of September 2017, according to Business Insider.
That's because gold has been used as a currency since 700 B.C., and today, it's a universal store of value.
Through inflation, deflation, and stock market crashes, the precious metal has survived.
But not only has it survived, its value continues to grow...
How Forward-Thinking Investors Will Profit from Gold
Gold is valuable because there's a finite amount of gold, it has industrial uses, and it's been valued as a currency well before any of us were born.
While gold has always been used as a hedge against economic uncertainty, it's actually an investment that returns owners substantial profits.
Between 2006 and 2012, gold prices skyrocketed from $836.50 to $1,664 per ounce.
Urgent: Executive Editor Bill Patalon just saw something on his precious metals charts he's only seen twice in 20 years. He calls it the "Halley's Comet of investing" - and it could lead to windfall profits. Read more...
And it's about to make investors rich again...
The price of the precious metal is posed to climb nearly 300% in just two years.
In fact, since Money Morning Resource Specialist Peter Krauth released his shocking new gold forecast for 2020 on Dec. 6, 2017, the prices have already climbed 5.49% in just over a month.
And those early gains are just a taste of what's on the way...
Money Morning's Bullish 2020 Gold Price Prediction[mmpazkzone name="in-story" network="9794" site="307044" id="137008" type="4"]
Krauth's newest gold price forecast has the precious metal soaring to $5,246 an ounce by 2020.
From today's prices of $1,336.50, that's a potential profit of 292.48%.
"The bears have been unable to quash gold," Krauth wrote in this gold report. "That's why I'm looking for the next big move to the upside, and it could come right after the U.S. Federal Reserve hikes rates."
If history is any indication, the markets are set up for a bull run.
Every gold bull market has offered astounding returns. The median return and duration of each bull market over the last 47 years has been 451.4% and 41 months, respectively.
After the Fed raised interest rates in December, Krauth believes the price of gold can really take off.
Any dip in gold prices is going to be a buying opportunity moving forward, because of this long-term bullish outlook. So if prices drop anywhere from 5% to 20% in the short term, that's going to create an even bigger profit opportunity.
We'll keep our readers in the loop about gold news as it unfolds through our free Profit Alerts service.
With gold prices poised to skyrocket, it's creating a unique situation in the commodities market...
Up Next: Rare Gold Anomaly
Money Morning Executive Editor Bill Patalon just caught something on his gold charts that he's only seen twice in the past 20 years. A $13 billion gold anomaly he calls the "Halley's Comet of investing."
It's very rare, and fleeting, and Bill sees things lining up perfectly to bring some very sizeable precious metal profits to well-positioned investors.