17:10 GMT Monday 30 March, 2020
Global crisis, London storage
London is the heart of global precious metals trading. Latest data say the UK capital's professional vaults hold the world's largest commercial stockpiles of precious metals, equal to 10 months of global gold-mine output and 15 months of world silver-mine output.
Right now those stockpiles cannot easily move to other global locations, not even to the other precious-metal hubs of Zurich or New York. So while all of BullionVault's markets are open 24/7 for you to trade as you wish, London is where our suppliers are most able to re-stock our trading inventory, making new metal available for you to buy at better prices.
Notably, Zurich is now more expensive than London. Coronavirus has shut down three of Switzerland's 4 largest refining operations (those nearest the border with northern Italy) and naturally there is a knock-on effect in the bullion market. So if you want cheaper gold or silver, it will be in London. If you like the political attractions of Switzerland, then there is a modest premium to pay. The choice is yours.
You can buy in our other locations too if you wish, trading with other customers in open competition on our live peer-to-peer Order Board. But if you simply want to acquire physical bullion at wholesale prices, do consider using the Daily Price function to buy in London.
Customer service: Exceptional volumes
We continue to experience exceptional volumes of customer service requests. While our staff are working full-time to answer and resolve all queries, please understand that response times might not meet our usual speed.
Should you need to contact us we ask that you raise your enquiry via email rather than by telephone if at all possible. Please also read founder Paul Tustain's message to clients here.
