Rising gold price persuades people to recycle their old jewellery

The rally in the price of gold that has been seen in 2016 has persuaded more and more people to look out their unwanted or broken jewellery to trade in.

Increasing numbers of people are now sending gold for recycling, after a slowdown that had lasted for three years. But now that the gold price is on the up – and looks set for its biggest gain in a year since 2010 – it’s bringing much needed gold for recycling back on to the market.

The recycled or scrap gold part of the market is so important because around a third of the global supply of bullion comes from recycled gold.

Figures from the World Gold Council show that when the gold price fell from record highs in 2011, the amount of the precious metal being recycled plummeted. Last year, it hit its lowest level in eight years.

However, the jump in the price of gold this year has seen a 10 per cent rise in the amount of scrap gold being recycled.

Baird & Company, which melts down scrap gold for clients around the UK, is now planning to increase the size of its refinery in London.

Executive director, Tony Dobra, told The Independent: “We’ve un-mothballed parts of our plant.

“When prices were lower, we struggled to get enough material to meet demand. Now we’re seeing double the volume we did a year ago.”

So if you want to make the most of the high gold prices, it’s worth hunting out any old gold jewellery you no longer want or wear, and converting it to cash while the market is on a high. Although the scrap gold price is never as high as the gold price per troy ounce, it rises in tandem and it’s currently riding high.