Gold is booming - but investors lured in by the hype could lose out, warn experts(1)

 

Bullion

 

 

"What you have there is about £250,000 worth of gold," Emma Siebenborn says as she shows me a faded plastic tub filled with old, shabby jewelry - rings, charm bracelets, necklaces and orphaned earrings.

 

*hype: 광고

*lose out: 손해를 보다

*orphaned: 고아가 된

 

Reporter Reads - Gold is booming - but how safe is it for investors, really? - BBC Sounds

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Emma is the strategies director of Hatton Garden Metals, a family-run gold dealership in London's Hatton Garden jewelry district, and this unprepossessing tub of bric-a-brac is a small sample of what they buy over the counter each day. It is, in effect, gold scrap, which will be melted down and recycled.

 

*unprepossessing: 매력 없는, 호감을 주지 못하는 (=unattractive)

*brick-a-brac: (자그마한) 장식품들

*over the counter: 장외 거래로; 처방전 없이 살 수 있는; 비상장의

*gold scrap: 금 조각

 

Also on the table, rather more elegantly presented in a suede-lined tray, is a selection of gold coins and bars. The largest bar is about the size and thickness of a mobile phone. It weighs a hefty 1kg, and it's worth about £80,000.

 

*suede: 스웨드 (벨벳같이 부드러운 가죽)

*hefty: 크고 무거운; 두둑한; 강한

 

The coins include biscuit-sized Britannias, each containing precisely one ounce of 24 carat bullion, as well as smaller Sovereigns. These are all available to buy - and the recent surge in gold prices has led to a surge in demand.

 

*Britannia: 브리타니아 (브리튼의 상징인 여성상. 보통 투구를 쓰고 방패와 삼지창을 들고 앉아 있는 모습임)

*bullion: 금괴(은괴)들, 금(은)

*Soverign: 군주, 군왕; 1파운드짜리 금화 (영국의 구화폐)

 

Zoe Lyons, who is Emma's sister and the managing director, has never seen anything like it – often she finds would-be sellers queuing in the street. "There's excitement and buzz in the market but also nervousness and trepidation," she tells me.

 

*managing director: 상무 또는 전무 이사

*would-be seller: 판매자가 되려는 사람

*buzz: 웅성거림

*trepidation: (앞일에 대한) 두려움, 공포

 

"There's anxiety about which way the market is going to go next, and when you get those emotions, ultimately it creates quite big trades."

At MNR jewelers a couple of streets away, a salesman agrees: "Demand for gold has increased, definitely," he says.

 

*which way the market is going to go next: 시장이 다음엔 어느 방향으로 향할 것인지

*Demand for gold has increased: 금에 대한 수요가 증가하고 있다.